{"id":31,"date":"2024-03-13T11:32:47","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T11:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/?p=31"},"modified":"2026-08-01T00:06:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T00:06:49","slug":"kwango","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/kwango\/","title":{"rendered":"Kwango"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kwango is a province in south-western Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the Angolan border. Its capital is Kenge, it covers 89,974 km², and its population is projected at about 2,812,000 (2024 estimate).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Capital<\/th>\nKenge<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Population<\/th>\n2,812,000 (projected, 2024)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Area<\/th>\n89,974 km²<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Territories<\/th>\n5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Main towns<\/th>\nKenge, Kasongo-Lunda, Kahemba, Feshi, Popokabaka<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Languages<\/th>\nFrench (official); Kikongo ya Leta, Kiyaka, Kipende<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Neighbours<\/th>\nKinshasa, Kongo Central, Kwilu, Kasai; Angola<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Towns, Cities and Territories<\/h2>\n

Kwango is one of the 26 provinces created in the 2015 repartitioning and one of the three carved out of the old Bandundu province. It has five territories, each named after its headquarters town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Territory<\/th>\nHeadquarters<\/th>\nNote<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Kenge<\/td>\nKenge<\/td>\nProvincial capital, on the RN1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Feshi<\/td>\nFeshi<\/td>\nPende country, southern plateau<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kahemba<\/td>\nKahemba<\/td>\nAngola border, diamond trade<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kasongo-Lunda<\/td>\nKasongo-Lunda<\/td>\nLargest territory, Yaka heartland<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Popokabaka<\/td>\nPopokabaka<\/td>\nKwango River crossing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Other towns include Lusanga (the former Leverville, a palm-oil company town on the Kwilu) in Kenge territory, Panzi and Kimbau in Kasongo-Lunda territory, Kingandu, and Wamba-Luadi. Away from these centres, settlement is village-scale: clusters of a few hundred people along road and river lines.<\/p>\n

Geography<\/h2>\n

Kwango is savanna, dry and open, cut by deep river valleys. It borders Kinshasa<\/a> and Kongo Central<\/a> to the west, Kwilu<\/a> to the north, and Kasai<\/a> to the east. Angola lies along the whole southern edge.<\/p>\n

The Kwango River, which gives the province its name, runs south to north and forms part of the international border with Angola before joining the Kasai. The Wamba and Bakali are its main tributaries here. Kenge sits about 250 km east of Kinshasa on the RN1.<\/p>\n

Demographics<\/h2>\n

Density is roughly 31 people per km² on the 2024 projection — sparse, and concentrated along the roads. All DR Congo population figures are projections; the last census was in 1984.<\/p>\n

The Yaka are the largest group, with the Suku around Kasongo-Lunda and Feshi, the Pende in the south-east and Chokwe near the Angolan border. Kikongo ya Leta (Kituba) is the trade language; Kiyaka and Kipende are widely spoken at home. French is used in administration and schools.<\/p>\n

Economy and Local Life<\/h2>\n

Farming supports most households: cassava, maize, groundnuts, beans and palm oil, plus goats and pigs. Kenge and Kasongo-Lunda are the main market towns, and much of what they sell moves west to Kinshasa by truck on the RN1.<\/p>\n

Cross-border trade with Angola matters in Kahemba and Kasongo-Lunda, where artisanal diamond digging also draws seasonal workers. Lusanga’s colonial-era palm plantations still shape land use around the Kwilu. Charcoal cut for the Kinshasa market is a significant — and deforesting — cash earner along the RN1 corridor.<\/p>\n

History<\/h2>\n

Kwango was a province in its own right from 1962 to 1966, then a district within Bandundu province. It regained provincial status on 18 July 2015, when Bandundu was split into Kwango, Kwilu<\/a> and Mai-Ndombe<\/a>. The area was the core of the Yaka kingdom, whose rulers held the Kwango valley well into the colonial period.<\/p>\n

Getting There<\/h2>\n

The RN1 from Kinshasa to Kikwit runs straight through Kenge, so the capital is reachable by road in half a day in dry conditions. Off that axis, travel is on dirt tracks that turn difficult in the November\u2013April rains. Kenge and Kahemba have airstrips used mainly by aid and mission flights. The Kwango River carries local pirogue and small-barge traffic around Popokabaka.<\/p>\n

FAQ<\/h2>\n

What is the capital of Kwango?<\/h3>\n

Kenge, a town on the RN1 highway about 250 km east of Kinshasa.<\/p>\n

How many territories does Kwango have?<\/h3>\n

Five: Feshi, Kahemba, Kasongo-Lunda, Kenge and Popokabaka.<\/p>\n

What language is spoken in Kwango?<\/h3>\n

Kikongo ya Leta (Kituba) is the common language, with Kiyaka, Kisuku and Kipende spoken by their communities. French is official.<\/p>\n

Which country borders Kwango?<\/h3>\n

Angola, along the province’s entire southern edge. The Kwango River forms part of that border.<\/p>\n

What was Kwango before 2015?<\/h3>\n

A district of Bandundu province. It became a province again on 18 July 2015 when Bandundu was divided into three.<\/p>\n

What is the population of Kwango?<\/h3>\n

About 2.8 million on the 2024 projection. There has been no DR Congo census since 1984, so this is an estimate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kwango is a province in south-western Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the Angolan border. Its capital is Kenge, it covers 89,974 km², and its population is projected at about 2,812,000 (2024 estimate). Capital Kenge Population 2,812,000 (projected, 2024) Area 89,974 km² Territories 5 Main towns Kenge, Kasongo-Lunda, Kahemba, Feshi, Popokabaka Languages French (official); Kikongo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Kwango: 5 Territories, Towns & Capital Kenge, DR Congo","_seopress_titles_desc":"Kwango province, DR Congo: capital Kenge, all 5 territories and their headquarters towns, projected population, the Yaka people and the Angola border.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-dr-congo","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions\/153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}