{"id":41,"date":"2024-03-23T19:34:50","date_gmt":"2024-03-23T19:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/?p=41"},"modified":"2026-08-01T00:06:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T00:06:49","slug":"kwilu-province","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/kwilu-province\/","title":{"rendered":"Kwilu Province"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kwilu is a province in western Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the 26 provinces set up in the 2015 repartitioning. Its capital is Bandundu, its largest city is Kikwit, and its population is projected at about 6,898,000 (2024 estimate) across 78,219 km².<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Capital<\/th>\nBandundu (Kikwit is the largest city)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Population<\/th>\n6,898,000 (projected, 2024)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Area<\/th>\n78,219 km²<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Territories<\/th>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cities (villes)<\/th>\nBandundu, Kikwit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Languages<\/th>\nFrench (official); Kikongo ya Leta, Kipende, Kimbala<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Neighbours<\/th>\nKinshasa, Kwango, Kasai, Mai-Ndombe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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

Kwilu has six territories and two statutory cities. Bandundu is the administrative capital — the seat of the provincial government — while Kikwit is roughly twice its size and is the province’s commercial centre. People often assume Kikwit is the capital; it is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Territory \/ City<\/th>\nHeadquarters<\/th>\nNote<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Bandundu<\/td>\nCity (ville)<\/td>\nProvincial capital, river port<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kikwit<\/td>\nCity (ville)<\/td>\nLargest city, on the Kwilu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bagata<\/td>\nBagata<\/td>\nKwilu River, north-west<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bulungu<\/td>\nBulungu<\/td>\nDense farming country<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gungu<\/td>\nGungu<\/td>\nPende heartland, south<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Idiofa<\/td>\nIdiofa<\/td>\nLargest territory, east<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mangai<\/td>\nMangai<\/td>\nOn the Kasai River, north-east<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Masi-Manimba<\/td>\nMasi-Manimba<\/td>\nOn the RN1, west<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Other towns include Vanga and Kimbau (both mission-hospital centres), Djuma, Ipamu and Mateko in Idiofa territory, Kikongo on the Wamba, Kolokoso, and Mukedi and Kilembe in Gungu territory.<\/p>\n

Geography<\/h2>\n

Kwilu is a plateau country of grassland and gallery forest, cut north-west by its rivers. It borders Kinshasa<\/a> to the west, Kwango<\/a> to the south, Kasai<\/a> to the east and Mai-Ndombe<\/a> to the north.<\/p>\n

The Kwilu River crosses the province from south-east to north-west and gives it its name. It meets the Kasai River at Bandundu, and the Kasai in turn joins the Congo below Kwamouth. Kikwit stands on the Kwilu; Bandundu stands at the confluence. Kikwit is about 525 km from Kinshasa by road.<\/p>\n

Demographics<\/h2>\n

Density is about 88 people per km² on the 2024 projection, high for rural DR Congo. Every figure is a projection: the last census was in 1984.<\/p>\n

The Mbala, Pende, Yansi, Ngongo and Dinga are the main peoples, with the Pende concentrated around Gungu and Idiofa. Kikongo ya Leta (Kituba) is the shared trade language, Lingala is used in Bandundu, and Kipende and Kimbala are widely spoken. French is the official language.<\/p>\n

Economy and Local Life<\/h2>\n

Kwilu is one of Kinshasa’s main food baskets. Cassava, maize, groundnuts, beans and palm oil move west on the RN1 in trucks; Masi-Manimba, Bulungu and Kikwit are the collection points. Palm oil from the old Leverville-era plantations is still processed locally.<\/p>\n

Kikwit’s markets are the largest between Kinshasa and Kananga, and the city works as the wholesale hub for the whole southern half of the province. River traffic on the Kwilu and Kasai carries bulk goods and fuel to Bandundu, Mangai and Bagata. Gungu is known nationally for the Pende masks and the annual festival built around them.<\/p>\n

History<\/h2>\n

Kwilu was a district of Bandundu province until 18 July 2015, when Bandundu was split into Kwilu, Kwango<\/a> and Mai-Ndombe<\/a>. The new province combined the Kwilu district with the two independently administered cities of Bandundu and Kikwit. The area is best known for the Kwilu rebellion of 1963–65, led by Pierre Mulele, which began around Gungu and Idiofa.<\/p>\n

Getting There<\/h2>\n

The RN1 from Kinshasa runs through Masi-Manimba to Kikwit and on toward Kananga; the paved stretch to Kikwit makes it one of the more reliable long roads in the country. Bandundu is reached by a branch road and by river. Both Bandundu and Kikwit have airports with scheduled domestic flights. Boats and barges serve Bandundu, Bagata and Mangai on the Kwilu and Kasai.<\/p>\n

FAQ<\/h2>\n

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

Bandundu is the official provincial capital and seat of government. Kikwit is the largest city and the commercial centre, but it is not the capital.<\/p>\n

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

Six: Bagata, Bulungu, Gungu, Idiofa, Mangai and Masi-Manimba, plus the two cities of Bandundu and Kikwit.<\/p>\n

How far is Kikwit from Kinshasa?<\/h3>\n

About 525 km on the RN1, normally a day’s drive on the paved sections.<\/p>\n

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

Kikongo ya Leta (Kituba) is the common language, with Kipende, Kimbala and Kiyansi spoken locally and Lingala used in Bandundu. French is official.<\/p>\n

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

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

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

Roughly 6.9 million on the 2024 projection. DR Congo has not held a census since 1984, so this is an estimate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kwilu is a province in western Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the 26 provinces set up in the 2015 repartitioning. Its capital is Bandundu, its largest city is Kikwit, and its population is projected at about 6,898,000 (2024 estimate) across 78,219 km². Capital Bandundu (Kikwit is the largest city) Population 6,898,000 (projected, 2024) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Kwilu: 6 Territories, Bandundu & Kikwit, DR Congo","_seopress_titles_desc":"Kwilu province, DR Congo: capital Bandundu, largest city Kikwit, all 6 territories with headquarters towns, projected population and the Kwilu River.","_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-41","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-dr-congo","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41","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=41"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":152,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions\/152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}