Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kinshasa is the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), located on the Congo River directly opposite Brazzaville—the capital of the neighboring Republic of the Congo. That face-to-face pairing helps distinguish the two Congos. Formerly called Léopoldville, Kinshasa became the colonial capital in 1923 and kept the role after independence; today it’s one of Africa’s largest cities and a major Francophone cultural hub. By contrast, Lubumbashi is the DRC’s mining center in Katanga, and Goma sits by Lake Kivu near the Nyiragongo volcano—important cities but not the seat of government. Memory tip: the larger Congo (DRC) has the longer capital name—Kinshasa—looking across the river at shorter-named Brazzaville.