Bandundu (province)
| Bandundu Province du Bandundu |
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| — Province — | |
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| Country |  Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Capital | Bandundu |
| Largest city | Kikwit |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Richard Ndambu Wolang |
| Area | |
| • Total | 295,658 km2 (114,154 sq mi) |
| Population (2010 est.) | |
| • Total | 8,062,463 |
| • Density | 27/km2 (71/sq mi) |
| National language | French |
| Districts | 4 |
| Cities | 2 |
Bandundu is one of the ten provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It borders the provinces of Kinshasa and Bas-Congo to the west, Équateur to the north, and Kasai-Occidental to the east. The provincial capital is also called Bandundu (formerly Banningville).
In 1966, Bandundu was formed by merging the three post-colonial political regions: Kwilu, Kwango, and Mai-Ndombe.
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[edit] Geography
The landscape of Bandundu province is mainly one of plateaus covered in savanna, cut by rivers and streams that are often bordered by thick forest.[1] The province is bisected by the Kasai River, which flows into the Congo River on the province's western boundary. Other major rivers are the Kwango, Kwenge, Kwilu and Lukenie.[2] Lake Mai-Ndombe is the largest lake, with this lake and the surrounding swamp forest forming the southern portion of the Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe Ramsar wetlands.[3]
[edit] Economy
Most villages are situated on the higher ground, with the villagers practicing shifting slash-and-burn agriculture in the valleys. The main crops are manioc (cassava), maize, squash, and beans. The villagers raise chickens, ducks, goats, sheep and cattle, and supplement their diet with fish and bushmeat.[1]
[edit] Divisions
The province is divided into the cities of Bandundu and Kikwit and the districts of Kwango, Kwilu, Mai-Ndombe and Plateaux. Cities and towns, with their 2010 populations, are:
Under the 2006 constitution, Bandundu was to be broken into the proposed provinces of Kwilu, Kwango and Mai-Ndombe, effective no later than 18 February 2009.[5] Kwilu province was to be formed by combining Kwilu district and the city of Kikwit, Kwango province was to be formed from Kwango district, and Mai-Ndombe province was to be formed by combining Plateaux District, Mai-Ndombe District and the city of Bandundu.[6] As of October 2010, this had not taken place.[7]
[edit] Government
Richard Ndambu Wolang is the current governor of Bandundu province.
[edit] Principal languages
Two main trade languages are spoken in the Bandundu Province: Lingala, spoken north of the Kasai River, and Kituba (also called Kikongo ya Leta) spoken south of the river. These languages have become so commonplace that many have grown up using them as their first language. There are also many local dialects such as Lele and Wongo.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Bandundu". Congo Pages. http://www.congo-pages.org/bandundu.htm. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
- ^ Blaes, X. (October 2008). "Découpage administratif de la République Démocratique du Congo". PNUD-SIG. http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/?url=http://www.rgc.cd/doctech/UNDP-GIS-25_RDC_administratif.pdf&title=D%C3%A9coupage%20administratif%20de%20la%20R%C3%A9publique%20d%C3%A9mocratique%20du%20Congo. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
- ^ "Logging concession different periods". Institute for Environmental Security. http://www.envirosecurity.org/espa/PDF/DRC_Logging_concessions_different_periods.pdf. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
- ^ a b "Bandundu: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=1263071407&men=gcis&lng=en&des=gamelan&geo=-46&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&pt=c&va=&geo=-850.
- ^ "Constitution de la République démocratique du Congo: Article 226". Wikisource. http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_de_la_R%C3%A9publique_d%C3%A9mocratique_du_Congo#Article_2.
- ^ "Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo". Statiods.com. http://www.statoids.com/ucd.html.
- ^ "The AMP conclave: Another step towards 2011 elections". Congo Siasa. http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/2010/10/amp-conclave-another-step-towards-2011.html.
- ^ http://www.ethnologue.com/show_map.asp?name=CD&seq=20
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