Endonym Atlas NAMES IN THEIR SCRIPTS
Country · CD

Democratic Republic of the Congo: native names, Kinshasa, provinces

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is République démocratique du Congo in French and Republiki ya Kongó Demokratiki in Lingala; its ISO codes are CD, COD and 180. This page gives the name in all four national languages, Kinshasa in 67 languages and varieties, and the 25 provinces and the city of Kinshasa with their capitals.

Official languagesFrench (français); national languages Kikongo (kikóóngó), Lingala (lingála), Swahili (kiswahili), Tshiluba

Checked

ISO 3166-1alpha-2 · alpha-3 · numeric
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
ratio 3:4
alpha-2
CD
alpha-3
COD
numeric
180
République démocratique du Congo French · Latin
Republiki ya Kongó Demokratiki Lingala · Latin
Repubilika ya Kongo ya Dimokalasi Kikongo · Latin
Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo Swahili · Latin
Ditunga dia Kongu wa Mungalaata Tshiluba · Latin
English
DR CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo
Capital
KinshasaKinsásáKinsasaKinshasa

ISO 3166-1, checked 28 October 2026. Flag after the Wikimedia Commons drawing.

01 · Names

Congo, Kongo, Zaire: the name in five languages

The country carries the name of the river, and the river the name of the Kingdom of Kongo, whose Kongo-speaking people European sailors met in the 16th century. Each of the four national languages builds the state name with its own word for republic: Republiki ya Kongó Demokratiki in Lingala, Repubilika ya Kongo ya Dimokalasi in Kikongo, Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo in Swahili and Ditunga dia Kongu wa Mungalaata in Tshiluba. French, the official language, has République démocratique du Congo.

The name has changed several times. At independence the state was the Republic of the Congo-Léopoldville, set apart from its neighbour across the river; the Luluabourg Constitution of 1964 made it the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In October 1971 Mobutu Sese Seko renamed it Zaire, a Portuguese adaptation of the Kikongo nzadi, river, and Laurent-Désiré Kabila restored the old name in 1997. The country name in other languages is shared with the Republic of the Congo and listed on that page.

02 · Kinshasa

Kinshasa in other languages

Kinshasa in 67 languages and varieties, grouped where the spelling is shared, with ISO 639 codes and romanisation
LanguagesISO 639NameRomanised
English, Frencheng / fraKinshasasame as written
Latvian, Lithuanian, Samogitian, Silesianlav / lit / smg / szlKinšasasame as written
German, Luxembourgish, Low Germandeu / ltz / ndsKinshasasame as written
Azerbaijani, Turkmenaze / tukKinşasa / КиншасаKinşasa
Icelandic, Kongoisl / konKinsasasame as written
BosnianbosKinšasa / Киншаса / قٖىنشاساKinšasa
EsperantoepoKinŝasosame as written
West FrisianfryKinsjasasame as written
IrishgleKinshasa / Kinṡasasame as written
Kurmanji KurdishkurKînşasasame as written
LingalalinKinsásásame as written
MoldovanmolKinshasa / КиншасаKinshasa
MalaymsaKinshasa / كينشاساKinshasa
PolishpolKinszasasame as written
PortugueseporQuinxasasame as written
TetumtetKinxasasame as written
TurkishturKinşasasame as written
UzbekuzbKinshasa / Киншаса / كىنشەسەKinshasa
Bulgarian, Mongolian, Russianbul / mon / rusКиншасаKinšasa
BashkirbakКиншаса / KinşasaKinşasa
BelarusianbelКіншаса / KinšasaKinšasa
ChuvashchvКиншасӑKinšasă
KazakhkazКиншаса / كينشاسا / KïnşasaKïnşasa
KabardiankbdКиншасэKinšasă
KyrgyzkirКиншаса / كئنشاسا / KinşasaKinşasa
OssetianossКиншасӕKinšasä
SerbiansrpКиншаса / KinšasaKinšasa
TatartatКиншаса / Kinşasa / كىنشاساKinşasa
TajiktgkКиншаса / کینشسه / KinşasaKinşasa
UkrainianukrКіншасаKinšasa
Arabicaraكنشاسا, كينشاساKinšāsā, Kīnšāsā
South Azerbaijaniazbکینشاسا / KinşasaKinşasa
Persianfasکینشازا / Kinšâzâ, کینشاسا / KinšâsâKinšâzâ, Kinšâsâ
Western PunjabipnbکنشاساKinšāsā
PashtopusکينشاساKīnšāsā
Uyghuruigكىنشاسا / Kinshasa / КиншасаKinshasa
UrduurdکنشاساKinšāsā
Hebrewhebקינשסה, קינשאסהQīnšasah, Qīnšāsah
YiddishyidקינשאַזעKinšaze
AmharicamhኪንሻሳKinšasa
GreekellΚινσάσαKinsása
ArmenianhyeԿինշասաKinšasa
GeorgiankatკინშასაKinšasa
Hindihinकिंशासा, किन्शासाKiṃšāsā, Kinšāsā
NepalinepकिनशसाKinšasā
Bengalibenকিনশাসা, কিনসাসাKinšāsā, Kinsāsā
Gujaratigujકિન્શાસાKinšāsā
Punjabipanਕਿਨਸ਼ਾਸਾKinšāsā
Kannadakanಕಿನ್ಶಾಸKinšāsa
Malayalammalകിന്ഷാസKinṣāsa
Tamiltamகின்ஷாசாKiṉšācā
TelugutelకింషాసాKiṃṣāsā
Chinesezho金沙薩/金沙萨Jīnshāsà
JapanesejpnキンシャサKinshasa
Koreankor킨샤사Kinsyasa
ThaithaกินชาซาKinčʰāsā
Khmerkhmឃីនសាសា, គីនសាសាKʰīnsāsā, Kīnsāsā

Lingala writes Kinsásá with tone marks, Kikongo and Icelandic Kinsasa; Portuguese has Quinxasa and Tetum Kinxasa, Polish Kinszasa.

03 · Provinces

The 26 provinces of the DR Congo with ISO 3166-2 codes

Since 2015 the Democratic Republic of the Congo has 25 provinces and the city of Kinshasa, which ISO 3166-2:CD lists as a city. Each row gives the French name, the name in the national language spoken in the province (Kikongo, Lingala, Swahili or Tshiluba), the ISO name and the provincial capital.

Democratic Republic of the Congo, ISO 3166-2:CD: 25 provinces and Kinshasa
ISO 3166-2FrenchNational languageEnglishAdministrative centreChange
Provinces provinces26
CD-BC Province du Kongo-CentralKizunga ya Kongu ya KatiKikongo Kongo Central MatadiMatadi 2015 Formerly Bas-Congo; renamed Kongo Central in 2015
CD-BU Province du Bas-UeleEtúká ya Wɛlɛ ya NséLingala Bas-Uélé ButaButa 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Orientale (CD-OR)
CD-EQ Province de l’ÉquateurEtúká ya EkwatéliLingala Équateur MbandakaMbándáká in Lingala 2015 Reduced in 2015; Mongala, Nord-Ubangi, Sud-Ubangi and Tshuapa split off
CD-HK Province du Haut-KatangaMkoa wa Katanga ya juuSwahili Haut-Katanga LubumbashiLubumbashi 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Katanga (CD-KA)
CD-HL Province du Haut-LomamiMkoa wa Lomami ya juuSwahili Haut-Lomami KaminaKamina 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Katanga (CD-KA)
CD-HU Province du Haut-UeleEtúká ya Wɛlɛ ya LikóloLingala Haut-Uélé IsiroIsiro 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Orientale (CD-OR)
CD-IT Province de l’IturiMkoa wa IturiSwahili Ituri BuniaBunia 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Orientale (CD-OR)
CD-KC Kasaï CentralPolovensa dia LuluaTshiluba, as Lulua Kasaï Central KanangaKananga 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Kasaï-Occidental (CD-KW) as Lulua; ISO name Kasaï Central
CD-KE Province du Kasaï-OrientalPolovensa dia Kasai OrientalTshiluba Kasaï Oriental Mbuji-MayiMbujimayi in Tshiluba 2015 Reduced to the Tshilenge area and Mbuji-Mayi in 2015; Lomami and Sankuru split off
CD-KG Province du KwangoKizunga ya KwangoKikongo Kwango KengeKenge 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Bandundu (CD-BN)
CD-KL Province du KwiluKizunga ya KwiluKikongo Kwilu BandunduBandundu 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Bandundu (CD-BN); the capital is Bandundu, the older list gave Kikwit
CD-KN Province de KinshasaEtúká ya KinsásáLingala Kinshasa (city) KinshasaKinsásá in Lingala
CD-KS Province du KasaïPolovensa dia KasaiTshiluba Kasaï TshikapaTshikapa 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Kasaï-Occidental (CD-KW); the capital is Tshikapa, the older list gave Luebo
CD-LO Province du LomamiPolovensa dia LomamiTshiluba Lomami KabindaKabinda 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Kasaï-Oriental
CD-LU Province du LualabaMkoa wa LualabaSwahili Lualaba KolweziKolwezi 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Katanga (CD-KA)
CD-MA Province du ManiemaMkoa wa ManiemaSwahili Maniema KinduKindu
CD-MN Province du Mai-NdombeEtúká ya Mai-NdombeLingala Mai-Ndombe InongoInongo 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Bandundu (CD-BN)
CD-MO Province de MongalaEtúká ya MongalaLingala Mongala LisalaLisala 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Équateur
CD-NK Province du Nord-KivuMkoa wa Kivu ya kaskaziniSwahili Nord-Kivu GomaGoma
CD-NU Province du Nord-UbangiEtúká ya Ubangi ya LikóloLingala Nord-Ubangi GbadoliteGbadolite 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Équateur
CD-SA Province de la SankuruPolovensa dia SankuruTshiluba Sankuru LusamboLusambo 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Kasaï-Oriental; the capital is Lusambo, the older list gave Lodja
CD-SK Province du Sud-KivuMkoa wa Kivu ya kusiniSwahili Sud-Kivu BukavuBukavu
CD-SU Province du Sud-UbangiEtúká ya Ubangi ya NséLingala Sud-Ubangi GemenaGemena 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Équateur
CD-TA Province du TanganyikaMkoa wa TanganyikaSwahili Tanganyika KalemieKalemie 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Katanga (CD-KA)
CD-TO Province de la TshopoMkoa wa ChopoSwahili Tshopo KisanganiKisangani 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Orientale (CD-OR)
CD-TU Province de la TshuapaEtúká ya TshuapaLingala Tshuapa BoendeBoende 2015 Province since 2015, formed from Équateur

Codes, ISO names and changes: ISO 3166-2:CD on the ISO Online Browsing Platform (update of 15 November 2016), as tabulated in Wikipedia’s ISO 3166-2:CD, checked 28 October 2026. Capitals: the provincial articles of the English Wikipedia (Kasaï Province, Kwilu Province, Sankuru), checked the same day. Names in the national languages: the 2017 edition of this list.

04 · Capital and provinces

From Léopoldville to Kinshasa, from 11 to 26 provinces

Kinshasa was called Léopoldville from 1881 to 1966, after Leopold II of Belgium; Henry Morton Stanley gave the name. On 2 May 1966 the government announced that the major cities would return to African names, and from 30 June the capital took the name of Nshasa, a village that had stood near the site. The new name travelled with few changes: Kinšasa in Latvian and Lithuanian, Киншаса in Russian, 金沙薩 in Chinese.

The provinces were reorganised in 2015. The constitution of 2006 had raised their number from ten to twenty-five plus Kinshasa, and the split took effect nine years later: Bandundu, Équateur, Kasaï-Occidental, Kasaï-Oriental, Katanga and Orientale were divided, Bas-Congo became Kongo Central, and Maniema and the two Kivus stayed as they were. ISO 3166-2 followed in November 2016, deleting four codes and adding nineteen. The names in the table use the national language of each province: etúká in Lingala, mkoa in Swahili, kizunga in Kikongo and polovensa in Tshiluba.

05 · Questions

Questions about the names and provinces of the DR Congo

What is the DR Congo called in Lingala?

Republiki ya Kongó Demokratiki. Kinshasa is Kinsásá, and a province is an etúká.

How many provinces does the DR Congo have?

Twenty-five and the city of Kinshasa, since the reform of 2015. ISO codes them from CD-BC to CD-TU.

What was Kinshasa called before 1966?

Léopoldville, the name Henry Morton Stanley gave it after Leopold II of Belgium.