Largest Cities in DR Congo 2026: Population Ranking

DR Congo's cities at a glance

Updated October 2026

Dots sized by population · Kinshasa in orange

DR Congo has 5 cities with more than a million inhabitants and 37 with more than 100,000 (city-proper figures). The largest is Kinshasa with 16,000,000 people, followed by Lubumbashi (2,221,925) and Mbuji-Mayi (2,101,332). The three largest cities together hold about 17.3% of the country's 117.5 million people.

The capital, Kinshasa, is also the largest city.

By region, the most large cities are in Bas-Congo (5), Haut-Katanga (3), Lualaba (3).

Country-level figures — live population, births and deaths, growth, density and history — are on the DR Congo population page; provinces, terrain, rivers and society maps are in the DR Congo atlas.

DR Congo cities by population

37 cities · GeoNames · city proper

#	City	Region	Population	Share of DR Congo
1	KinshasaCapital	Kinshasa	16,000,000	13.6%
2	Lubumbashi	Haut-Katanga	2,221,925	1.9%
3	Mbuji-Mayi	East Kasai	2,101,332	1.8%
4	Kisangani	Tshopo	1,602,144	1.4%
5	Kananga	Kasai-Central	1,271,704	1.1%
6	Bukavu	South Kivu	816,811	0.7%
7	Kolwezi	Lualaba	790,248	0.7%
8	Likasi	Haut-Katanga	635,768	0.5%
9	Tshikapa	Kasai	634,529	0.5%
10	Kikwit	Kwilu	509,367	0.4%
11	Mbandaka	Équateur	455,011	0.4%
12	Matadi	Bas-Congo	425,662	0.4%
13	Uvira	South Kivu	407,092	0.3%
14	Bunia	Ituri	399,282	0.3%
15	Boma	Bas-Congo	297,009	0.3%
16	Mwene	Lualaba	295,683	0.3%
17	Butembo	North Kivu	286,242	0.2%
18	Isiro	Haut-Uele	255,409	0.2%
19	Kindu	Maniema	234,651	0.2%
20	Kabinda	Lomami	219,396	0.2%
21	Gandajika	Lomami	208,051	0.2%
22	Bandundu Province	Kwilu	202,904	0.2%
23	Kamina	Haut-Lomami	200,184	0.2%
24	Gemena	Sud-Ubangi	197,159	0.2%
25	Mwene-Ditu	Lomami	189,177	0.2%
26	Kipushi	Haut-Katanga	169,635	0.1%
27	Kalemie	Tanganyika	160,961	0.1%
28	Bumba	Mongala	154,586	0.1%
29	Mbanza-Ngungu	Bas-Congo	142,773	0.1%
30	Beni	North Kivu	140,731	0.1%
31	Moanda	Bas-Congo	128,804	0.1%
32	Lisala	Mongala	117,464	0.1%
33	Ilebo	Kasai	117,245	0.1%
34	Tshilenge	Lualaba	116,073	0.1%
35	Inkisi	Bas-Congo	115,317	0.1%
36	Bukama	Haut-Lomami	105,530	0.1%
37	Bakwa	Haut-Uele	100,575	0.1%

Cities with 300,000 or more people link to their own page. The list keeps every city of 100,000+ and at least the 30 largest places of the country.

Frequently asked questions

What is the largest city in DR Congo?

Kinshasa, with about 16,000,000 inhabitants (city proper).

What is the capital of DR Congo?

Kinshasa — population 16,000,000, the largest city in the country.

How many cities in DR Congo have over one million people?

5: Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Mbuji-Mayi, Kisangani, Kananga.

Are these metropolitan-area populations?

No. They are city-proper figures (the administrative city) from GeoNames, based on the latest census or official estimate. Metropolitan areas, which include suburbs and satellite towns, are larger — often several times larger for the biggest cities.

Explore more

📊 DR Congo population & statistics 🗺️ DR Congo atlas 🌍 Largest cities in the world

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Glostats. (2026). Largest Cities in DR Congo 2026: Population Ranking. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://glostats.com/cities/dr-congo/

HTML<a href="https://glostats.com/cities/dr-congo/">Largest Cities in DR Congo 2026: Population Ranking</a> — Glostats

Figures on this page may be quoted, charted or republished as long as the page is credited with a link. Terms · Download the data as CSV · Embed a live counter.

City populations are GeoNames figures (CC BY 4.0): the latest official census or estimate for the city proper — the municipality, not the wider metropolitan area — so they can differ from "metro area" numbers you see elsewhere. Country populations are live Glostats estimates from the UN World Population Prospects. Page generated 2026-10-20. More about our data.