Tshikapa

Tshikapa is the capital city of Kasai Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located about 40 miles (64 km) north of the Angolan border and 120 miles (190 km) west of province capital Kananga at the confluence of the Tshikapa and Kasai rivers. According to records published by the Utrecht University library, the population of the city has grown from 38,900 in 1970 to 180,900 in 1994. However, the two recent Congo wars have caused great flux in population rendering current figures unreliable. Tshikapa has been a site of diamond mining since its founding in the early 20th century. The city was founded by Forminière, an American/Belgian mining consortium which discovered diamonds near this location in the early 1900s.[2] Outside post-war Iraq, Tshikapa has the densest source of satellite phone communications in the world due to the exploitation of the diamond mines.

Tshikapa
Provincial capital and city
Ville de Tshikapa
Tshikapa
Location in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Coordinates: 6°25′S 20°48′E
Country Democratic Republic of the Congo
ProvinceKasai
City status2003
Named forTshikapa River
CommunesDibumba I, Dibumba II, Kanzala, Mabondo, Mbumba
Government
 • MayorLaurent Kambulu Mputu
Elevation
485 m (1,591 ft)
Population
 (2012)
 • Total587,548
Time zoneUTC+2 (Central Africa Time)
ClimateAw

The city is served by the Tshikapa Airport. The diamond industry is the main form of income for the city. Despite this, it is poor and none of the roads are paved.[3]

References
  1. Kabongo, Sylvain. "Kasaï : un militaire ivre ouvre le feu à des funérailles à Tshikapa". mediacongo.net (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  2. Marcosson, Isaac F. (1921). An African Adventure. Curtis Publishing Company. p. 246.
  3. Baker, Aryn (7 September 2015). "Blood Diamonds". Time. Retrieved 13 September 2015.

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