North Kivu

This article is about the current province. For the former district, see Nord-Kivu District.

North Kivu
Province du Nord-Kivu (French)
Mkoa wa Kivu Kaskazini (Swahili)
Province
View of the Rwenzori Mountains
View of the Rwenzori Mountains
Official seal of North Kivu
Seal
Coordinates: 0°34′S 28°42′E / 0.567°S 28.700°E / -0.567; 28.700
Country Democratic Republic of the Congo
Named forLake Kivu
Capital
and largest city		Goma
Government
 • GovernorPeter Cirimwami (military)[1]
Area
 • Total59,483 km2 (22,967 sq mi)
 • Rank18th
Population
 (2020)
 • Total8,147,400
 • Rank2nd
 • Density140/km2 (350/sq mi)
DemonymNorth Kivutian
License Plate CodeDemocratic Republic of the Congo CGO / 19
Official languageFrench
National languageSwahili
HDI (2017)0.440[2]
low
Websitewww.provincenordkivu.cd Edit this at Wikidata

North Kivu (Jimbo la Kivu Kaskazini in Swahili) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.[3] The capital city is Goma. Spanning approximately 59,483 square kilometers with a population estimate of 8,147,400 as of 2020,[4][5] it is bordered by Ituri Province to the north, Tshopo Province to the northwest, Maniema Province to the southwest, and South Kivu Province to the south, as well as Uganda and Rwanda to the east.[6]

North Kivu's administrative history traces back to the colonial era when it was initially part of the Stanley Falls District within the Congo Free State.[4] Following a series of territorial reorganizations, North Kivu became incorporated into Orientale Province, with Stanleyville (modern-day Kisangani) as the provincial capital.[4] The area gained provincial status in 1962 but was demoted to a district under Mobutu Sese Seko's regime in 1965.[4] It was formally reinstated in 1988 under Ordinance-Law No. 88/1976 and Ordinance-Law No. 88-031, which redefined the previous Kivu Province into tripartite separate provinces: North Kivu, South Kivu, and Maniema.[4] Presently, North Kivu comprises three cities—Goma, Butembo, and Beni—and six territories: Beni, Lubero, Masisi, Rutshuru, Nyiragongo, and Walikale.[4][7][8] A 2013 decree also proposed city status for Kasindi, Oïcha, and Luholu.[9][10] The province's eastern border is home to the Rwenzori Mountains, part of the Albertine Rift, which serves as a key freshwater source and supports a diverse ecosystem.[7][8] North Kivu also hosts Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to endangered mountain gorillas.

Demographically, North Kivu is ethnically diverse, predominantly inhabited by Bantu-speaking people, including the Nande, Mbuba, Hunde, Lese, Talinga, Hutu, Tutsi, and Batwa (pygmies).[11] However, the province is confronted with ongoing security challenges stemming from armed groups, resource-related conflicts, and ethnic tensions.[12][13] The Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group has been a significant source of instability. As of early 2024, M23-related violence had displaced approximately 1.7 million people, accounting for nearly 14% of North Kivu's population.[14]

North Kivu has also been the site of multiple outbreaks of Ebola virus disease (including the most recent in August 2022) and was the epicenter of the 2018–2020 Kivu Ebola outbreak, which was the second largest in history, resulting in over 3400 cases and 2200 deaths,[15] following the 2014–2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak.[16]

  1. ^ "RDC: un nouveau gouverneur militaire intérimaire au Nord-Kivu". RFI. September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  2. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  3. ^ Central Intelligence Agency (2014). "Democratic Republic of the Congo". The World Factbook. Langley, Virginia: Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Province du Nord-Kivu" (in French). Cellule d'Analyses des Indicateurs de Développement (CAID). Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  5. ^ "Congo (Dem. Rep.): Provinces, Major Cities & Towns - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". Citypopulation.de. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  6. ^ "Province du Nord-Kivu: Plan de Développement Provincial du Nord-Kivu (2019-2023)" [North Kivu Province: North Kivu Provincial Development Plan (2019-2023)] (PDF). Plan.gouv.cd (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. pp. 19–20. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Travel, Love; Trekking, Gorilla (October 23, 2020). "Gorilla Trekking". Gorilla Trekking Tours Uganda. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Kaufmann, Georg; Hinderer, Matthias; Romanov, Douchko (2016). "Shaping the Rwenzoris: balancing uplift, erosion, and glaciation" (PDF). Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany: Springer. p. 1762. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  9. ^ "Sommaire Jo N° 23" [Summary Jos of 20 June 2013]. Leganet.cd (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. June 20, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  10. ^ "Journal officiel de la République Démocratique du Congo" (PDF). Leganet.cd/ (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. June 20, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  11. ^ Mulenga-Byuma, Chantal Faida (2011). "Etude de faisabilité de création d'une unité de production de sucre dans la province du nord Kivu à Rutshuru; analyse financière et économique" [Feasibility study for the creation of a sugar production unit in the province of North Kivu in Rutshuru; financial and economic analysis] (in French). Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Free University of the Great Lakes Countries. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  12. ^ Hilditch, Simon (February 10, 2015). "Au-delà de la stabilisation: Comprendre les dynamiques de conflit dans le Nord et le Sud Kivu en République Démocratique du Congo" (PDF). International Alert (in French). Oval, London, England, United Kingdom. pp. 17–49 (15–47). Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  13. ^ ""Les oubliés du Nord-Kivu": Zoom sur la crise humanitaire dans cette province de la République Démocratique du Congo, au 1er mars 2024" ["The forgotten people of North Kivu": Focus on the humanitarian crisis in this province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as of March 1, 2024] (PDF) (in French). Geneva, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland: International Committee of the Red Cross. pp. 3–14. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  14. ^ "Democratic Republic of Congo: Conflict in North Kivu" (PDF). Geneva, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland: ACAPS. February 27, 2024. p. 1. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  15. ^ Garbern, Stephanie Chow; Perera, Shiromi M.; Mbong, Eta Ngole; Kulkarni, Shibani; Fleming, Monica K.; Ombeni, Arsene Baleke; Muhayangabo, Rigobert Fraterne; Tchoualeu, Dieula Delissaint; Kallay, Ruth; Song, Elizabeth; Powell, Jasmine; Gainey, Monique; Glenn, Bailey; Gao, Hongjiang; Mutumwa, Ruffin Mitume (May 11, 2023). "COVID-19 Vaccine Perceptions among Ebola-Affected Communities in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2021". Vaccines. 11 (5): 973. doi:10.3390/vaccines11050973. ISSN 2076-393X. PMC 10223943. PMID 37243077.
  16. ^ Doshi, Reena H.; Garbern, Stephanie C.; Kulkarni, Shibani; Perera, Shiromi M.; Fleming, Monica K.; Muhayangabo, Rigobert Fraterne; Ombeni, Arsene Balene; Tchoualeu, Dieula Delissaint; Kallay, Ruth; Song, Elizabeth; Powell, Jasmine; Gainey, Monique; Glenn, Bailey; Mutumwa, Ruffin Mitume; Hans Bateyi Mustafa, Stephane (July 25, 2023). "Ebola vaccine uptake and attitudes among healthcare workers in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2021". Frontiers in Public Health. 11: 2. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1080700. ISSN 2296-2565. PMC 10408297. PMID 37559741. S2CID 260184852.