Boma, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Boma
Ville de Boma
Clockwise from top: View of Boma, Boma cathedral, Notre Dame de l'Assomption Church
Boma is located in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Boma
Boma
Location in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Coordinates: 5°51′S 13°03′E / 5.850°S 13.050°E / -5.850; 13.050
Country DR Congo
ProvinceKongo Central
Founded16th century
City status1963
CommunesKabondo, Kalamu, Nzadi
Government
 • MayorSenghor Mbutiyibi
Area
 • Total
65 km2 (25 sq mi)
Elevation
61 m (200 ft)
Population
 (2012)[2]
 • Total
162,521
 • Density2,500/km2 (6,500/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (West Africa Time)
ClimateAw
A stamp of the Congo Free State, used in Boma around 1900
View to the north from Boma, 1889

Boma is a port town on the Congo River, some 100 kilometres (62 mi) upstream from the Atlantic Ocean, in the Kongo Central Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), adjacent to the border with Angola. It had an estimated population of 162,521 in 2012.[2]

Boma was the capital city of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo (the modern Democratic Republic of the Congo) from 1 May 1886 to 1923, when the capital was moved to Léopoldville (since renamed Kinshasa). The port handles exports of tropical timber, bananas, cocoa, and palm products.

  1. ^ "Nouveaux maires à Matadi et à Boma". Infobascongo.net (in French). 25 November 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b "World Gazetteer". Archived from the original on 2013-02-17.