Kinshasa's population has increased dramatically since the 1940s. Totaling only 400,000 in 1960, the inhabitants of the urbanized area centered on the city were estimated to number 4.4 million in 1996, constituting one-tenth of the DRC's total population. The increase in city residents is due to a number of factors, including a high birth rate, a tendency for investment and government spending to concentrate in the capital, and Kinshasa's reputation as a place of wealth, power, and culture.
The inhabitants of Kinshasa are known as Kinois (plural, Kinoise). Located in the area traditionally dominated by the Bakongo ethnic group, the city has been the destination of hundreds of thousands of migrants from other parts of the DRC; often these migrants are fleeing turmoil. Kikongo, the language of the Bakongo, has largely been supplanted by Lingala, which serves as a common language for the city's diverse population. Kinshasa is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop. It is also the headquarters of the Baptist Church and of Kimbanguism, a Congolese sect that fuses Christianity and traditional African religions and is particularly strong in the region.
Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Kinshasa Information info
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