Katanga Province
Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, and Haut-Katanga provinces. Between 1971 and 1997 (during the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko when Congo was known as Zaire), its official name was Shaba Province.
Katanga Province
Province du Katanga | |
|---|---|
Former province | |
Congo provinces in 1914 | |
| Coordinates: 09°S 26°E | |
| Country | DR Congo |
| Established | 1966 |
| Dissolved | 2015 |
| Capital | Lubumbashi |
| Largest city | Lubumbashi |
| Area | |
| • Total | 496,871 km2 (191,843 sq mi) |
| Population (2010 est.) | |
| • Total | 5,608,683 |
| • Density | 11/km2 (29/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Katangese |
| Official: | French |
| National: | Swahili |
| Other: | English |
Katanga's area encompassed 497,000 square kilometres (192,000 sq mi). Farming and ranching are carried out on the Katanga Plateau. The eastern part of the province is considered to be a rich mining region, which supplies cobalt, copper, tin, radium, uranium, and diamonds. The region's former capital, Lubumbashi, is the second-largest city in the Congo.