Wikipedia

Haut-Katanga Province

Haut-Katanga (French for "Upper Katanga") is the southernmost province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[2] Haut-Katanga and its neighboring provinces of Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, and Tanganyika were created in the 2015 repartitioning of the former province of Katanga.[3] It was formed from the Haut-Katanga district and the independently administered cities of Likasi and Lubumbashi. Lubumbashi, the second-largest city in the DRC,[4] is the provincial capital.[2] It had an estimated population of 5,718,800 in 2020.[5]

Haut-Katanga
Province du Haut-Katanga (French)
Mkoa wa Katanga Juu (Swahili)
Province
Official seal of Haut-Katanga
Seal
Location of Haut-Katanga
Coordinates: 11°40′S 27°29′E / 11.667°S 27.483°E / -11.667; 27.483
Country DR Congo
Established16 July 2015
Capital
and largest city		Lubumbashi
Government
 • GovernorJacques Kyabula[1]
Area
 • Total
132,425 km2 (51,130 sq mi)
 • Rank5th
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
5,718,800
 • Rank6th
 • Density43.185/km2 (111.85/sq mi)
Ethnic groups
 • NativeBalamba • Balala • Baaushi • Ababemba • Bakaonde • Baluba • Bataabwa • Babwile • Garanganze(Bayeke)
 • SettlerCongolese Banyarwanda
Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT)
License Plate CodeDemocratic Republic of the Congo CGO / 04
Official languageFrench
National languageKiswahili
Websitewww.facebook.com/hautkatangaofficiel

An early state that existed in present-day Haut-Katanga from the 17th century was the Lunda Empire. Industrial development began in the early 20th century with the colonial company Union Minière du Haut-Katanga, operating in the south of Katanga within Belgian Congo. The rise of mining caused migration from the Kasaï region, which led to ethnic and socioeconomic tensions. The industrialized south Katanga attempted to break away as an independent state in the early 1960s, just after the DRC achieved independence from Belgium, and there was a civil war with the agrarian and centralist north.[6][7] It was brought back under the government's control with a UN intervention. In the following decades the Katanga Province, and in particular the south, experienced large-scale mining and infrastructure development.[6][4] Katanga became the wealthiest region in the DRC and contributed over half of its GDP. It declined after 1980s, but recovered in the years after the Second Congo War.[8]

The economy of Haut-Katanga is heavily dependent on mining, while other sectors such as tourism and agriculture are less developed.[9] Along with Lualaba, it is in the Copperbelt of Central Africa,[10] and the two provinces are the DRC's southern economic center.[4] The production of copper and cobalt in Haut-Katanga is the foundation of the formal economy of the DRC.[11] One of the largest copper deposits in the world is outside of Lubumbashi,[4] and there are several industrial-scale mines in the province operated by DRC state-owned, Chinese, or multinational companies.[9] Most miners in Haut-Katanga engage in artisanal mining, taking their production to trading posts in Lubumbashi or Likasi.[11] Despite having over 2.7 million hectares of arable land, Haut-Katanga depends on food imports, because much of the land and the work force is used by the mining industry.[12] The industry has also caused human rights and environmental problems.[9]

Geography

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Map of Haut-Katanga showing tree-cover loss years, with forest remaining since 2000 in green and loss years shaded yellow through purple.
Tree-cover loss year in Haut-Katanga, 2001-2024, from the Global Forest Change dataset.

Haut-Katanga is the southernmost province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is part of the historic region and former province of Katanga.[2] It borders Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, and Tanganyika to the north and west, which were all created along with Haut-Katanga in the 2015 repartitioning of the Katanga Province. To the south and east, Haut-Katanga is on the DRC's international border with Zambia. The southern part of the province has a monsoon-influenced humid tropical climate, while the northern part has a tropical savanna climate.[13]

Administrative divisions

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Administrative map of Haut-Katanga

Haut-Katanga is divided into six territories and four cities.[14][15]

Territories:

Cities:

Governors of the Haut-Katanga province

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Martin Kazembe Shula has been acting as interim governor since July 2025, following the prolonged unavailability of Jacques Kyabula, who was retained in Kinshasa for several months.[22] His interim status continues, as Kyabula’s resignation on 21 May 2026 did not automatically lead to Shula’s confirmation; only an election can do so.[18][19][20][21]

Approximate correspondence between historical and current province

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Approximate correspondence between historical and current province
Belgian Congo Republic of the Congo Zaire Democratic Republic of the Congo
1908191919321947196319661971198819972015
22 districts4 provinces6 provinces6 provinces21 provinces + capital8 provinces + capital8 provinces + capital11 provinces11 provinces26 provinces
Tanganika-Moero Katanga Élisabethville Katanga Nord-Katanga Katanga Shaba Katanga Tanganyika
Haut-Lomami
Lulua Lualaba Lualaba
Haut-Luapula Katanga-Oriental Haut-Katanga
Lomami Lusambo Kasaï Lomami Kasaï-Oriental Lomami

References

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  1. ↑ Lukusa, Patient (11 July 2024). "Haut-Katanga : Le gouvernement provincial investi". 7sur7.cd (in French). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Finn, Brandon Marc; Cobbinah, Patrick Brandful (January 2025). "Lubumbashi and cobalt: African city at the crossroads of global decarbonization and neocolonialism". Cities. 156. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  3. ↑ "Le Katanga officiellement démembré en quatre nouvelles provinces". Radio Okapi (in French). 16 July 2015. Archived from the original on 19 July 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Democratic Republic of the Congo - Market Overview". International Trade Administration. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  5. ↑ "Congo (Dem. Rep.): Provinces, Major Cities & Towns - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Archived from the original on 2022-06-26. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  6. 1 2 Gobbers, Erik (2016). "Katanga: Congo's Perpetual Trouble Spot". Egmont Institute. Retrieved 12 December 2025 – via JSTOR.
  7. ↑ Gobbers, Erik (2016). "Ethnic Associations in Katanga Province, the Democratic Republic of Congo: Multi-Tier System, Shifting Identities and the Relativity of Autochthony". Journal of Modern African Studies. 54 (2): 216–217. Retrieved 12 December 2025 – via JSTOR.
  8. ↑ "The DRC's Katanga Province Return of the Copper King". African.Business. 28 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 Shemas, Sophie (25 June 2020). "Lualaba and Haut-Katanga, DRC". www.earthworks.org. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  10. ↑ "Mining Analyst visit to the DRC" (PDF). Metorex. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Katanga: The Centre of Gravity in Kabila's Congo". Katanga: Tensions in DRC's Mineral Heartland. International Crisis Group. 2016. pp. 7, 9. Retrieved 11 December 2025 – via JSTOR.
  12. ↑ "Revolutionizing agriculture in Haut Katanga, DRC". www.iita.org. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Congo, Dem. Rep. - Country Overview". Climate Change Knowledge Portal. World Bank. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  14. ↑ "Haut-Katanga : Kipushi devient officiellement la 4e ville de la province, Justin Tambwe nommé maire intérimaire". Actualite.cd (in French). 2026-05-28. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
  15. 1 2 mediacongo.net. "Actualité | Haut-Katanga : le gouvernement érige officiellement la cité de Kipushi au rang de « ville » | mediacongo.net". www.mediacongo.net (in French). Retrieved 2026-07-10.
  16. ↑ "Haut-Katanga : le gouverneur Kazembe déchu". Actualite.cd (in French). 2017-04-18. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
  17. ↑ "Célestin Pande Kapopo proclamé gouverneur du Haut-Katanga". Radio Okapi (in French). 2017-09-09. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
  18. 1 2 "Démission de Jacques Kyabula Katwe, gouverneur du Haut-Katanga". Radio Okapi (in French). 2026-05-21. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
  19. 1 2 redaction (2026-05-22). "Haut-Katanga: Jacques Kyabula démissionne de ses fonctions de Gouverneur et affirme rester disposé à servir la République sous toute autre forme ( Lettre de démission)". Rtnc (in French). Retrieved 2026-07-10.
  20. 1 2 mediacongo.net. "Actualité | Démission de Jacques Kyabula Katwe, gouverneur du Haut-Katanga | mediacongo.net". www.mediacongo.net (in French). Retrieved 2026-07-10.
  21. 1 2 "Haut-Katanga : Jacques Kyabula Katwe démissionne de son poste de gouverneur". Actualite.cd (in French). 2026-05-21. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
  22. 1 2 "Haut-Katanga : Martin Kazembe notifié pour assurer l'intérim du gouverneur Jacques Kyabula". 7sur7.cd (in French). 2025-07-16. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
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