The modern 2005 constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) states that the DRC consists of:
“the city of Kinshasa and 25 provinces which possess legal personality”
It was the 2015 provincial administrative reorganisation that changed the number of DRC provinces from 11 to 26. Known as the Découpage, it was passed into law by the National Assembly of the DRC on 9 January 2015.
Provinces have their administrative origins in the colonial districts of the Congo Free State (État indépendant du Congo), established in 1888 by King Leopold II of Belgium.
Decentralised Territorial Entities
Provinces are further divided into the Decentralised Territorial Entities of cities and territories.
A city is defined as any provincial capital or any agglomeration of at least 100,000 inhabitants having collective facilities and economic and social infrastructure.
The composition, organisation and functioning of Decentralized Territorial Entities and their relations with the State and the Provinces were passed into law on 07 October 2008.
Further administrative subdivisions
Cities and territories are further divided into three more administrative subdivisions. The number of administrative areas within each administrative level has varied since 2015.
| Level | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Communes | – City subdivision – Territorial capital – Agglomeration having a population of at least 20,000 inhabitants |
| 3 | Sectors and Chiefdoms | – Territory subdivision headed by a Chief |
| 4 | Quartiers, Embedded Groupings and Groupings | n/a |
| 5 | Village | n/a |
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