Country Profiles » Democratic Republic of the Congo [Kinshasa]

Country Profile: Democratic Republic of the Congo [Kinshasa]

Country Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Uganda 1:250,000 Scale Topographic MapsDepartment of Lands and Surveys, Uganda1:250,0001959 – 197218
Democratic Republic of the Congo 1:50,000 Scale Topographic Maps (RNLAGA)Dienst Geografie Koninklijke Landmacht1:50,0002006 – 200712
Democratic Republic of the Congo 1:200,000 Scale Topographic Maps (IGC)Institut Geographique du Congo1:200,00047
Democratic Republic of the Congo City PlansInstitut Geographique du ZaireVaries1972 – 19721
Democratic Republic of the Congo 1:200,000 Scale Topographic Maps (IGM)Institut Geographique Militaire / Militair Geographisch Instituut (Belgium)1:200,0001926 – 196035
Democratic Republic of the Congo 1:50,000 Scale Topographic Maps (IGN)Institut Geographique National1:50,0001950 – 1970106
Angola 1:250,000 Scale Topographic Maps (Current Series)Instituto De Geodesia E Cartografia De Angola1:250,0001989 – 199032

Nautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Bathymetric Charts of ZambiaSurvey Department (Zambia)Varies1974 – 19743

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Tanzania 1:2,000,000 Scale Geological MapBureau de Recherches Geologiques et Minieres1:2,000,0002004 – 20041
Gabon 1:1,000,000 Scale Geological MapCouncil for Geoscience, Geological Survey of South Africa1:1,000,0002001 – 20011
Uganda 1:500,000 Scale Geological MapsDepartment of Geological Survey and Mines1:500,0002009 – 20092
Uganda 1:250,000 Scale Bouguer Gravity Geological MapsDepartment of Lands and Surveys, Uganda1:250,0001961 – 196410
Uganda 1:250,000 Scale Geological MapsDepartment of Lands and Surveys, Uganda1:250,0001961 – 196214
Democratic Republic of the Congo 1:5,000,000 Scale Geological MapInstitut Geographique Militaire / Militair Geographisch Instituut (Belgium)1:5,000,0001950 – 19501
Angola 1:1,000,000 Scale Geological Map (6 Sheets)Instituto Nacional de Geologia de Angola1:1,000,0001988 – 19881
Angola 1:1,000,000 Scale Mineral Resources Maps (4 sheets)Instituto Nacional de Geologia de Angola1:1,000,0001998 – 19981

Thematic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
The World 1:30,000,000 Scale Topographic Map Series 1145 (NGA)DMA1:30,000,0002
Zambia Political Administration MapsSD1:750,0001990 – 19914

Global Census Archive: GIS Census Data

East View Geospatial has an ongoing effort to add GIS census data to our Global Census Archive program. Please contact us for the status and availability of Democratic Republic of the Congo [Kinshasa] census resources.


Global Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military City PlansVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)Varies1944 – 20033017
Soviet Military 1:100,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:100,0001947 – 199924897
Soviet Military 1:200,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:200,0001949 – 200917799
Soviet Military 1:500,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:500,0001953 – 19983093

Nautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
NGA Nautical Charts POD Certified (All Scales)National Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyVaries1943 – 20134517

Aeronautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Joint Operations Graphic (JOG) 1:250,000 – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:250,0001958 – 20074204
Tactical Pilotage Chart (TPC) 1:500,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:500,0001967 – 2006598
Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) 1:1,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:1,000,0001969 – 2001243
Jet Navigation Chart (JNC) 1:2,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:2,000,0001971 – 1999117
Global Navigation and Planning Chart (GNC) 1:5,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:5,000,0001981 – 199927

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military 1:1,000,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:1,000,0001948 – 19941089

Note: East View Geospatial is continuously sourcing new resources that may not yet be listed in Global Explorer. Please contact us if you have geodata needs beyond what is listed above and we will be happy to discuss available off-the-shelf and custom solutions.


Historical Country Mapping Information

Jump to: Topographic | Geological/Scientific | Soil | Atlas | Tourist/Reference

Topographic

The former Belgian Congo became independent in 1960, and in 1971 changed its name to the Republic of Zaïre. Following the civil war of 1996, a further name change has taken place, and it is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, capital Kinshasa, not to be confused with its neighbour to the west, the Congo Republic (Congo Brazzaville).

The mapping base was established by the Belgian colonial authorities, and much mapping was undertaken prior to independence, initially in Katanga (now Shaba) province, by the Comité Spécial du Katanga (CSK), founded in 1919. A program of mapping the whole country was initiated after World War II, when, in 1949, an Institut Géographique du Congo Belge was established in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa). With independence, this became the Institut Géographique du Zaïre (IGZa), a name which will presumably change again with the re-adoption of the name Congo. Extensive aerial photography was obtained during the 1950s and series of 1:200,000 scale one-degree sheets, 1:100,000 scale quarter-degree sheets, and 1:50,000 scale sheets covering one-sixteenth-degree were initiated. This mapping took various forms, some printed in one, two or four colours and others issued as dye-lines. A number of 1:50,000 scale uncontrolled photomosaics were also produced, and some 1:200,000 scale regional maps (Carte de territoire). Most sheets lacked contours. Early sheets were on a Polyconic projection, but more recent mapping adopted the UTM projection, Clarke 1880 ellipsoid. In the 1950s, large scale, contoured maps of the capital and other major towns were also produced. After independence there was a hiatus in mapping until the late 1960s, and then in 1971 a new program of 1:50,000 scale mapping began, with the intention of achieving complete cover of the country at this scale. About one-third of the country has been covered, but most sheets are planimetric dye-lines, and all work on the 1:50,000 map ceased in 1975. 1:200,000 scale sheets were still being produced in the late 1980s. No funding has been forthcoming for much needed new aerial photography, and with the recent political unrest further progress has not been possible. The post-colonial topographic mapping is all restricted, and the only detailed mapping available is the earlier mapping of Katanga by CSK, which is available from the Musée Royale de l’Afrique Centrale (MRAC), Tervuren, and some more extensive pre-colonial cover.

Soviet military topographic mapping of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa) exists at the following scales: 1:1,000,000 (19 sheets, complete coverage, published 1953-1987); 1:500,000 (50 sheets, complete coverage, published 1962-1987); 1:200,000 (95 sheets, partial coverage, published 1979-1985) and city (1:10,000 to 1:25,000) topographic maps of Bangui and Lubumbashi published in 1981. These products are available in print, digital raster and digital vector GIS formats from East View Geospatial.

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Geological/Scientific

Geological mapping is the responsibility of the Centre de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (CRGM), but prior to independence, mapping was undertaken by MRAC and by CSK. After independence, CRGM entered into collaboration with the French Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières. Some 20 1:200,000 scale sheets have been published, but there have been no new maps in the 1990s. Available mapping (from MRAC) includes pre-1960 1:200,000 scale geological sheets of parts of Shaba province produced by CSK, and 1:200,000 and 1:50,000 sheets of Bas-Zaïre produced by MRAC. Small scale, two-sheet geological and mineral deposit maps covering the whole country are also available, with accompanying texts.

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Soil

Soil, vegetation and land use mapping was undertaken in the 1960s and 1970s by the Institut pour l’Étude Agronomique du Congo (INEAC).

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Atlas

A national atlas was initiated in 1976 by the Belgian Académie Royale des Sciences d’Outre Mer, but only one sheet, on surface communications, has been published. Other atlases include an Atlas climatique du bassin congolais in four volumes, published in Brussels by INEAC in 1971-77, and an Atlas de l’agriculture des régions du Bandundu, du Bas-Zaïre et de Kinshasa published in 1991 by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.

A small thematic atlas was published by Éditions du Jaguar in 1978. The Atlas du Katanga was published by the Comité Spécial du Katanga prior to 1960.

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Tourist/Reference

A new general map, with small thematic inset maps of was published in 1988 by the Belgian Institut Géographique National (IGNB) in collaboration with IGZa, and until recently this remained the best available map of the country, but new small-scale maps were issued in 1997 by a Kinshasa company, Médiaspaul, and in 1998 by Cartographia, Budapest. In 1989, a 1:10,000/1:50,000 scale tourist map of Kinshasa was produced in cooperation with a commercial company called Kin-Flash. A new 1:15,000 scale street map, published by Kinart and Media Aquaterra, is available from OMNI.

The Bureau d’Études d’Amenagement Urbains (BEAU), Kinshasa, was formerly an important producer of urban mapping, including a thematic atlas of Kinshasa, produced in collaboration with the French Institut Géographique National (IGN). The organization was looted in the disturbances in Kinshasa in 1991 and 1993.

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