The Angola–Democratic Republic of the Congo border is 2,646 km (1,644 mi) in length and consists of two non-contiguous sections: a 225 km (140 mi) section along the border with

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

's province of Cabinda, running from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to the tripoint with the

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

, and a much longer 2,421 km (1,504 mi) section running from the Atlantic to the tripoint with

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

Description

Northern (Cabinda) section

The border starts in the west on the Atlantic coast, proceeding to the north-east by an irregular and then a straight line, before turning to the north where it then proceeds in a straight line up to Luali river. The border then follows this river north to the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

with the Chiloango, then following the latter as it flows to the north-east up the tripoint with the Republic of Congo.

Southern section

The border starts in the west on the Atlantic Coast at the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

of the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

, following this river eastwards for a period before leaving it just north of the Angolan town of Noqui. It then proceeds in a roughly straight line eastwards, occasionally utilising rivers such as the Mpozo, Lufo and Luvemba, before reaching the Lubishi river, following this briefly to its confluence with the

Kwango Kwango is a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It's one of the 21 provinces created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kwango, Kwilu, and Mai-Ndombe provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Bandundu province. Kwa ...

. It then follows the Kwango as it flows to the south, before turning east at the confluence with the Utunguila. The border then proceed eastwards, utilising a number of rivers (notably the Lola, Wamba, Kombo, Lucaia, Kwenge, Luita, Congolo, Lovua and the Chicapa) and straight overland lines (including the 7th parallel south and 8th parallel south), before reaching the

Kasai River The Kasai River ( ; called Cassai in Angola) is a tributary (left side) of the Congo River, located in Central Africa. The river begins in central Angola and flows to the east until it reaches the border between Angola and the Democratic Republi ...

. The border then follows this river, and then the Luao, as they flow from the south, before turning east and proceeding overland via various irregular lines to the Zambian tripoint.

History

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

had begun exploring the coast of modern Angola in the 1480s, and over the following century established a number of coastal settlements, gradually expanding into the interior at the expense of the native kingdoms of

Kongo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

Matamba The Kingdom of Matamba (1631–1744) was an African state located in what is now the Baixa de Cassange region of Malanje Province of modern-day Angola. It was a powerful kingdom that long resisted Portuguese colonisation attempts and was only in ...

Ndongo The Kingdom of Ndongo, formerly known as Angola or Dongo, was an early-modern African state located in what is now Angola. The Kingdom of Ndongo is first recorded in the sixteenth century. It was one of multiple vassal states to Kongo, though ...

and others. Portugal had also established a tentative presence in what is now Cabinda in 1783, a claim recognised in an Anglo-Portuguese treaty of 22 January 1815. In the 1880s numerous European powers sought to create colonies in the continent a process known as the

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonisation of Africa, colonization of most of Africa by seven Western Europe, Western European powers during a ...

; this culminated in the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence ...

of 1884, in which the European nations concerned agreed upon their respective territorial claims and the rules of engagements going forward. At this time the area of the modern DRC was controlled by the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

, held under the personal rule of Belgian King Leopold II, who had sponsored various explorations in the region under the guise of humanitarianism. As a result of the Conference Portugal's claim to Cabinda was recognised, at the expense of Portugal's giving up a short section of coast to the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

, thereby cutting off Cabinda from mainland Angola. A border between Congo and Cabinda and Congo and Angola as far west as the Kwanga was also agreed upon. A large number of boundary agreements were signed in the following decades: on 25 May 1891 a treaty was signed which detailed the Cabinda and Atlantic-Kwango sections of the border in further detail. A treaty signed shortly thereafter delimited in a rough form the rest of the border, stating that a more precise line was to be drawn later by a boundary commission. The commission surveyed the middle Kwango-Kasai section in 1893, which was approved by the two governments the following year. The Noqui-Kwango section of the border was demarcated in 1901–02, being finally approved 5 July 1915. The Cabinda-Congo boundary was surveyed in more detail in 1900, being finalised at its current position on 5 July 1913. A final demarcation was later approved on 14 March 1925. The Kasai-Zambia tripoint section was finalised, following a disagreement over which rivers to utilise, in April–July 1910, being demarcated on the ground in 1914–15. The middle Kwango-Kasai section was demarcated on the ground in 1923. Finally, further adjustments were made in the regions of

Matadi Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Kongo Central province, adjacent to the border with Angola. It had a population of 245,862 (2004). Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River, ...

and

Dilolo Dilolo is a town in Lualaba province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies within five miles of the eastern bank of the Luao River, the DRC-Angolan border, and the Angolan town of Luau, at an altitude of 3510 ft (1069 m). Transport ...

in July 1927. Attempts to adjust the Congo river section in 1935 were made but never enacted. Administration of the Congo Free State was taken over by the Belgian government in 1908 following controversies engendered by the atrocities committed by Leopold's forces there. The Belgian Congo gained independence (as the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

, later renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo) on 30 June 1960. Portugal however firmly resisted the wave of decolonisation in Africa, making Angola a legal part of Portugal in 1951. Angolan nationalists began

fighting Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

for independence in 1961, achieved in 1975 following a

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

in Portugal. Cabinda meanwhile sought to establish a separate state, kick-starting the

Cabinda War The Cabinda War is an ongoing separatist insurgency, waged by the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) against the government of Angola. FLEC aims at the restoration of the self-proclaimed Republic of Cabinda, located within ...

. The southern border section has also been unstable for much of this period also, due to civil wars in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and Congo, resulting in numerous cross-border incursions and refugee flows.

Settlements near the border

Angola

* Tando Zinze * Chimbuande *

Soyo Soyo (formerly known as ''Santo António do Zaire'') is a city, with a population of 200,920 (2014 census), and a municipality, with a population of 227,175 (2014 census), located in the province of Zaire in Angola, at the mouth of the Congo riv ...

* Sumba * Sacandica * Cuango * Swa-Kibula * Caingo * Sangoia *

Chiluage Chiluage is a town and commune of Angola, located in the province of Lunda Sul, adjacent to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. See also * Communes of Angola The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are administrative units ...

* Cubacatanda * Tambue * Luao * Cafungo *

Caianda Caianda is a town in eastern Moxico province, which is in the northeastern part of Angola, adjacent to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Location The town in a few kilometers from Zambia. It is located on the road between Lue ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo

* Luali *

Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

* Boma *

* Kikuati *

Kasongo Lunda Kasongo Lunda is a town and seat of Kasongo Lunda Territory, in the Kwango Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town lies near the border with Angola to the east, here defined by the Kwango River The Cuango or Kwango ( pt, Rio C ...

* Sefu * Nzadi-Muari * Tembo * Kitamga * Makongo * Bandangongo * Mwenilunga * Sandambi *

Cangombe Cangombe is a town and commune of Angola, located in the province of Moxico, adjacent to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. See also * Communes of Angola The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are administrative units i ...

* Sambembe * Safuji *

* Dumba * Mukosai

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Angola-Democratic Republic of the Congo border Borders of Angola Borders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo International borders