Bunia

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title: "Bunia" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bunia", "populated-places-in-ituri-province", "cities-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo"] topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunia" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
nameBunia
official_nameVille de Bunia
native_name
settlement_typeProvincial capital and city
image_skylineBunia.JPG
imagesize250px
image_captionBunia from the air, looking north toward the Nyakasanza district
pushpin_mapDemocratic Republic of the Congo
pushpin_label_positionleft
pushpin_map_captionLocation in Democratic Republic of the Congo
pushpin_mapsize250
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_name[[Image:Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg
subdivision_type1Province
subdivision_name1Ituri
leader_titleMayor
leader_nameFerdinand Fimbo Lebilye
established_title
established_title2
established_title3
total_typeCity
area_total_km2576
area_urban_km253
population_as_of2015
population_footnotes
population_total900666
population_density_km2auto
population_urban_footnotes
population_urban486000
population_density_urban_km2auto
timezoneCentral Africa Time
utc_offset+2
coordinates
elevation_footnotes
elevation_m1277
blank_name_sec1Climate
blank_info_sec1Af
blank_name_sec2National language
blank_info_sec2Swahili
postal_code_type
::

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|nickname = |settlement_type = Provincial capital and city |motto = |image_skyline = Bunia.JPG |imagesize = 250px |image_caption = Bunia from the air, looking north toward the Nyakasanza district |image_dot_map = |dot_map_caption = |pushpin_map = Democratic Republic of the Congo |pushpin_label_position =left |pushpin_map_caption =Location in Democratic Republic of the Congo |pushpin_mapsize =250 |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = [[Image:Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg|25px]] Democratic Republic of the Congo |subdivision_type1 = Province |subdivision_name1 = Ituri |government_footnotes = |government_type = |leader_title = Mayor |leader_name = Ferdinand Fimbo Lebilye |established_title =
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|population_density_metro_km2 = |population_density_metro_sq_mi = |population_urban_footnotes = |population_urban = 486000 |population_density_urban_km2 = auto |population_density_urban_sq_mi = |population_blank1_title = |population_blank1 = |population_blank2_title = |population_blank2 = |population_density_blank1_km2 = |population_density_blank1_sq_mi = |timezone = Central Africa Time |utc_offset = +2 |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |coordinates = |elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = 1277 |elevation_ft = |blank_name_sec1 = Climate |blank_info_sec1 = Af |blank_name_sec2 = National language |blank_info_sec2 = Swahili |postal_code_type =
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Bunia is the capital city of Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was part of the Orientale Province until that province's dissolution.

It lies at an elevation of 1275 m on a plateau about 30 km west of Lake Albert in the Albertine Rift, and about 25 km east of the Ituri Rainforest.

The city is at the center of the Ituri conflict between the Lendu and Hema. In the Second Congo War the city and district were the scene of much fighting and many civilian deaths from this conflict, and related clashes between militias and Uganda-based forces. Consequently, the city is the base of one of the largest United Nations peace-keeping forces in Africa, and its headquarters in northeastern DRC. The area's natural resources include gold mines over which militias and foreign forces have been fighting.

Climate

Bunia has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af) with warm, humid and wet conditions prevailing year-round. Although rainfall is reduced substantially between December and February, those months still average over 130 mm of rain. For the rest of the year, rainfall is very heavy with over 230 mm for nine months of the year. |location = Bunia |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan high C = 29.4 |Feb high C = 28.9 |Mar high C = 28.9 |Apr high C = 28.3 |May high C = 27.2 |Jun high C = 26.1 |Jul high C = 25.6 |Aug high C = 26.1 |Sep high C = 27.2 |Oct high C = 27.2 |Nov high C = 27.2 |Dec high C = 28.3 |year high C = 27.5 |Jan mean C = 22.8 |Feb mean C = 22.8 |Mar mean C = 22.8 |Apr mean C = 22.8 |May mean C = 22.2 |Jun mean C = 20.8 |Jul mean C = 20.6 |Aug mean C = 20.6 |Sep mean C = 21.1 |Oct mean C = 21.4 |Nov mean C = 21.1 |Dec mean C = 22.0 |year mean C = 21.8 |Jan low C = 16.1 |Feb low C = 16.7 |Mar low C = 16.7 |Apr low C = 17.2 |May low C = 17.2 |Jun low C = 15.6 |Jul low C = 15.6 |Aug low C = 15.0 |Sep low C = 15.0 |Oct low C = 15.6 |Nov low C = 15.0 |Dec low C = 15.6 |year low C = 15.9 |Jan rain mm = 139.7 |Feb rain mm = 172.7 |Mar rain mm = 238.8 |Apr rain mm = 269.3 |May rain mm = 317.5 |Jun rain mm = 266.7 |Jul rain mm = 309.9 |Aug rain mm = 393.7 |Sep rain mm = 243.8 |Oct rain mm = 274.3 |Nov rain mm = 304.8 |Dec rain mm = 165.1 |rain colour = green |source 1 = }}

Transport

The main dirt highways connecting north-eastern DR Congo with Kisangani to the west and Butembo and Goma to the south pass through Bunia, but have fallen into disrepair and are virtually impassable, especially after the frequent rains.

Bunia is only 40 km from the Ugandan border running down Lake Albert, but there are no road connections across the Great Rift Valley to the closest Ugandan towns of Toro and Fort Portal. Instead a dirt highway going north-east reaches Arua and Gulu north of the lake. Before the war made the route impassable, this was the chief trade route between the DRC and Uganda, as well between the DRC and Juba in South Sudan, and Bunia was an important market city, for cross-border trade as well as internal trade.

The supposed route of the Lagos-Mombasa Highway passes just to the south of Bunia, emphasising its potential as a centre of trade, but that transnational highway does not exist as a viable route through the DRC.

Bunia is linked to the small port of Kasenyi on Lake Albert by a 60 km dirt track via Bogoro, which has a spectacular and dangerous 600-metre descent of the western escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. Kasenyi has a 155 m jetty from which boat transport can link with Mahagi-Port at the north end of the lake, and with Butiaba and Ntoroko on the Eastern Lake Albert Shore (Ugandan side) and Pakwach on the Albert Nile.

Given the poor state of the roads, and the total lack of railway transport, Bunia Airport is of prime importance.

Demographics

Projected to be the eighth fastest growing city on the African continent between 2020 and 2025, with a 5.63% growth.

Other features

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Over_Bunia.jpg" caption="Bunia from the air."] ::

Mount Hoyo is 35 km south-west of Bunia. The Shari River flows along the northwestern outskirts of the city. The Ituri River flows around 35 km west of Bunia. The confluence of the Shari and Ituri is about 45 km south-southwest of Bunia.

Although Bunia is about 170 km north of the Equator, the city was featured in the BBC television travel documentary Equator made in 2006, since it was one of the few places near the Equator in eastern DRC where the safety of the TV crew could be assured, by the presence of the large UN peace-keeping force.

Higher education

Bunia has a number of universities, the largest being the University of Bunia (UNIBU) followed by the private Université Shalom de Bunia (USB) which offers the largest library in Bunia (about 40,000 volumes) with an online catalog.

References

References

  1. (6 August 2019). "Ituri : les chefs de quartiers et des avenues achèvent un atelier de formation sur la gouvernance participative". ACP Média Public.
  2. "Cellule d'Analyses des Indicateurs de Développement".
  3. "Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo Population (2024) - Population Stat".
  5. (July 2021). "Congo (Dem. Rep.): largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer.
  6. [https://globalbioclimatics.org/station/za-bunia.htm ZA Bunia] globalbioclimatics.org {{dead link. (March 2024)
  7. (13 August 2021). "Ranked: The World's Fastest Growing Cities". virtual capitalist.
  8. [http://earth.google.com Google Earth] —measurements and directions checked.

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buniapopulated-places-in-ituri-provincecities-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo