Isiro

---

title: "Isiro" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["isiro", "populated-places-in-haut-uélé", "cities-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo"] description: "Town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isiro" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ::

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

Field	Value
name	Isiro
official_name	Ville d'Isiro
native_name
settlement_type	Provincial capital and city
image_skyline	[[File:Isiro.jpg
image_caption	Isiro, circa 1942
dot_x
pushpin_map	Democratic Republic of the Congo
pushpin_label_position	bottom
pushpin_map_caption	Location in Democratic Republic of the Congo
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	[[File:Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg
subdivision_type1	Province
subdivision_name1	Haut-Uele
parts_type	Communes
parts_style	para
p1	Kupa
p2	Mambaya
p3	Mendambo
leader_title	Mayor
leader_name	Guillaume Lola
leader_title1
established_title	City status
established_title2
established_title3
area_total_km2
area_land_km2
population_as_of	2012
population_total	182900
population_density_km2	auto
timezone	CAT
utc_offset	+2
coordinates
elevation_footnotes
elevation_m	730
blank_name_sec1	Climate
blank_info_sec1	Af
blank_name_sec2	National language
blank_info_sec2	French, Lingala and Pa-Zande
postal_code_type
::

|name = Isiro |official_name = Ville d'Isiro |other_name = |native_name =
|nickname = |settlement_type = Provincial capital and city |motto = |image_skyline = [[File:Isiro.jpg|250px]] |imagesize = |image_caption = Isiro, circa 1942 |image_flag = |flag_size = |image_seal = |seal_size = |image_shield = |shield_size = |image_blank_emblem = |blank_emblem_type = |blank_emblem_size = |image_map = |mapsize = |map_caption = |image_map1 = |mapsize1 = |map_caption1 = |image_dot_map = |dot_mapsize = |dot_map_caption = |dot_x = |dot_y = |pushpin_map = Democratic Republic of the Congo |pushpin_label_position =bottom |pushpin_map_caption =Location in Democratic Republic of the Congo |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = [[File:Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg|25px]] DR Congo |subdivision_type1 = Province |subdivision_name1 = Haut-Uele |subdivision_type2 = |subdivision_name2 = |subdivision_type3 = |subdivision_name3 = |subdivision_type4 = |subdivision_name4 = |parts_type = Communes |parts_style = para |p1 = Kupa |p2 = Mambaya |p3 = Mendambo |government_footnotes = |government_type = |leader_title = Mayor |leader_name = Guillaume Lola |leader_title1 =
|leader_name1 = |leader_title2 = |leader_name2 = |leader_title3 = |leader_name3 = |leader_title4 = |leader_name4 = |established_title = City status |established_date = |established_title2 =
|established_date2 = |established_title3 =
|established_date3 = |area_magnitude = |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |area_total_sq_mi = |area_land_sq_mi = |area_water_sq_mi = |area_water_percent = |area_urban_km2 = |area_urban_sq_mi = |area_metro_km2 = |area_metro_sq_mi = |area_blank1_title = |area_blank1_km2 = |area_blank1_sq_mi = |population_as_of =2012 |population_footnotes = |population_note = |population_total =182900 |population_density_km2 =auto |population_density_sq_mi = |population_metro = |population_density_metro_km2 = |population_density_metro_sq_mi = |population_urban = |population_density_urban_km2 = |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 = CAT |utc_offset = +2 |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |coordinates = |elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = 730 |elevation_ft = |blank_name_sec1 = Climate |blank_info_sec1 = Af |blank_name_sec2 = National language |blank_info_sec2 = French, Lingala and Pa-Zande |postal_code_type =
|postal_code = |area_code = |blank_name = |blank_info = |blank1_name = |blank1_info = |website = |footnotes =

Isiro () is the capital of Haut-Uele Province in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies between the equatorial forest and the savannah and its main resource is coffee. Isiro's population is estimated at approximately 182,000. Most people speak Pa-Zande (Zande language), Lingala and Swahili.

History

Isiro was named Paulis after colonel, later diplomat, when it was part of the Belgian Congo. The city was developed in 1934 and reached its peak in 1957. In the troubled days of Congo's independence and its aftermath, operation Black Dragoon brought fighting between Belgian paratroopers and local Simba militias.

In 1998, Isiro became the home of a newly created Dominican-operated university called Université de l'Uélé. It is the third city in Orientale province (after Kisangani and Bunia) to welcome a university.

In 2015 Isiro became the capital of the Province of Haut-Uele, under governor Jean-Pierre Lola Kisanga 2015-2019.

In 2024 Isiro's population rose to over 400.000.

Transport

Isiro is served by Matari Airport, a national airport with flights to Kinshasa, the capital. The isolated narrow gauge Vicicongo line to the river port of Bumba on the Congo River is not currently operational. The dirt roads to and from Isiro allow commercial trade with Uganda and South Sudan, in principle, but may be impassable in the wet season.

People

• Marie Daulne (born 1964), singer

• (politician) Governor of Haut-Uele 2024-

References

References

1. (1 February 2023). "Haut-Uele : le nouveau maire d'Isiro prend officiellement ses fonctions".
3. (2024-03-04). "Updates (Maps / Infographics) {{!}} ReliefWeb".
4. (2007-09-28). "Informations générales".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::