North Kivu

North Kivu (Swahili: Jimbo la Kivu Kaskazini) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital city is Goma. Spanning approximately 59,483 square kilometers with a population estimate of 12,024,400 as of 2025, it is bordered by Ituri Province to the north, Tshopo Province to the northwest, Maniema Province to the southwest, and South Kivu Province to the south, as well as Uganda and Rwanda to the east.

North Kivu's administrative history traces back to the colonial era when it was initially part of the Stanley Falls District within the Congo Free State. Following a series of territorial reorganizations, North Kivu became incorporated into Orientale Province, with Stanleyville (modern-day Kisangani) as the provincial capital. The area gained provincial status in 1962 but was demoted to a district under Mobutu Sese Seko's regime in 1965. It was formally reinstated in 1988 under Ordinance-Law No. 88/1976 and Ordinance-Law No. 88-031, which redefined the previous Kivu Province into tripartite separate provinces: North Kivu, South Kivu, and Maniema. Presently, North Kivu comprises three cities—Goma, Butembo, and Beni—and six territories: Beni, Lubero, Masisi, Rutshuru, Nyiragongo, and Walikale. A 2013 decree also proposed city status for Kasindi, Oicha, and Luholu. The province's eastern border is home to the Rwenzori Mountains, part of the Albertine Rift, which serves as a key freshwater source and supports a diverse ecosystem. North Kivu also hosts Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to endangered mountain gorillas.

The province is confronted with ongoing security challenges stemming from armed groups, resource-related conflicts, and ethnic tensions. The Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group has been a significant source of instability. As of early 2024, M23-related violence had displaced approximately 1.7 million people, accounting for nearly 14% of North Kivu's population.

North Kivu has also been the site of multiple outbreaks of the Ebola virus disease (including the most recent in August 2022) and was the center of the 2018–2020 Kivu Ebola outbreak, which was the second largest in history, resulting in over 3400 cases and 2200 deaths, following the 2014–2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak.