Pointe-Noire

Introduction

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French.  (February 2026) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must follow the LLM translation guideline, revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at [[:fr:Pointe-Noire (république du Congo)]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|fr|Pointe-Noire (république du Congo)}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation. This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (February 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message) City, department and commune of the Republic of the Congo This article is about the city in the Republic of the Congo. For the village in Guadeloupe, see Pointe-Noire, Guadeloupe. For the port in Canada, see Pointe-Noire, Quebec. Department in Pointe-Noire Department, Republic of the CongoPointe-Noire Njinji (Kongo)Department FlagCoat of armsMotto: Labor improbus omnia vincitInteractive map of Pointe-NoirePointe-NoireLocation in the Republic of the CongoCoordinates: 04°47′51″S 11°51′1″E / 4.79750°S 11.85028°E / -4.79750; 11.85028Country Republic of the CongoDepartmentPointe-Noire DepartmentCommunePointe-NoireFounded1883Government • MayorJean-François Kando (PCT)Area • Total2,134 km2 (824 sq mi)Elevation14 m (46 ft)Population (2023 census) • Total1,420,612 • Density665.7/km2 (1,724/sq mi) • Official languageFrench • National languageKituba languageEthnicities: mostly Bakongo, especially BaviliArea code242HDI (2023)0.692 · medium · 2nd of 12 Pointe-Noire (French pronunciation: [pwɛ̃t.nwaʁ]; Kongo: Njinji, French: Ndjindji with the letter d following French spelling standards) is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo (behind the capital of Brazzaville), with a population of 1,420,612 inhabitants in 2023. It is also an autonomous department and a commune since the 2002 constitution; before this date it was the capital of the Kouilou region (now a separate department). It is situated on a headland between Pointe-Noire Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Pointe-Noire is the main economic centre of the country. It is located near the border with Angola.

The coat of arms

[edit] The coat of arms of the city of Pointe-Noire is: "Gold at the point of sand accompanied by two silver oars, the handle gules, laid in chevron poured, the tip and oars moving from a sea of azure wavy three streams of silver"

Administration

[edit] See also: List of mayors of Pointe-Noire (Republic of the Congo) Pointe-Noire is a commune divided into six urban boroughs (arrondissements): Lumumba, the oldest area, administrative and commercial centre Mvoumvou Tié-Tié Loandjili Mongo-Mpoukou Ngoyo Pointe-Noire is also a department which includes the area of the commune and, since 2011, the district of Tchiamba-Nzassi, formerly part of the Kouilou department.

History

[edit] This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "Pointe-Noire" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Prior to European exploration, the place now called Pointe-Noire was a region around the fishing village of Ndji-Ndji. At the time, it was under the dominion of the Kingdom of Loango, being around 20 kilometres south of their capital Buali. The name Pointe-Noire ("Black Point") originated with Portuguese navigators who saw an outcropping of black rocks on the headland in 1484 near Ndji-Ndji. The land of the Loango kingdom was acquired by France on March 12, 1883 through a treaty negotiated between Lieutenant Cordier and the King of Loango (Mâ Loango) Manimacosso-Chicusso; Pointe-Noire was founded that year. In 1910, French Equatorial Africa (Afrique équatoriale française, AEF) was created, and French companies were allowed to exploit the Middle Congo (modern-day Congo Brazzaville). In 1923, Pointe-Noire was chosen to be the terminus of the Congo-Ocean Railway, aiming to connect Brazzaville, the terminus of the river navigation on the Congo River and the Ubangui River, with the Atlantic coast. As rapids made it impossible to navigate on the Congo River past Brazzaville, and the coastal railroad terminus site had to allow for the construction of a deep-sea port, authorities chose the site of Pointe-Noire instead of Libreville as originally envisaged.[citation needed] The railway was completed in 1934. In 1927, drinking water became available in the city, which had about 3,000 inhabitants.[citation needed] The city's first airport, Agostinho-Neto International Airport, finished construction in 1934.[better source needed] The first hospital was built in 1936. That same year, the Paris-based Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale opened its first branch in the city. In 1942, the Pointe-Noire Harbour welcomed its first ship, and made the city the AEF's seaport. In 1950, Pointe-Noire had 20,000 inhabitants, and became the capital of the Middle Congo, while Brazzaville was the capital city of the AEF. In 1957, the Middle Congo became the Republic of Congo, although it was still not independent. Incidents which occurred during 1958 legislative elections led the leaders of the Democratic Union for the Defence of African Interests (Union démocratique pour la défense des interets africains, UDDIA) to transfer the capital to Brazzaville, since Pointe-Noire was under the influence of the political opposition. Pointe-Noire continued growing, and was the most modern city in 1960, when Congo gained independence. Growth accelerated following the discovery of oil around 1980, which attracted people and Elf-Aquitaine facilities. The population doubled by 1982, and reached 360,000 in 1994.[citation needed] Civil wars in 1997 and 1999 caused an influx of refugees from the surrounding provinces (Lékoumou, Niari, Bouenza, Pool) towards Pointe-Noire, causing the population to climb to over 1 million inhabitants. On 22 June 2010 a train departing from Pointe-Noire derailed resulting in the deaths of many passengers. Recently[timeframe?] the Congolese government has proposed the development of a new bulk resource port to be constructed at Point Indienne, 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the north of the Port of Pointe-Noire. A meeting was held on 18 December 2012 with a collective of 10 Congo government ministries which invited mining companies to discuss future development opportunities.

Economy

[edit] Timber for export at the Port of Pointe-Noire Pointe-Noire is the essential centre of the oil industry of the Republic of Congo, one of the main oil producers in Central Africa. Congolese oil has been largely exploited by the French company Elf Aquitaine since its discovery around 1980. Pointe-Noire is also known for its fishing industry, which is often at odds with the oil development. Local waters are reportedly getting overfished. Formerly, Pointe-Noire was home to a potash exploitation which led to the construction of a wharf, currently closed to the public.

Education

[edit] Lycée Français Charlemagne, a French international school for primary and secondary school children, is in Pointe-Noire. It also hosts a British international school for children aged 0 to 18 years, called Connie's Academy. Higher education[edit] The city is home to the École Supérieure de Technologie du Littoral (technology), the École supérieure de commerce et de gestion (business), Institut UCAC-ICAM (engineering) and the Centre d’éducation, de formation et d’apprentissage en mécanique auto (automotive engineering). The Higher Institute of Technology of Central Africa has a campus in the city. There are also several other institutions of higher education in the city.[unreliable source?][vague] As a result of the decentralisation policy put in place by the Congolese government,[citation needed] Pointe-Noire has seen the emergence of some private institutes and universities: The University of Loango offers programmes in law, management and commerce.[citation needed] The Ecole Africaine de Développement campus in Pointe Noire offers programmes in science and technology.[citation needed] The Ecole Superieure of Commerce and Industry of Congo offers bachelor's degree courses in partnership with Ecole SupdeV Paris.[citation needed] The Loango Institute of Advanced Technology is a research school offering bachelor's and master's degrees in fields of computer science.

Transport

[edit] Pointe-Noire railway station Public transport in Point-Noire The port of Pointe-Noire functions under the auspices of Port Autonome de Pointe-Noire, and is a member port of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH). Pointe-Noire is home to Agostinho-Neto International Airport which as of August 2023 had direct flights to Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Brazzaville, Cotonou, Douala, Istanbul, Libreville, Luanda and Paris and was the second busiest airport in the country. Pointe-Noire is also the terminus of the Congo-Ocean Railway, the railway station being a notable building. As of 2014[update] the railway was operating the La Gazelle train service every other day to Brazzaville and intermediate destinations. The city also includes Tié-Tié Railway Station and Ngondji Railway Station, the next railway stations after the Pointe Noire terminus.[citation needed] Pointe-Noire has a taxi-bus network that runs throughout the entire city.

Places of worship

[edit] The places of worship in Pointe-Noire are predominantly Christian churches and temples: Roman Catholic Diocese of Pointe-Noire (Catholic Church), Evangelical Church of Congo (World Communion of Reformed Churches) and Assemblies of God.

Climate

[edit] Pointe-Noire has a tropical savanna climate under the Köppen climate classification. The city has a wet season that spans from October through April, while the remaining 5 months form the dry season. Pointe-Noire receives roughly 1,000 millimetres (39 in) of precipitation annually. Temperatures are somewhat cooler during the dry season with average temperatures roughly at 24 degrees Celsius. During the wet season, average temperatures hover around 28 degrees Celsius. Climate data for Pointe-Noire (1991-2020) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 30.3(86.5) 31.0(87.8) 31.4(88.5) 31.1(88.0) 29.7(85.5) 27.4(81.3) 26.0(78.8) 26.1(79.0) 27.1(80.8) 28.7(83.7) 29.5(85.1) 29.7(85.5) 29.0(84.2) Daily mean °C (°F) 26.9(80.4) 27.3(81.1) 27.6(81.7) 27.3(81.1) 26.4(79.5) 24.1(75.4) 22.5(72.5) 22.7(72.9) 24.1(75.4) 25.8(78.4) 26.4(79.5) 26.5(79.7) 25.6(78.1) Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 24.0(75.2) 24.1(75.4) 24.3(75.7) 24.2(75.6) 23.7(74.7) 21.0(69.8) 20.1(68.2) 20.4(68.7) 22.1(71.8) 23.1(73.6) 23.9(75.0) 23.8(74.8) 23.4(74.1) Average precipitation mm (inches) 180.3(7.10) 225.4(8.87) 193.4(7.61) 134.1(5.28) 55.5(2.19) 2.2(0.09) 1.0(0.04) 4.2(0.17) 16.7(0.66) 104.5(4.11) 201.6(7.94) 185.5(7.30) 1,304.4(51.36) Source: NOAA

Sport

[edit] Stade Municipal (Pointe-Noire) Football teams include Association Sportive des Cheminots and Jeunesse Sportive les Bougainvillées.

Twin towns – sister cities

[edit] See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of the Congo Pointe-Noire is twinned with: Dalian, China New Orleans, United States Suzhou, China

Notable people

[edit] Delvin N'Dinga, footballer Junior Etou (born 1994), Congolese basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the Israeli Basketball Premier League Alain Mabanckou (born 1966), writer Sardoine Mia (born 1998), artist Ghislaine Sathoud, feminist writer Anatole Collinet Makosso (born 1965), prime minister since 2019