View source for Place:Bunia

{{Infobox settlement
<!--See the Table at Infobox Settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage-->
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->
|name                   = Bunia
|official_name          = ''Ville de Bunia''
|other_name             =
|native_name            =  <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English -->
|nickname               = 
|settlement_type        = Provincial capital and city
|motto                  =
<!-- images and maps  ----------->
|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<!-- the name of a location map as per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Location_map -->
|pushpin_label_position =left
|pushpin_map_caption    =Location in Democratic Republic of the Congo
|pushpin_mapsize       =250
<!-- Location ------------------>
|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
<!-- Politics ----------------->
|government_footnotes   =
|government_type        =
|leader_title           = Mayor
|leader_name            = Ferdinand Fimbo Lebilye<ref>{{cite news |title=Ituri : les chefs de quartiers et des avenues achèvent un atelier de formation sur la gouvernance participative |url=https://acpcongo.com/ituri-les-chefs-de-quartiers-et-des-avenues-achevent-un-atelier-de-formation-sur-la-gouvernance-participative/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807162859/https://acpcongo.com/ituri-les-chefs-de-quartiers-et-des-avenues-achevent-un-atelier-de-formation-sur-la-gouvernance-participative/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 7, 2019 |access-date=7 August 2019 |work=ACP Média Public |agency=ACP |date=6 August 2019 |language=fr }}</ref>
|established_title      =  <!-- Settled -->
|established_date       = 
|established_title2     =  <!-- Incorporated (town) -->
|established_date2      = 
|established_title3     =  <!-- Incorporated (city) -->
|established_date3      =
<!-- Area    --------------------->
|total_type             = City
|area_magnitude         = 
|area_footnotes           =
|area_total_km2           = 576<!-- ALL fields dealing with a measurements are subject to automatic unit conversion-->
|area_land_km2            = 
|area_water_km2           =
|area_total_sq_mi         =
|area_land_sq_mi          =
|area_water_sq_mi         =
|area_water_percent       =
|area_urban_km2           = 53
|area_urban_sq_mi         =
|area_metro_km2           =
|area_metro_sq_mi         =
|area_blank1_title        =
|area_blank1_km2          =
|area_blank1_sq_mi        =
<!-- Population   ----------------------->
|population_as_of               =2015
|population_footnotes           = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.caid.cd/index.php/donnees-par-villes/ville-de-bunia/?domaine=fiche|title=Cellule d'Analyses des Indicateurs de Développement}}</ref>
|population_note                =
|population_total               = 900666
|population_density_km2         =auto

|population_density_metro_km2   =
|population_density_metro_sq_mi =
|population_urban_footnotes     = <ref>[https://populationstat.com/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/bunia PopulationStat.com]</ref>
|population_urban               = 486000
|population_density_urban_km2   = auto
|population_density_urban_sq_mi =
|population_blank1_title        =
|population_blank1              =
|population_blank2_title        =
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|population_density_blank1_km2 =   
|population_density_blank1_sq_mi =
<!-- General information  --------------->
|timezone               = [[Central Africa Time]]
|utc_offset             = +2
|timezone_DST           = 
|utc_offset_DST         = 
|coordinates            = {{coord|1|34|N|30|15|E|region:CD|display=inline}}
|elevation_footnotes    =  <!--for references: use <ref> </ref> tags-->
|elevation_m            = 1277
|elevation_ft           =
|blank_name_sec1        = [[Earth:Köppen climate classification|Climate]]
|blank_info_sec1        = [[Earth:Tropical rainforest climate|Af]]
|blank_name_sec2        = National language
|blank_info_sec2        = [[Social:Swahili language|Swahili]]
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
|postal_code_type       =  <!-- enter ZIP code, Postcode, Post code, Postal code... -->
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|website                = 
|footnotes              = 
}}

'''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.<!-- pre-[http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_de_la_R%C3%A9publique_d%C3%A9mocratique_du_Congo 2006 constitution]). As of 2012 it had an estimated population of 366,126. --><ref>{{cite web|url=http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&des=wg&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&geo=-46 |title=Congo (Dem. Rep.): largest cities and towns and statistics of their population |publisher=World Gazetteer |access-date=January 21, 2009 }}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

It lies at an elevation of {{convert|1275|m|ft|-1|disp=or}} on a plateau about {{convert|30|km|mi|0|disp=or}} west of Lake Albert in the Albertine Rift, and about {{convert|25|km|mi|0|disp=or}} 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 [[Earth:Tropical rainforest climate|tropical rainforest climate]] ([[Earth:Köppen climate classification|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 {{convert|130|mm|in|0|disp=or}} of rain. For the rest of the year, rainfall is very heavy with over {{convert|230|mm|in|1|disp=or}} for nine months of the year.
{{Weather box|width = auto
|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 = <ref>https://globalbioclimatics.org/station/za-bunia.htm</ref>}}

==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 {{convert|40|km|mi|0|disp=or}} 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 {{convert|60|km|mi|0}} 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 {{convert|155|m}} [[Engineering:Jetty|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-worlds-fastest-growing-cities/|publisher=virtual capitalist| access-date=2021-08-17|title=Ranked: The World's Fastest Growing Cities|date=13 August 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813174630/https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-worlds-fastest-growing-cities/|archive-date=13 August 2021}}</ref>

==Other features==
[[File:Over Bunia.jpg|thumb|300px|Bunia from the air.]]
Mount Hoyo is {{convert|35|km|mi|0|disp=or}} south-west of Bunia. The Shari River<!--not the Shari or Chari River in Chad previously linked from here--> 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 {{convert|45|km|mi|0|disp=or}} south-southwest of Bunia.<ref>[http://earth.google.com Google Earth] —measurements and directions checked.</ref>

Although Bunia is about {{convert|170|km|mi|-1|disp=or}} 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 [http://www.unishabunia.org Université Shalom de Bunia (USB)] which offers the largest library in Bunia (about 40,000 volumes) with an [http://biblio.unishabunia.org online catalog].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060929210247/http://www.monuc.org/downloads/Bunia.pdf Detailed Map of Bunia]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050414115842/http://www.monuc.org/downloads/Map_IturiTRIBES.pdf Map of tribal areas of Ituri]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4073862.stm Congo's battle with disarmament], BBC, 9 June 2005
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/equator/4797757.stm Watch ''Equator'', the BBC TV program featuring Bunia]

{{Coord|1|34|N|30|15|E|region:CD_type:city|display=title}}

[[Category:Bunia| ]]

{{Sourceattribution|Bunia|1}}