South Kivu

South Kivu (Swahili: Jimbo la Kivu Kusini; French: Sud-Kivu) is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Bukavu. Located within the East African Rift's western branch Albertine Rift, it is bordered to the east by Lake Kivu, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania; to the west by Maniema; to the north by North Kivu; and the south by Tanganyika. The province covers an area of approximately 69,130 square kilometers and has an estimated population of 8,147,400 as of 2024.

The region has historically been inhabited by various Bantu-speaking ethnic groups, including the Bashi, Bafuliiru, Banyindu, Bazoba, Babembe, Babuyu, Balega, Babwari, Baholoholo, Banyanga, Bavira, Bakusu, Batembo, Barongeronge, and Baswaga, as well as Pygmy ethnic groups. During the colonial period, the borders of the Congo Free State were established by the 1885 Berlin Conference, placing all of Lake Kivu and both banks of the Ruzizi River within the Free State. The region's boundaries were later subject to disputes, including the Kivu frontier incident of 1909, which was resolved in 1910 when the eastern portion of Kivu was allocated to Uganda Protectorate and German East Africa. Kivu District was formally created in 1912 and later divided into Sud-Kivu and Nord-Kivu Districts in 1951. After a series of administrative reorganizations, South Kivu became a separate province in 1988, alongside North Kivu and Maniema.