Kigali (Kinyarwanda pronunciation: [ki.ɡɑ́.ɾi]), officially the City of Kigali also known as Kigali City (abbreviated as KGL or CoK), is the capital, largest city, and a province-level administrative unit of Rwanda. It is located near the country's geographic centre, in a landscape of rolling hills marked by valleys and ridges connected by steep slopes. As Rwanda's primate city, Kigali is a relatively young urban centre. Founded in 1907 as a German administrative outpost, it served as a minor administrative centre until it became the national capital at independence in 1962, shifting the main administrative focus away from Huye (formerly Astrida).
As of 31 August 2022, Kigali city has a population of 1,745,555 inhabitants, roughly seven times that of the nation's second most populous city, Gisenyi. Kigali's UNHCR coordinate operations for nearly 135,000 refugees and has a special facility in Gashora, to temporarily host refugees who are being resettled from crisis zones, mainly Libya, Yemen or other conflict areas, and provided with medical care, basic services and legal processing. After preparation, they are resettled to countries like the United States or Canada.
HistoryLayer draws the world as it was in any year from 123,000 BCE to
2026. Move the slider and the borders redraw for that year; the map
carries 23,890 events, 12,790 people, 837 wars and 13,183 cities, each
one readable in place. Signing in is optional and lets you keep what
you find.