Mbuji-Mayi (formerly
Bakwanga) serves as the
capital of
Kasai-Oriental Province in the south-central
Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the third largest city in the country, following the capital
Kinshasa and second largest city
Lubumbashi but ahead of
Kisangani and
Kananga, though the exact population is not known. Estimates ranged from a 2010 CIA Factbook estimated population of 1,480,000 to as many as 3,500,000 estimated by the United Nations in 2008.