Article 2 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo divides the country into the capital city of Kinshasa and 25 named provinces.

[5] Provincial authorities had the power to organise the "political structures of the province within the framework of the general principles contained in the Loi Fondamentale", manage provincial police and judicial officials, establish educational systems lower than higher education, tend to agricultural and mining concessions, construct and maintain local railways, roads, and public works, and manage their own finances,[6] though their funding was heavily subsidized by the central government.

[6] As central authority collapsed due to the outbreak of the Congo Crisis following an army mutiny in July, provincial governments were able to leverage the situation to increase their political autonomy.

[10] By 1963, the country was organised into 21 provinces (informally called provincettes) plus the capital city of Léopoldville, similar to the original 22 districts under colonial rule.

[3] Article 2 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, adopted in 2006, specifies a territorial organisation into 26 provinces,[17] again resembling the previous provincettes and original colonial districts.

[19] In an October 2010 conclave of the ruling AMP coalition, it was proposed to revise Article 226, which calls for the creation of 26 provinces out of the current 11, in order to allow more time for the transition.

[20] On 9 January 2015 the National Assembly passed a law on the new administrative divisions of the country, according to which new provinces should be installed in period of 12 months.