Lodja

For the village in Estonia, see Lodja, Estonia.

Lodja is a town in central Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the administrative center of the Sankuru District. It is located at around .

Lodja is home to the Lodja Airport. (IATA Code: LJA) Lodja Airport, located 7 km north of Lodja, has one 1600 meter natural surface runway, oriented 88/268°. The geographic coordinates of this airport are 3 degrees, 29 minutes, south (-3.483) and 23 degrees, 28 minutes, east (23.467). Lodja Airport is 1647 feet (502 m) above sea level.

Lodja has two active small aircraft strips, and a third inactive, as follows:

• Methodist Mission at Diengenga 9 km N of Lodja, 800 meter natural, oriented 70/250°, .
• Catholic Mission 4 km E of Lodja, 800 meter natural, oriented 60/240°, .
• FODESA Mission (inactive strip) 4 km N of Lodja, 600 meter natural, oriented 110/290°, .

Lodja is at the center of the Sankuru Province (to be) which comprises more or less the Otetela Bantu language tribal area. Atetela (pleural) people speak the Otetela (singular) language, often shortened to Tetela. Otetela language spoken by some 98% of the population, it's the only language for perhaps 50-60% of the population. Lingala, the military and trade language from Equator and Kinshasa Provinces, also spoken by 30-40% of Lodja residents. French, the language of government officials and the educated, spoken fluently by perhaps 20-30% in Lojda. English and neighboring tribal languages of Tshiluba, Swahili, etc. account for 1-2%. Outside Lodja - in most of the Sankuru - Otetela spoken almost exclusively and the other languages decrease rapidly outside the town; with the languages of neighboring tribes increasing as one approaches the frontiers of the Sankuru. (Estimates from a longtime resident)

According to a 1984 census Lodja had 28,671 people. Calculations done in 2006 brought that figure up to an estimate of 70,555.

External links

• World Gazetter entry