Matadi [key], city (1984 pop. 138,798), Kongo Central prov., W Congo (Kinshasa), on the Congo River. With one of the largest harbors in central Africa, Matadi is the main port of the country. Situated c.80 mi (130 km) from the mouth of the Congo, at the farthest point navigable by oceangoing vessels, the city is linked by rail with Kinshasa. Chief exports05/00 are coffee and timber. Because of the Congo's economic and political troubles in the late 1980s and 1990s, trade through the port diminished and the condition of the facilities deteriorated.
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