Main themes

The collection contains some 120,000 ethnographic objects. The figurative sculptures (masks, statues, etc.) are the most well-known, but it also contains large series of weapons, cups, combs and various other artefacts. With 8,000 musical instruments, the museum manages the world's largest collection of musical instruments from Central Africa. The vast majority of the objects come from Central Africa, in particular the DR Congo.

With its 80,000 wood samples from 13,600 different botanical species, the RMCA's xylarium is the third largest wood collection in the world. Its specimens come from all over the world.

The Royal Museum for Central Africa is the custodian of 10 million biological specimens that include: 6 million insects 1 million fish 300,000 spiders 200,000 amphibians 150,000 birds 135,000 mammals 41,000 reptiles