Population:
101,780,263
(July 2020 est.)
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
15
[see also: Population country ranks ]
Nationality:
noun:
Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Congolese or Congo
Ethnic groups:
more than 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) - make up about 45% of the population
Languages:
French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Religions:
Roman Catholic 29.9%, Protestant 26.7%, Kimbanguist 2.8%, other Christian 36.5%, Muslim 1.3%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 1.2%, none 1.3%, unspecified .2%
(2014 est.)
Demographic profile:
Despite a wealth of fertile soil, hydroelectric power potential, and mineral resources, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) struggles with many socioeconomic problems, including high infant and maternal mortality rates, malnutrition, poor vaccination coverage, lack of access to improved water sources and sanitation, and frequent and early fertility. Ongoing conflict, mismanagement of resources, and a lack of investment have resulted in food insecurity; almost 30 percent of children under the age of 5 are malnourished. The overall coverage of basic public services – education, health, sanitation, and potable water – is very limited and piecemeal, with substantial regional and rural/urban disparities. Fertility remains high at almost 5 children per woman and is likely to remain high because of the low use of contraception and the cultural preference for larger families.
The DRC is a source and host country for refugees. Between 2012 and 2014, more than 119,000 Congolese refugees returned from the Republic of Congo to the relative stability of northwest DRC, but more than 540,000 Congolese refugees remained abroad as of year-end 2015. In addition, an estimated 3.9 million Congolese were internally displaced as of October 2017, the vast majority fleeing violence between rebel group and Congolese armed forces. Thousands of refugees have come to the DRC from neighboring countries, including Rwanda, the Central African Republic, and Burundi.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 46.38%
(male 23,757,297/female 23,449,057)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 19.42%
(male 9,908,686/female 9,856,841)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 28.38%
(male 14,459,453/female 14,422,912)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 3.36%
(male 1,647,267/female 1,769,429)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 2.47%
(male 1,085,539/female 1,423,782)
(2020 est.)
[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Democratic Republic of Congo. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 97.5
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 91.5
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 6
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 16.8
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
Median age:
total: 16.7 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 16.5 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 16.8 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
223
Population growth rate:
3.18%
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
8
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
Birth rate:
41 births/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
7
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
Death rate:
8.4 deaths/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
76
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
Net migration rate:
-0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
138
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
Population distribution:
urban clusters are spread throughout the country, particularly in the northeast along the boarder with Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi; the largest city is the capital, Kinshasha, located in the west along the Congo River; the south is least densely populated
Urbanization:
urban population: 45% of total population
(2019)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 4.53% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
Major urban areas - population:
13.743 million KINSHASA (capital), 2.413 million Mbuji-Mayi, 2.377 million Lubumbashi, 1.395 million Kananga, 1.213 million Kisangani, 1,025,000 Bukavu
(2019)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 99.9 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio country ranks ]
Mother's mean age at first birth:
19.9 years
(2013/14 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]
Maternal mortality rate:
473 deaths/100,000 live births
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
23
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
Infant mortality rate:
total: 64.5 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 70.3 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 58.4 deaths/1,000 live births
(2020 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
8
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 61 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 59.3 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 62.8 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
216
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
Total fertility rate:
5.77 children born/woman
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
3
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
20.4%
(2013/14)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 81.1% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 31.2% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 52.4% of population
unimproved:
urban: 18.9% of population
rural: 68.8% of population
total: 47.6% of population
(2015 est.)
Current Health Expenditure:
3.9%
(2016)
[see also: Current Health Expenditure country ranks ]
Physicians density:
0.09 physicians/1,000 population
(2013)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 28.5% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 28.7% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 28.7% of population
(2015 est.)
unimproved:
urban: 71.5% of population
(2015 est.)
rural: 71.3% of population
(2015 est.)
total: 71.3% of population
(2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.8%
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
54
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
450,000
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
18
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
13,000
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
17
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk:
very high
(2016)
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
(2016)
vectorborne diseases:
malaria, dengue fever, and trypanosomiasis-gambiense (African sleeping sickness)
(2016)
water contact diseases:
schistosomiasis
(2016)
animal contact diseases:
rabies
(2016)
note - on 18 October 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Travel Health Notice for an Ebola outbreak in the South Kivu (Kivu Sud), North Kivu (Kivu Nord), and Ituri provinces in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; travelers to this area could be infected with Ebola if they come into contact with an infected person’s blood or other body fluids; travelers should seek medical care immediately if they develop fever, muscle pain, sore throat, diarrhea, weakness, vomiting, stomach pain, or unexplained bleeding or bruising during or after travel
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
6.7%
(2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
164
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
23.4%
(2013)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
23
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
Education expenditures:
1.5% of GDP
(2017)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
172
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba
total population: 77%
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 88.5%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 66.5%
(2016)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 10 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - total country ranks ]
male: 11 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
female: 9 years
(2013)
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - female country ranks ]
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 8.7%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 11.3%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 6.8%
(2012 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
137
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Congo, Democratic Republic Of The on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Congo, Democratic Republic Of The People 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Congo, Democratic Republic Of The People 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.
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This page was last modified 27-Jan-20