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Demographics of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Population pyramid of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2020
Population	95,894,118 (2021 est.)
Growth rate	3.24% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	40.08 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	7.94 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy	61.83 years
• male	60.03 years
• female	63.69 years
Fertility rate	6.16 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate	60.85 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	-0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	46.38%
65 and over	2.47%
Sex ratio
Total	1 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.01 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.6 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Congolese
Language
Official	French

Demographic features of the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo include ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

As many as 250 ethnic groups have been distinguished and named. The most numerous people are the Luba, Mongo, and Kongo.

Although 700 local languages and dialects are spoken, the linguistic variety is bridged both by the use of French, and the intermediary languages Kikongo ya leta, Tshiluba, Swahili, and Lingala.

Population

The CIA World Factbook estimated the population to be over 105 million as of 2022 (the exact number being 108,407,721), now exceeding that of Vietnam (with 98,721,275 inhabitants as of 2020) and ascending the country to the rank of 14th most populous in the world. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2020 was 46.38%, 51.15% of the population was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.47% was 65 years or older.

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Post-censal estimates.) (Provisional.):

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Census

The first and so far only census conducted in DR Congo dates from 1984. A census is supposed to be conducted decennially, but this has been obstructed by periods of instability such as the political reorganization in 1991 and the civil war in 1996.

In January 2015, the parliament passed a law requiring that a census be completed before the next election. Opponents said this was intended to keep Joseph Kabila in power by delaying the next election, leading to protests that caused several deaths. The parliament repealed the law and the census did not take place.

The second general census of population and housing is underway as of 2024. President Félix Tshisekedi called for a census to improve demographic policies and to enable the creation of national identity cards. The National Office for Population Identification (ONIP), founded in 2011, was tasked with leading the census, settling a dispute between bids by the Ministries of Interior, Planning, and Digital Technology. Preliminary mapping was conducted in 2018 under Minister of State Modeste Bahati Lukwebo. Data collection began on 2 March 2020 and was scheduled to end on 10 June, but implementation was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection was arranged by the Ministries of Planning, Budget, and Finance, and the electoral commission sent materials to the ONIP and the National Statistics Institute [fr]. In 2022, Prime Minister Sama Lukonde issued a decree about the operations of the census. The government allocated the census 250 million dollars of its 2022 budget. The census is planned to be completed in 2025 with an expected budget of US$153,700,453.

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is incomplete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.

Population estimates by INS

The Institute of National Statistics of the DRC has provided population estimates from 1984 and 2000-2019:

• 1984: 30,631,000
• 2000: 52,099,000
• 2001: 53,870,000
• 2002: 55,702,000
• 2003: 57,596,000
• 2004: 59,554,000
• 2005: 61,579,000
• 2006: 63,673,000
• 2007: 65,837,000
• 2008: 68,076,000
• 2009: 70,391,000
• 2010: 72,784,000
• 2011: 75,259,000
• 2012: 77,817,000
• 2013: 80,462,000
• 2014: 83,197,000
• 2015: 86,024,000
• 2016: 88,957,000
• 2017: 91,994,000
• 2018: 94,921,000
• 2019: 98,370,000

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR) for urban and rural areas:

The Wanted Fertility Rate is an estimate of what the fertility rate would be if all unwanted births were avoided.

Fertility data per province, as of 2014:

Life expectancy

Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	39.06
1955–1960	40.55
1960–1965	41.63
1965–1970	42.99
1970–1975	44.77
1975–1980	45.63
1980–1985	47.13
1985–1990	48.25
1990–1995	49.59
1995–2000	48.89
2000–2005	51.84
2005–2010	55.48
2010–2015	58.10

Ethnic groups

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Over 250 ethnic groups and 450 tribes (ethnic subgroups) populate the Democratic Republic of Congo. These ethnic groups are from the Bantu, Sudanic, Nilotic, Ubangian and Pygmy linguistic groups. There is no dominant ethnic group in Congo; the following ethnic groups account for 51.5% of the population:

• Luba-Kasaï
• Kongo
• Mongo
• Lubakat
• Lulua
• Tetela
• Nande
• Ngbandi
• Ngombe
• Yaka
• Ngbaka

Ethnic groups include:

• Bantu peoples: Ambala, Ambuun, Angba, Babindi, Baboma, Baholo, Bangala, Bango, Bapindi, Batsamba, Bazombe, Bemba, Bembe, Bira, Bowa, Dikidiki, Dzing, Fuliru, Havu, Hema, Hima, Hunde, Iboko, Kanioka, Kaonde, Kongo, Kuba, Kumu, Kwango, Lengola, Lokele, Luba, Lunda, Lupu, Lwalwa, Mbala, Mbole, Mbuza (Budja), Mongo, Nande, Ngoli, Bangoli, Ngombe, Nkumu, Nyanga, Pende, Popoi, Poto, Sango, Shi, Nyindu, Songo, Sukus, Tabwa, Chokwe, Téké, Tembo, Tetela, Topoke, Ungana, Vira, Wakuti, Yaka, Yakoma, Yanzi, Yéké, Yela, etc.
• Central Sudanic: Manvu, Mbunja, Moru-Mangbetu, Lugbara
• Nilotic peoples: Alur, Bari, Kakwa, Logo
• Ubangian: Azande, Banda, Ngbandi, Ngbaka
• Pygmy peoples: Mbuti, Twa, Baka, Babinga

Languages

The five major languages in the DRC are French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca, or trade language), Swahili (more specifically Congo Swahili such as the Kingwana dialect), Kikongo ya leta or Kituba (a Kikongo-based creole language), and Tshiluba or Luba-Kasai. In total, there are over 200 languages spoken in the DRC.

French, the official language, is generally the language of instruction in schools. However, English is taught as a compulsory foreign language in secondary schools around the country. It is a required subject in the Faculty of Economics at major universities around the country, and there are numerous language schools in the country that teach it. Many Congolese, such as former president Joseph Kabila, are fluent in both English and French.

Religions

A survey conducted by the Demographic and Health Surveys program in 2013–2014 indicated that Christians constituted 93.7% of the population (Catholics 29.7%, Protestants 26.8%, and other Christians 37.2%). An indigenous religion, Kimbanguism, was practiced by 2.8% of the population, while Muslims make up 1.2%.

Another estimate (by the Pew Research Center in 2010) found Christianity was followed by 95.8% of the population.

The CIA The World Factbook gives the following percentages: Roman Catholic 29.9%, Protestant 26.7%, Kimbanguist 2.8%, Other Christian 36.5%, Islam 1.3%, Other (includes Syncretic Sects and Indigenous beliefs) 2.7%.

Other demographic statistics

These are some other demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.

• One birth every 9 seconds
• One death every 38 seconds
• One net migrant every 111 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 11 seconds

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.

Population

108,407,721 (2022 est.)

85,281,024 (July 2018 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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and gender than would otherwise be expected (July 2017 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 29.9%, Protestant 26.7%, other Christian 36.5%, Kimbanguist 2.8%, Muslim 1.3%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 1.2%, none 1.3%, unspecified 0.2% (2014 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 46.38% (male 23,757,297/female 23,449,057)

15-24 years: 19.42% (male 9,908,686/female 9,856,841)

25-54 years: 28.38% (male 14,459,453/female 14,422,912)

55-64 years: 3.36% (male 1,647,267/female 1,769,429)

65 years and over: 2.47% (male 1,085,539/female 1,423,782) (2020 est.)

0-14 years: 41.25% (male 17,735,697 /female 17,446,866)

15-24 years: 21.46% (male 9,184,871 /female 9,117,462)

25-54 years: 30.96% (male 13,176,714 /female 13,225,429)

55-64 years: 3.63% (male 1,472,758 /female 1,625,637)

65 years and over: 2.69% (male 974,293 /female 1,321,297) (2018 est.)

Median age

total: 16.7 years. Country comparison to the world: 222nd

male: 16.5 years

female: 16.8 years (2020 est.)

total: 18.8 years. Country comparison to the world: 206th

male: 18.6 years

female: 19 years (2018 est.)

Birth rate

40.08 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 7th

40.1 births/1,000 population (2020 est.)

Death rate

7.94 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 95th

9.1 deaths/1,000 population (2020 est.)

Total fertility rate

5.56 children born/woman (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 3rd

5.63 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 3rd

5.7 children born/woman (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

3.14% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 9th

2.33% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 31st

2.42% (2016)

Mother's mean age at first birth

19.9 years (2013/14 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Contraceptive prevalence rate

28.1% (2017/18)

20.4% (2013/14)

Net migration rate

-0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 131st

-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 105th

-0.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population

note: fighting between the Congolese Government and Uganda- and Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DRC in August 1998, which left 2.33 million Congolese internally displaced and caused 412,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries (2011 est.)

Given the situation in the country and the condition of state structures, it is extremely difficult to obtain reliable data however evidence suggests that DRC continues to be a destination country for immigrants in spite of recent declines. Immigration is seen to be very diverse in nature, with refugees and asylum-seekers - products of the numerous and violent conflicts in the Great Lakes Region - constituting an important subset of the population in the country.

Additionally, the country's large mine operations attract migrant workers from Africa and beyond and there is considerable migration for commercial activities from other African countries and the rest of the world, but these movements are not well studied. Transit migration towards South Africa and Europe also plays a role. Immigration in the DRC has decreased steadily over the past two decades, most likely as a result of the armed violence that the country has experienced.

According to the International Organization for Migration, the number of immigrants in the DRC has declined from just over 1 million in 1960, to 754,000 in 1990, to 480,000 in 2005, to an estimated 445,000 in 2010. Valid figures are not available on migrant workers in particular, partly due to the predominance of the informal economy in the DRC. Data are also lacking on irregular immigrants, however given neighbouring country ethnic links to nationals of the DRC, irregular migration is assumed to be a significant phenomenon in the country.

Figures on the number of Congolese nationals abroad vary greatly depending on the source, from 3 to 6 million. This discrepancy is due to a lack of official, reliable data. Emigrants from the DRC are above all long-term emigrants, the majority of which live within Africa and to a lesser extent in Europe; 79.7% and 15.3% respectively, according to estimates on 2000 data. Most Congolese emigrants however, remain in Africa, with new destination countries including South Africa and various points en route to Europe.

In addition to being a host country, the DRC has also produced a considerable number of refugees and asylum-seekers located in the region and beyond. These numbers peaked in 2004 when, according to UNHCR, there were more than 460,000 refugees from the DRC; in 2008, Congolese refugees numbered 367,995 in total, 68% of which were living in other African countries.

Religions

Roman Catholic (55.8%), Other Christian (39.1%), Folk religion (2.5%), Islam (2.1%), None (0.5%)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 97.5 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio: 91.5 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio: 6 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio: 16.8 (2015 est.)

Gender ratio

At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15–64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 61.83 years. Country comparison to the world: 216th

male: 60.03 years

female: 63.69 years (2022 est.)

total population: 58.1 years (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 213rd

male: 56.5 years (2018 est.)

female: 59.7 years (2018 est.)

total population: 56.93 years

male: 55.39 years

female: 58.51 years (2015 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 46.8% of total population (2022)

rate of urbanization: 4.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

urban population: 44.5% of total population (2018)

rate of urbanization: 4.53% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2017 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 390,000 (2017 est.)

Deaths: 17,000 (2017 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Degree of risk: very high

Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever and ebola.

Vectorborne diseases: malaria, plague, and African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) are high risks in some locations

Water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2005)

Nationality

Noun: Congolese (singular and plural)

Adjective: Congolese or Congo

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba

Total population: 77%

Male: 88.5%

Female: 66.5% (2016 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 10 years (2013)

male: 11 years (2013)

female: 9 years (2013)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 8.7% (2012 est.) Country comparison to the world: 134th

male: 11.3% (2012 est.)

female: 6.8% (2012 est.)

Congolese diaspora

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2016)

The table below shows DRC born people who have emigrated abroad in selected Western countries (although it excludes their descendants).

Rank	Country	Region	Year	DRC born population
1	France	Europe	2010	59,641
2	Belgium	Europe	2015	44,715
3	Canada	North America	2021	39,475
4	United States	North America	2011–13	20,410
5	Great Britain	Europe	2011	19,193
6	Germany	Europe	2011 (foreign citizens)	9,299
7	Switzerland	Europe	2011	6,724
8	Italy	Europe	2015	6,010
9	Netherlands	Europe	2015	4,973
10	Sweden	Europe	2015	3,092
11	Brazil	South America	2024	2,579
12	Australia	Oceania	2011	2,576
13	Norway	Europe	2015	2,210
14	Spain	Europe	2013	1,494
15	Finland	Europe	2015	1,523
16	Denmark	Europe	2015	1,264
17	Austria	Europe	2015	1,258

These are only estimates and do not account for Congolese migrants residing illegally in these and other countries. Among African countries, Congo's diaspora is second only to Nigeria in size.

See also

Congolese ethnic groups:

• Alur
• Azande
• Chokwe
• Hema
• Kakwa
• Lendu
• Luba
• Mangbetu
• Twa
• Yaka
• Lunda

Other articles

• Health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

References

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 This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2007 edition.)

External links

• "Mortality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: An Ongoing Crisis" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2008-02-17. (1.07 MB), International Rescue Committee, January 2008 (estimates 5.4 million excess deaths above sub-Saharan average from 1998 to 2007)

• Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo