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Congo Democratic Republic of The People - 2024


SOURCE: 2024 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES  Spanish Simplified Chinese French German Russian Hindi Arabic Portuguese

Population

111,859,928 (2023 est.)

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 groups - 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

major-language sample(s):
Buku oyo ya bosembo ya Mokili Mobimba Ezali na Makanisi ya Liboso Mpenza. (Lingala)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Lingala audio sample:

Religions

 Christian 93/1% (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.)

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 25% of children under the age of 5 were malnourished as of 2018. 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 more than 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 1 million Congolese refugees and asylum seekers were hosted by neighboring countries as of December 2022. In addition, an estimated 5.5 million Congolese were internally displaced as of October 2022, 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, South Sudan, and Burundi.

Age structure

0-14 years: 45.99% (male 25,902,046/female 25,543,395)

15-64 years: 51.52% (male 28,798,920/female 28,835,212)

65 years and over: 2.49% (2023 est.) (male 1,211,966/female 1,568,389)

2023 population pyramid:

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 98

youth dependency ratio: 92.1

elderly dependency ratio: 5.9

potential support ratio: 17.1 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 16.8 years (2023 est.)

male: 16.6 years

female: 16.9 years

Population growth rate

3.13% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

39.6 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

7.7 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

-0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

urban clusters are spread throughout the country, particularly in the northeast along the border 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 as shown in this

Urbanization

urban population: 47.4% of total population (2023)

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

Major urban areas - population

16.316 million KINSHASA (capital), 2.892 million Mbuji-Mayi, 2.812 million Lubumbashi, 1.664 million Kananga, 1.423 million Kisangani, 1.249 million Bukavu (2023)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

19.9 years (2013/14 est.)

note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49

Maternal mortality ratio

547 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 59.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 64.7 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 53.4 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 62.2 years (2023 est.)

male: 60.4 years

female: 64.1 years

Total fertility rate

5.56 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

2.74 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

28.1% (2017/18)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 88.8% of population

rural: 34.7% of population

total: 59.4% of population

unimproved: urban: 11.2% of population

rural: 65.3% of population

total: 40.6% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

4.1% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

0.38 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 53.4% of population

rural: 20.5% of population

total: 35.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 46.6% of population

rural: 79.5% of population

total: 64.5% of population (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2023)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and trypanosomiasis-gambiense (African sleeping sickness)

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies

note: on 31 August 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; the Democratic Republic of the Congo is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

6.7% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 0.56 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 0.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 12.8% (2020 est.)

male: 22.7% (2020 est.)

female: 2.9% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

23.1% (2017/18)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

55.3% (2023 est.)

Child marriage

women married by age 15: 8.4%

women married by age 18: 29.1%

men married by age 18: 5.6% (2018 est.)

Education expenditures

2.7% of GDP (2021 est.)

Literacy

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

total population: 80%

male: 89.5%

female: 70.8% (2021)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 11 years

male: 10 years

female: 9 years (2013)

NOTE: The information regarding Congo Democratic Republic of The on this page is re-published from the 2024 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 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Congo Democratic Republic of The 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.

This page was last modified 04 May 24, Copyright © 2024 ITA all rights reserved.