Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

This article is about the demographic features of the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including 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 Bakongo.

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

Population[]

The CIA World Factbook estimated the population to be over 105 million as of 2021 (the exact number being 105,044,646), now exceeding that of Vietnam (with 98,721,275 inhabitants as of 2020) and ascending the country to the rank of 15th most populous in the world. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 46.3%. 51.1% of the population was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.7% was 65 years or older .^[1]

	Total population	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	12 184 000	43.7	52.5	3.8
1955	13 580 000	43.8	53.1	3.1
1960	15 368 000	43.8	53.3	2.9
1965	17 543 000	43.9	53.2	2.8
1970	20 267 000	44.4	52.8	2.8
1975	23 317 000	44.9	52.3	2.8
1980	27 019 000	45.4	51.8	2.8
1985	31 044 000	46.1	51.1	2.8
1990	36 406 000	47.0	50.2	2.8
1995	44 067 000	47.9	49.4	2.7
2000	49 626 000	48.0	49.4	2.7
2005	57 421 000	47.5	49.9	2.7
2010	65 966 000	46.3	51.1	2.7

The total number of males was approximately 45,548,000 (48.1%), while the total number of females was approximately 49,134,000 (51.9%)

Age Group	Male (%)	Female (%)	Total (%)
0-4	20.6	19.4	20.00
5-9	17.5	16.7	17.1
10-14	15.1	13.9	14.5
15-19	9.3	8.7	9.0
20-24	6.8	7.9	7.3
25-29	6.0	7.5	6.8
30-34	4.8	5.6	5.2
35-39	4.2	4.7	4.4
40-44	4.0	3.3	3.6
45-49	3.1	2.6	2.8
50-54	2.4	3.5	2.9
55-59	1.9	2.2	2.1
60-64	2.0	1.5	1.8
65-69	1.1	1.2	1.1
70-74	0.6	0.8	0.7
75-79	0.4	0.4	0.4
80+	0.3	0.4	0.3

Age group	Male (%)	Female (%)	Total (%)
0-14	53,2	50,0	51,5
15-64	44,4	47,2	46,0
65+	2,4	2,8	2,5

Census[]

The first and so far only census conducted in DR Congo dates from 1984.^[2]

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. ^[1]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*
1950-1955	608 000	329 000	279 000	47.2	25.5	21.7	5.98	167
1955-1960	683 000	341 000	342 000	47.2	23.6	23.7	5.98	158
1960-1965	780 000	369 000	411 000	47.4	22.4	25.0	6.04	151
1965-1970	898 000	402 000	496 000	47.5	21.3	26.3	6.15	143
1970-1975	1 037 000	433 000	604 000	47.6	19.9	27.7	6.29	134
1975-1980	1 208 000	488 000	720 000	48.0	19.4	28.6	6.46	129
1980-1985	1 425 000	550 000	874 000	49.1	19.0	30.1	6.72	125
1985-1990	1 689 000	632 000	1 057 000	50.1	18.7	31.4	6.98	121
1990-1995	2 035 000	743 000	1 292 000	50.6	18.5	32.1	7.14	119
1995-2000	2 335 000	923 000	1 412 000	49.8	19.7	30.1	7.04	128
2000-2005	2 580 000	973 000	1 607 000	48.2	18.2	30.0	6.70	120
2005-2010	2 772 000	1 058 000	1 714 000	44.9	17.2	27.8	6.07	116
*CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000 people); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000 people); NC = natural change (per 1000 people), also equals CBR minus CDR; IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Fertility and Births[]

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR) for urban and rural areas:^[3]

The Wanted Fertility Rate is an estimate of what the fertility rate would be if all unwanted births were avoided.^[4]

Year	CBR (Total)	TFR (Total)	CBR (Urban)	TFR (Urban)	CBR (Rural)	TFR (Rural)
2007	44,1	6,3 (5,6)	40,4	5,4 (4,8)	46,8	7,0 (6,2)
2013-14	44,1	6,6 (5,7)	40,5	5,4 (4,6)	45,9	7,3 (6,5)

Fertility data per province, as of 2014:^[5]

Province	Total fertility rate	Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant	Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
Kinshasa	4.2	5.7	4.8
Bas-Congo	6.0	12.6	6.5
Bandundu	6.3	12.1	6.1
Équateur	7.0	14.3	6.5
Orientale	5.9	11.6	5.3
Nord-Kivu	6.5	9.7	6.7
Sud-Kivu	7.7	12.5	7.4
Maniema	6.9	14.8	7.0
Katanga	7.8	12.8	7.3
Kasaï Oriental	7.3	12.4	7.5
Kasaï Occidental	8.2	14.2	7.5

Life expectancy[]

Period	Life expectancy in Years[6]
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[]

More than 250 ethnic groups have been identified and named, of which the majority are Bantu. The four largest groups - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande collectively make up about 45% of the population. 5,000 people from Belgium and 5,000 people from Greece currently live in DR Congo.^[7]

Bantu peoples (80%):

Luba (18%), Mongo (17%), Kongo (12%)^{[citation needed]}

Others:^{[citation needed]} Ambala, Ambuun, Angba, Babindi, Baboma, Baholo, Balunda, Bangala, Bango, Batsamba, Bazombe, Bemba, Bembe, Bira, Bowa, Dikidiki, Dzing, Fuliru, Havu, Hema, Hima, Hunde, Iboko, Kanioka, Kaonde, Kuba, Kumu, Kwango, Lengola, Lokele, Lupu, Lwalwa, Mbala, Mbole, Mbuza (Budja), Nande, Ngoli, Bangoli, Ngombe, Nkumu, Nyanga, Pende, Popoi, Poto, Sango, Shi, Songo, Sukus, Tabwa, Chokwe, Téké, Tembo, Tetela, Topoke, Ungana, Vira, Wakuti, Yaka, Yakoma, Yanzi, Yéké, Yela etc.

Central Sudanic/Ubangian :

Ngbandi, Ngbaka, Manvu, Mbunja, Moru-Mangbetu, Zande, Lugbara

Nilotic peoples :

Alur, Kakwa, Bari, Logo

Pygmy peoples :

Mbuti, Twa, Baka, Babinga

More than 600,000 pygmies (around 1% of the total population) are believed to live in DR Congo, mainly in forests, where they survive by hunting wild animals and gathering fruits.^[8]

Languages[]

The four major languages in the DRC are French (official, from colonization), Lingala (a lingua franca, or trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Swahili), Kikongo, and Tshiluba. In total, there are over 200 ethnic languages.

French is generally the language of instruction in schools. English is taught as a compulsory foreign language in Secondary and High 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. Former President Kabila himself is fluent in both English and French, as was his father.

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%.^[9]

Another estimate (by the Pew Research Center in 2010) found Christianity was followed by 95.8% of the population.^[10]

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%.^[11]

The Joshua Project, a Christian missionary organisation, gives the following percentages: Roman Catholic 43.9%, Protestant 24.8%, Other Christian 23.7%, Muslim 1.6%, Non-religious 0.6%, Hindu 0.1% other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 5.3%.^[12]

Other demographic statistics[]

These are some other demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.^[13]

• One birth every 9 seconds
• One death every 40 seconds
• One net migrant every 28 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 12 seconds

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.^[14]

Population[]

85,281,024 (July 2018 est.)

81.34 million

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.)

Age structure[]

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

male: 18.6 years

female: 19 years (2018 est.)

Birth rate[]

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

Death rate[]

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

Total fertility rate[]

5.7 children born/woman (2020 est.)

Population growth rate[]

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[]

20.4% (2013/14)

Net migration rate[]

-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.^[15]

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.^[15]

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.^[15]

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.^[15]

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.^[15]

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: 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.)^[16]

Urbanization[]

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).^[17]

Rank	Country	Region	Year	DRC born population
1	France	Europe	2010	59,641
2	Belgium	Europe	2015	44,715
3	United States	North America	2011-13	20,410
4	Canada	North America	2011	19,890
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	Australia	Oceania	2011	2,576
11	Norway	Europe	2015	2,210
12	Sweden	Europe	2015	3,092
13	Spain	Europe	2013	1,494
14	Finland	Europe	2015	1,523
15	Denmark	Europe	2015	1,264
16	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.^{[citation needed]}

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[]

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document: "2007 edition".

External links[]

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