Demographics of the Republic of the Congo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Republic of the Congo population pyramid in 2020

This article is about the demographic features of the population of the Republic of the Congo, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

The Republic of the Congo's sparse population is concentrated in the southwestern portion of the country, leaving the vast areas of tropical jungle in the north virtually uninhabited. Thus, Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa, with 85% of its total population living in a few urban areas, namely in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or one of the small cities or villages lining the 534-kilometre (332 mi) railway which connects the two cities. In rural areas, industrial and commercial activity has declined rapidly in recent years, leaving rural economies dependent on the government for support and subsistence. Before the 1997 war, about 15,000 Europeans and other non-Africans lived in Congo, most of whom were French. Presently, only about 9,500 remain. Pygmies make up 2% of Congo's population.[1]

Population[]

Population of the Republic of the Congo, Data of FAO, year 2005

According to the 2019 revision of the World Population Prospects[2][3] the total population was 5,244,359 in 2018, compared to only 808 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 40.6%, 55.7% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.7% was 65 years or older .[4]

Total population Population aged 0–14 (%) Population aged 15–64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
1950 808 000 40.1 56.4 3.5
1955 899 000 40.5 55.9 3.6
1960 1 014 000 41.4 55.0 3.7
1965 1 158 000 42.5 53.7 3.8
1970 1 335 000 43.5 52.7 3.8
1975 1 555 000 44.2 52.0 3.8
1980 1 798 000 44.8 51.4 3.8
1985 2 081 000 44.6 51.7 3.7
1990 2 389 000 43.7 52.5 3.7
1995 2 733 000 42.5 53.7 3.7
2000 3 136 000 41.5 54.7 3.7
2005 3 533 000 41.3 55.0 3.7
2010 4 043 000 40.6 55.7 3.7

Vital statistics[]

Registration of vital events in the Republic of the Congo is incomplete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. [4]

Period Live births per year Deaths per year Natural change per year CBR* CDR* NC* TFR* IMR*
1950-1955 36 000 18 000 18 000 42.2 20.9 21.4 5.68 142
1955-1960 40 000 17 000 23 000 42.3 18.3 24.0 5.79 123
1960-1965 46 000 18 000 29 000 42.8 16.2 26.6 5.99 107
1965-1970 54 000 18 000 35 000 43.1 14.8 28.3 6.19 97
1970-1975 62 000 20 000 43 000 43.1 13.7 29.4 6.29 89
1975-1980 72 000 21 000 50 000 42.7 12.8 29.9 6.29 83
1980-1985 79 000 23 000 56 000 40.9 12.0 29.0 5.99 78
1985-1990 87 000 26 000 61 000 38.9 11.4 27.4 5.55 73
1990-1995 97 000 31 000 66 000 37.8 12.1 25.6 5.21 74
1995-2000 111 000 37 000 74 000 37.7 12.6 25.1 5.01 75
2000-2005 124 000 42 000 82 000 37.2 12.5 24.6 4.85 75
2005-2010 136 000 44 000 92 000 36.0 11.7 24.3 4.64 72
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); 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):[5]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
2005 40,0 4,8 (4,4) 34,6 3,8 (3,5) 46,1 6,1 (5,7)
2011-2012 41,4 5,1 (4,5) 40,6 4,5 (4,1) 42,8 6,5 (5,5)

Fertility data as of 2011-2012 (DHS Program):[6]

Department Total fertility rate Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
Kouilou 6.8 11.4 6.2
Niari 5.9 11.9 5.4
Lékoumou 6.5 9.9 5.7
Bouenza 5.7 8.5 5.6
Pool 6.4 10.2 5.5
Plateaux 6.3 11.4 5.6
Cuvette 6.4 12.5 5.6
Cuvette-Ouest 6.0 10.1 6.1
Sangha 5.8 11.9 5.4
Likouala 7.0 11.7 6.4
Brazzaville 4.3 8.7 4.3
Pointe-Noire 4.6 9.2 4.5

Ethnic groups[]

Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, Teke 17%, Mbochi 12%, Europeans and other 3%[7]

Languages[]

Kikongo/Kituba language area
Lingala language area

French (official), Kituba or Monokutuba (lingua franca), Kongo or Kikongo, Lingala, and many local languages and dialects.

The majority of the population is concentrated along the railroad between Pointe-Noire and Brazzaville in the south where Kituba (a creole language based on Kikongo) is the primary language. Lingala is influential in the sparsely inhabited northern half of the country.

Religion[]

Roman Catholic 33.1%, Awakening Churches/Christian Revival 22.3%, Protestant 19.9%, Salutiste 2.2%, Islam 1.6%, Kimbanguiste 1.5%, Other 8.1%, None 11.3% (2010 est.)[7]

Health[]

Life expectancy for the population was estimated at 54.91 years in 2011: 53.62 for males and 56.25 for females. The adult prevalence rate for HIV/AIDS was 3.4% as of 2009, representing 77,000 people living with the disease and 5,100 deaths. The Republic of Congo is considered to have a high degree of risk of infectious diseases, particularly bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and typhoid fever (all food- or waterborne), and malaria (vectorborne).

Period Life expectancy in
Years[8]
1950–1955 43.15
1955–1960 Increase 46.83
1960–1965 Increase 50.16
1965–1970 Increase 52.49
1970–1975 Increase 54.11
1975–1980 Increase 55.44
1980–1985 Increase 56.63
1985–1990 Increase 56.66
1990–1995 Decrease 54.83
1995–2000 Decrease 51.99
2000–2005 Increase 52.12
2005–2010 Increase 57.95
2010–2015 Increase 62.55

Education[]

As of 2003, 83.8% of the adult population was considered literate, consisting 89.3% of males and 78.4% of females.

Other demographic statistics[]

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.[9]

  • One birth every 3 minutes
  • One death every 14 minutes
  • One net migrant every 144 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 4 minutes

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.[10]

Population[]

5,062,021 (July 2018 est.)

Age structure[]

Population pyramid of the Republic of the Congo in 2017
0-14 years: 41.75% (male 1,066,474 /female 1,046,924)
15-24 years: 16.99% (male 431,279 /female 428,999)
25-54 years: 33.77% (male 857,596 /female 851,712)
55-64 years: 4.39% (male 112,669 /female 109,429)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 69,621 /female 87,318) (2018 est.)
0-14 years: 41.67% (male 1,041,761/female 1,022,763)
15-24 years: 17.1% (male 424,521/female 422,755)
25-54 years: 33.89% (male 843,856/female 835,041)
55-64 years: 4.29% (male 106,776/female 105,573)
65 years and over: 3.06% (male 66,962/female 84,666) (2017 est.)

Median age[]

total: 19.6 years. Country comparison to the world: 199th
male: 19.4 years
female: 19.8 years (2018 est.)
total: 19.7 years
male: 19.5 years
female: 19.8 years (2017 est.)

Birth rate[]

33.7 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 26th
34.4 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Death rate[]

9.2 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 58th
9.5 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Total fertility rate[]

4.26 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 28th

Population growth rate[]

2.17% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 38th
2.11% (2017 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth[]

19.8 years (2011/12 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Contraceptive prevalence rate[]

30.1% (2014/15)

Net migration rate[]

-2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 172nd

Religions[]

Roman Catholic 33.1%, Awakening Churches/Christian Revival 22.3%, Protestant 19.9%, Salutiste 2.2%, Muslim 1.6%, Kimbanguiste 1.5%, other 8.1%, none 11.3% (2010 est.)

Dependency ratios[]

total dependency ratio: 84.5 (2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 78.3 (2015 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 6.2 (2015 est.)
potential support ratio: 16.1 (2015 est.)

Urbanization[]

urban population: 66.9% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanisation: 3.28% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Sex ratio[]

at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate[]

total: 53.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)
male: 58.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)
female: 48.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

Life expectancy at birth[]

total population: 60.3 years (2018 est.)
male: 59 years (2018 est.)
female: 61.6 years (2018 est.)

HIV/AIDS[]

Adult prevalence rate: 3.1% (2017 est.)
People living with HIV/AIDS: 100,000 (2017 est.)
HIV/AIDS deaths: 4,900 (2017 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate[]

9.6% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight[]

12.3% (2015)

Literacy[]

definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

total population: 79.3% (2015 est.)
male: 86.4% (2015 est.)
female: 72.9% (2015 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)[]

total: 11 years (2012)
male: 11 years (2012)
female: 11 years (2012)

References[]

  1. ^ "Les pygmées du Congo en "danger d'extinction"". 5 August 2011 – via Le Monde.
  2. ^ ""World Population prospects – Population division"". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  3. ^ ""Overall total population" – World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision" (xslx). population.un.org (custom data acquired via website). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "MEASURE DHS: Demographic and Health Surveys". microdata.worldbank.org.
  6. ^ "Enquête Démographique et de Santé 2011-2012" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Africa :: CONGO, REPUBLIC OF THE". CIA The World Factbook.
  8. ^ "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  9. ^ "Republic of the Congo Population 2019", World Population Review
  10. ^ "The World FactBook - Republic of the Congo", The World Factbook, July 12, 2018Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document: "2006 edition".

Retrieved from ""