Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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.

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	6.05 children born/woman (2023 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

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.

	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
2020	101 780 263	46.4	51.2	2.5

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

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	50 286 000	51 472 000	101 758 000	100
0–4	9 956 000	9 780 000	19 736 000	19.40
5–9	8 046 000	7 978 000	16 024 000	15.75
10–14	6 638 000	6 588 000	13 226 000	13.00
15–19	5 280 000	5 250 000	10 530 000	10.35
20–24	4 224 000	4 272 000	8 496 000	8.35
25–29	3 621 000	3 603 000	7 224 000	7.10
30–34	3 017 000	3 037 000	6 054 000	5.95
35–39	2 565 000	2 728 000	5 293 000	5.20
40–44	2 011 000	2 059 000	4 070 000	4.00
45–49	1 307 000	1 493 000	2 800 000	2.75
50–54	1 056 000	1 287 000	2 343 000	2.30
55–59	704 000	926 000	1 630 000	1.60
60–64	704 000	926 000	1 630 000	1.60
65–69	553 000	721 000	1 274 000	1.25
70–74	302 000	412 000	714 000	0.70
75+	302 000	412 000	714 000	0.70
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	24 640 000	24 346 000	48 986 000	48.14
15–64	24 489 000	25 581 000	50 070 000	49.20
65+	1 157 000	1 545 000	2 702 000	2.66

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (DHS 2023-24):

Age Group	Male	Female	Total
0–4	17.6	15.4	16.5
5–9	17.5	16.4	17.0
10–14	16.0	15.5	15.7
15–19	10.7	9.9	10.3
20–24	7.0	8.3	7.7
25–29	5.1	6.3	5.7
30–34	4.4	5.2	4.8
35–39	4.6	5.1	4.9
40–44	3.8	3.5	3.6
45–49	2.9	2.8	2.9
50–54	2.6	3.9	3.3
55–59	2.0	2.4	2.2
60–64	2.6	2.0	2.3
65-69	1.5	1.4	1.4
70-74	0.8	0.9	0.8
75-79	0.5	0.5	0.5
80+	0.4	0.4	0.4
Age group	Male	Female	Total
0–14	51.1	47.3	49.2
15–64	45.7	49.5	47.7
65+	3.2	3.2	3.1

View source data.

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.

Period	Population (in thousands)	Live births per year (in thousands)	Deaths per year (in thousands)	Natural change per year (in thousands)	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*	Life expectancy
1950	12,174	566	326	239	46.0	26.6	19.5	5.97	179.9	38.31
1951	12,415	579	328	251	46.1	26.2	20.0	5.97	178.5	38.44
1952	12,671	592	327	264	46.2	25.6	20.6	5.97	175.8	38.85
1953	12,937	607	329	278	46.4	25.1	21.2	5.98	173.3	39.14
1954	13,202	619	330	289	46.3	24.7	21.6	5.98	171.0	39.47
1955	13,484	632	333	299	46.3	24.4	21.9	5.98	168.8	39.72
1956	13,777	646	336	311	46.4	24.1	22.3	5.99	166.7	39.98
1957	14,084	663	338	325	46.5	23.7	22.8	6.01	164.7	40.32
1958	14,402	681	343	338	46.7	23.5	23.2	6.04	162.9	40.50
1959	14,714	698	348	349	46.8	23.4	23.4	6.07	161.2	40.64
1960	15,069	716	354	362	46.9	23.2	23.7	6.08	159.8	40.86
1961	15,460	738	370	368	47.1	23.6	23.5	6.11	159.6	40.24
1962	15,864	761	378	383	47.4	23.5	23.8	6.13	158.1	40.34
1963	16,287	785	385	400	47.5	23.3	24.2	6.16	156.5	40.60
1964	16,728	808	403	406	47.7	23.8	24.0	6.18	155.7	40.05
1965	17,183	833	404	429	47.9	23.2	24.7	6.21	153.1	40.70
1966	17,673	859	397	462	47.9	22.1	25.8	6.24	149.5	42.05
1967	18,191	885	405	480	48.0	21.9	26.0	6.27	147.3	42.31
1968	18,735	910	411	500	47.9	21.6	26.3	6.30	145.1	42.71
1969	19,290	935	418	517	47.8	21.4	26.4	6.32	142.7	42.98
1970	19,851	959	425	534	47.6	21.1	26.5	6.34	140.5	43.28
1971	20,424	985	431	554	47.5	20.8	26.8	6.38	138.3	43.66
1972	20,967	1,006	437	569	47.3	20.5	26.8	6.40	136.4	43.93
1973	21,535	1,026	445	582	47.0	20.4	26.6	6.41	134.7	44.10
1974	22,121	1,047	451	597	46.7	20.1	26.6	6.42	133.3	44.41
1975	22,717	1,070	460	610	46.4	20.0	26.4	6.42	132.1	44.47
1976	23,325	1,091	468	623	46.1	19.8	26.3	6.43	130.9	44.66
1977	23,923	1,111	476	634	45.8	19.6	26.1	6.43	129.8	44.76
1978	24,535	1,134	491	643	45.6	19.7	25.8	6.44	129.1	44.54
1979	25,450	1,184	496	688	45.9	19.2	26.7	6.46	126.9	45.21
1980	26,323	1,227	507	720	46.0	19.0	27.0	6.47	125.1	45.47
1981	27,099	1,260	517	744	45.9	18.8	27.1	6.49	123.5	45.72
1982	27,902	1,293	526	766	45.8	18.6	27.2	6.50	121.9	45.92
1983	28,774	1,333	535	798	45.9	18.5	27.5	6.55	120.3	46.18
1984	29,728	1,377	545	832	46.2	18.3	27.9	6.60	118.7	46.45
1985	30,763	1,433	559	873	46.5	18.2	28.4	6.65	117.4	46.62
1986	31,767	1,480	571	910	46.7	18.0	28.7	6.69	116.1	46.91
1987	32,763	1,529	579	950	46.8	17.7	29.1	6.74	114.9	47.34
1988	33,834	1,568	588	980	46.5	17.4	29.1	6.73	113.7	47.77
1989	34,931	1,610	596	1,014	46.3	17.1	29.1	6.74	112.6	48.17
1990	36,043	1,652	604	1,047	46.0	16.8	29.2	6.70	111.3	48.60
1991	37,325	1,713	617	1,097	46.1	16.6	29.5	6.69	110.1	48.95
1992	38,526	1,761	629	1,132	45.9	16.4	29.5	6.67	108.9	49.24
1993	39,932	1,804	638	1,165	45.7	16.2	29.5	6.64	108.1	49.55
1994	41,381	1,878	653	1,225	45.9	16.0	29.9	6.67	107.0	49.88
1995	43,873	2,046	682	1,364	47.1	15.7	31.4	6.71	105.7	50.41
1996	44,995	2,083	730	1,353	46.8	16.4	30.4	6.72	106.4	49.31
1997	45,598	2,067	707	1,360	45.8	15.7	30.2	6.73	103.7	50.40
1998	46,462	2,071	729	1,342	45.1	15.9	29.2	6.73	101.5	49.70
1999	48,133	2,128	739	1,389	45.0	15.6	29.4	6.72	99.5	49.95
2000	49,693	2,189	712	1,477	45.0	14.6	30.4	6.72	97.3	51.78
2001	51,322	2,245	721	1,525	44.8	14.4	30.4	6.70	95.0	52.12
2002	52,943	2,310	733	1,577	44.7	14.2	30.5	6.67	92.6	52.33
2003	54,558	2,372	738	1,634	44.5	13.9	30.7	6.64	89.9	52.83
2004	56,130	2,426	738	1,688	44.3	13.5	30.8	6.62	87.2	53.43
2005	57,865	2,499	743	1,757	44.2	13.1	31.1	6.60	84.6	53.93
2006	59,686	2,592	746	1,846	44.4	12.8	31.6	6.59	82.0	54.53
2007	61,546	2,675	756	1,920	44.4	12.5	31.8	6.58	79.4	54.92
2008	63,410	2,767	764	2,003	44.4	12.3	32.2	6.58	77.0	55.34
2009	65,372	2,867	771	2,096	44.6	12.0	32.6	6.59	74.5	55.84
2010	67,453	2,957	774	2,183	44.5	11.7	32.9	6.59	72.2	56.42
2011	69,674	3,069	776	2,293	44.7	11.3	33.4	6.58	70.0	57.07
2012	72,025	3,171	793	2,378	44.6	11.2	33.5	6.56	68.0	57.25
2013	74,484	3,247	797	2,450	44.2	10.9	33.4	6.53	65.9	57.76
2014	77,095	3,345	802	2,543	44.0	10.6	33.4	6.48	64.0	58.30
2015	79,712	3,433	818	2,615	43.6	10.4	33.2	6.44	62.2	58.49
2016	82,359	3,532	820	2,712	43.4	10.1	33.3	6.39	60.4	59.07
2017	85,554	3,647	832	2,815	43.3	9.9	33.4	6.35	58.6	59.41
2018	88,613	3,748	835	2,913	43.0	9.6	33.4	6.30	56.9	59.94
2019	91,482	3,839	844	2,995	42.7	9.4	33.3	6.25	55.5	60.28
2020	94,413	3,930	886	3,044	42.3	9.5	32.8	6.21	53.9	59.74
2021	97,567	4,158	930	3,163	41.9	9.4	31.9	6.16	52.0	60.0
2022	100,731	4,262	914	3,333	41.6	8.9	32.7	6.11	50.5	61.0
2023	104,063	4,370	902	3,453	41.3	8.5	32.8	6.05	49.3	61.9
2024					40.9	8.4	32.5	5.98
2025					40.4	8.3	32.1	5.90
*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)

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

Demographic and Health Surveys

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.

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)
2023–24	35.7	5.5 (4.8)	30.4	4.2 (3.5)	38.6	6.4 (5.7)

Fertility data per province, as of 2014:

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
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

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:^{[failed verification]}

Shi people
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

People of European descent (white) and Asian groups make up a significant part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's migrant population. Most Europeans and Asians went to the country for temporary employment.

Languages


French			79%
Lingala			59%
Swahili			40%
Kikongo			17%
Tshiluba			17%
English			7%
Percentage of the DRC population who speak each of the five national languages, plus English.

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%.

Congolese diaspora

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	2,740
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.^{[citation needed]}