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 of the populace, 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 Kongo, Luba-Kasai, Swahili, and Lingala.

Population

According to the total population was in, compared to only 12,184,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 46.3%, 51.1% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.7% was 65 years or older
Total populationPopulation aged 0–14 Population aged 15–64 Population aged 65+
195012 184 00043.752.53.8
195513 580 00043.853.13.1
196015 368 00043.853.32.9
196517 543 00043.953.22.8
197020 267 00044.452.82.8
197523 317 00044.952.32.8
198027 019 00045.451.82.8
198531 044 00046.151.12.8
199036 406 00047.050.22.8
199544 067 00047.949.42.7
200049 626 00048.049.42.7
200557 421 00047.549.92.7
201065 966 00046.351.12.7

Structure of the population :
Age GroupMale Female Total
0-420.619.420.00
5-917.516.717.1
10-1415,113,914,5
15-199,38,79,0
20-246,87,97,3
25-296,07,56,8
30-344,85,65,2
35-394,24,74,4
40-444,03,33,6
45-493,12,62,8
50-542,43,52,9
55-591,92,22,1
60-642,01,51,8
65-691,11,21,1
70-740,60,80,7
75-790,40,40,4
80+0,30,40,3

Vital statistics

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

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate and Crude Birth Rate :
YearCBR TFR CBR TFR CBR TFR
200744,16,3 40,45,4 46,87,0
2013-1444,16,6 40,55,4 45,97,3

Fertility data as of 2013-2014 :
ProvinceTotal fertility ratePercentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnantMean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
Kinshasa4.25.74.8
Bas-Congo6.012.66.5
Bandundu6.312.16.1
Équateur7.014.36.5
Orientale5.911.65.3
Nord-Kivu6.59.76.7
Sud-Kivu7.712.57.4
Maniema6.914.87.0
Katanga7.812.87.3
Kasaï Oriental7.312.47.5
Kasaï Occidental8.214.27.5

Life expectancy

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, and the Mangbetu-Azande make up about 45% of the population. 5,000 people from Belgium and 5,000 people from Greece currently live in DR Congo.
Bantu peoples :
Central Sudanic/Ubangian :
Nilotic peoples :
Pygmy peoples :
More than 600,000 pygmies are believed to live in the DR Congo's huge forests, where they survive by hunting wild animals and gathering fruits.

Languages

The four major languages in the DRC are French, Lingala, Kingwana, Kikongo, and Tshiluba. There are over 200 ethnic languages.
French is generally the medium of instruction in schools. English is taught as a compulsory foreign language in Secondary and High School 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. In the town of Beni, for instance, there is a Bilingual University that offer courses in both French and English. 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. An indigenous religion, Kimbanguism, has the adherence of 2.8%, while Muslims make up 1.2%.
Another estimate found Christianity was followed by 95.8% of the population, according to the Pew Research Center in 2010.
The CIA The World Factbook states: Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Islam 10%, Other 10%.
Joshua Project figures: 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%.

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.

Population

Age structure

Median age

Birth rate

Death rate

[Total fertility rate]

Population growth rate

Mother's mean age at first birth

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Net migration rate

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
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

[Dependency ratio]s

Gender ratio

Life expectancy at birth

Urbanization

HIV/AIDS

Major infectious diseases

Nationality

Literacy

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

Congolese diaspora

The table below shows DRC born people who have emigrated abroad in selected Western countries.
RankCountryRegionYearDRC born population
1FRAEurope2010
2BELEurope2015
3USANorth America2011-13
4CANNorth America2011
5GBREurope2011
6GEREurope2011
7SWIEurope2011
8ITAEurope2015
9NLDEurope2015
10AUSOceania2011
11NOREurope2015
12SWEEurope2015
13SPAEurope2013
14FINEurope2015
15DENEurope2015
16AUTEurope2015

These are only estimates and do not account for Congolese migrants residing illegally in these and other countries.