Congo, Democratic Republic of the Demographics Profile 2009

Population

68,692,542
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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2009 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 46.9% (male 16,161,301/female 16,038,024)
15-64 years: 50.6% (male 17,289,453/female 17,483,027)
65 years and over: 2.5% (male 699,667/female 1,021,070) (2009 est.)

Median age

total: 16.4 years
male: 16.2 years
female: 16.6 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate

3.208% (2009 est.)

Birth rate

42.63 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Death rate

11.63 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)

Net migration rate

1.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 34% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 5.1% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Sex 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: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 81.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 89.11 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 73.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 54.36 years
male: 52.58 years
female: 56.2 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate

6.2 children born/woman (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

4.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

1.1 million (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

100,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, plague, and African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness)
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
animal contact disease: rabies (2009)

Nationality

noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo

Ethnic groups

over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population

Religions

Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 10%

Languages

French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba
total population: 67.2%
male: 80.9%
female: 54.1% (2001 est.)

Education expenditures

NA