The total population of the Congo (Congo Kinshasa) amounted to approximately 103.20 million people in 2024. Following a continuous upward trend, the total population has risen by around 78.08 million people since 1980. Between 2024 and 2030, the total population will rise by around 21.89 million people, continuing its consistent upward trajectory.This indicator describes the total population in the country at hand. This total population of the country consists of all persons falling within the scope of the census.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Kinshasa, Republic of Congo metro area from 1950 to 2025.

The total population of the Congo (Congo Kinshasa) lies at approximately 106.55 million people in 2025.Continuous rise between 1980 and 2025Compared to the earliest depicted observation from 1980 this is a total increase by approximately 81.43 million people. The trajectory from 1980 to 2025 shows furthermore that this increase happened continuously.Continuous rise between 2025 and 2030The total population will be around 125.09 million people in 2030, according to forecasts. There is an overall increase by approximately 18.54 million people since 2025. This growth reflects a steady upward trend.This indicator describes the total population in the country at hand. This total population of the country consists of all persons falling within the scope of the census.

Population Growth for the Democratic Republic of the Congo was 3.25964 % Chg. at Annual Rate in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population Growth for the Democratic Republic of the Congo reached a record high of 3.89354 in January of 1992 and a record low of 1.99227 in January of 1951. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population Growth for the Democratic Republic of the Congo - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Population for the Democratic Republic of the Congo was 86.79057 Mil. of Persons in January of 2019, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population for the Democratic Republic of the Congo reached a record high of 86.79057 in January of 2019 and a record low of 12.46617 in January of 1950. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population for the Democratic Republic of the Congo - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

This data release provides gridded population estimates (spatial resolution of 3 arc-seconds, approximately 100-metre grid cells) for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), along with uncertainty estimates. The data is a mosaic of gridded population estimates produced for eleven provinces namely Tanganyika, Maniema, Haut-Katanga, Haut-Lomami, Kasai, Kasai-Oriental, Kwilu, Lomami, Mongala, Sankuru, Tshopo.

This data also contains mastergrid for the entire DRC.

The projection for all GIS files is the geographic coordinate system WGS84 (World Geodetic System 1984).

SUGGESTED CITATIONYankey O., Nnanatu C., Boo G., Chaudhuri S., Krishnaveni K S, Megheib M, Bonnie A., Chamberlain H., Lazar A. N., Tatem A. J. 2025. Bottom-up gridded population estimates for the Democratic Republic of Congo, version 4.2. WorldPop. https://wopr.worldpop.org/?COD/Population/v4.2

According to the forecast, Africa's total population would reach nearly 2.5 billion by 2050. In 2025, the continent had around 1.55 billion inhabitants, with Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Egypt as the most populous countries. In the coming years, Africa will experience significant population growth and will close the gap significantly with the Asian population by 2100. Rapid population growth In Africa, the annual growth rate of the population followed an overall increasing trend up to 2013, reaching nearly 2.63 percent. This was followed by a drop to 2.32 percent by 2023. Although population growth was slowing down, it was still growing faster than in all other regions. The reasons behind this rapid growth are various. One factor is the high fertility rate registered in African countries. In 2023, a woman in Somalia, Chad, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic had an average of over six children in her reproductive years, the highest rate on the continent. High fertility resulted in a large young population and partly compensated for the high mortality rate in Africa, leading to fast-paced population growth. High poverty levels Africa’s population is concerned with widespread poverty. In 2025, over 438 million people on the continent are extremely poor and live with less than 2.15 U.S. dollars per day. Globally, Africa is the continent hosting the highest poverty rate. In 2025, the countries of Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo account for over 23 percent of the world's population living in extreme poverty. Nevertheless, the share of the population living in poverty in Africa is forecast to decrease in the coming years.

Population Ages 0 to 14 for the Democratic Republic of the Congo was 46.08829 % of Total in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population Ages 0 to 14 for the Democratic Republic of the Congo reached a record high of 46.38868 in January of 2014 and a record low of 43.36422 in January of 1960. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population Ages 0 to 14 for the Democratic Republic of the Congo - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Population Ages 15 to 64 for the Democratic Republic of the Congo was 50.84336 % of Total in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population Ages 15 to 64 for the Democratic Republic of the Congo reached a record high of 53.76627 in January of 1965 and a record low of 50.59244 in January of 2014. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population Ages 15 to 64 for the Democratic Republic of the Congo - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

In 2025, nearly 11.7 percent of the world population in extreme poverty, with the poverty threshold at 2.15 U.S. dollars a day, lived in Nigeria. Moreover, the Democratic Republic of the Congo accounted for around 11.7 percent of the global population in extreme poverty. Other African nations with a large poor population were Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar. Poverty levels remain high despite the forecast decline Poverty is a widespread issue across Africa. Around 429 million people on the continent were living below the extreme poverty line of 2.15 U.S. dollars a day in 2024. Since the continent had approximately 1.4 billion inhabitants, roughly a third of Africa’s population was in extreme poverty that year. Mozambique, Malawi, Central African Republic, and Niger had Africa’s highest extreme poverty rates based on the 2.15 U.S. dollars per day extreme poverty indicator (updated from 1.90 U.S. dollars in September 2022). Although the levels of poverty on the continent are forecast to decrease in the coming years, Africa will remain the poorest region compared to the rest of the world. Prevalence of poverty and malnutrition across Africa Multiple factors are linked to increased poverty. Regions with critical situations of employment, education, health, nutrition, war, and conflict usually have larger poor populations. Consequently, poverty tends to be more prevalent in least-developed and developing countries worldwide. For similar reasons, rural households also face higher poverty levels. In 2024, the extreme poverty rate in Africa stood at around 45 percent among the rural population, compared to seven percent in urban areas. Together with poverty, malnutrition is also widespread in Africa. Limited access to food leads to low health conditions, increasing the poverty risk. At the same time, poverty can determine inadequate nutrition. Almost 38.3 percent of the global undernourished population lived in Africa in 2022.

Worldwide, the Kutupalong Expansion Site in Bangladesh was the largest refugee camp, hosting nearly *********** refugees. Most of its refugee population is Rohingya, who have fled from neighboring Myanmar after years of persecution and a genocide that started in 2016. Violent conflicts in East Africa Some of the largest refugee camps in the world are located in East Africa. This is no surprise as violent conflicts in Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have forced millions to flee their countries. Many refugees do not end up in refugee camps, but are forced to reside on the outskirts of towns, while others take the dangerous route towards Europe or North America. Africa is also the continent in the world with the second highest number of registered refugees, behind Europe, including Turkey. Increasing number of refugees After being relatively stable through the 2000s, the number of refugees in the world has increased since 2012. This is strongly connected to the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, and as a result, the highest number of refugees in the world is from Syria. Moreover, the Russia-Ukraine war since February 2022, the Taliban retaking power in Afghanistan in 2021, and the civil war in Sudan have increased the global refugee count.

As of 2023, the total population of Africa was over 1.48 billion. The number of inhabitants on the continent increased annually from 2000 onwards. In comparison, the total population was around 831 million in 2000. According to forecasts, Africa will experience impressive population growth in the coming years and will close the gap with the Asian population by 2100. Over 200 million people in Nigeria Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. In 2025, the country’s population exceeded 237 million people. Ethiopia followed with a population of around 135 million, while Egypt ranked third, accounting for approximately 118 million individuals. Other leading African countries in terms of population were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, and Kenya. Additionally, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad recorded the highest population growth rate on the continent in 2023, with the number of residents rising by over 3.08 percent compared to the previous year. On the other hand, the populations of Tunisia and Eswatini registered a growth rate below 0.85 percent, while for Mauritius and Seychelles, it was negative. Drivers for population growth Several factors have driven Africa’s population growth. For instance, the annual number of births on the continent has risen constantly over the years, jumping from nearly 32 million in 2000 to almost 46 million in 2023. Moreover, despite the constant decline in the number of births per woman, the continent’s fertility rate has remained considerably above the global average. Each woman in Africa had an average of over four children throughout her reproductive years as of 2023, compared to a world rate of around two births per woman. At the same time, improved health and living conditions contributed to decreasing mortality rate and increasing life expectancy in recent years, driving population growth.

The Global Electrification Platform (GEP) is a multi-phase project led by the World Bank to standardize and simplify the use of geospatial tools for least-cost electrification planning. The GEP provides a high-level overview of the technology mix (grid and off-grid) required to achieve universal access by 2030. It focuses on the countries with access rates below 90 percent and the 50 countries with the highest population deficit, with an intermediated investment prospectus for 2025. The results of the model indicate the least-cost investment requirements based on publicly available information on demand and existing infrastructure.

Africa has the youngest population in the world. Among the 35 countries with the lowest median age worldwide, only three fall outside the continent. In 2023, the median age in Niger was 15.1 years, the youngest country. This means that at this age point, half of the population was younger and half older. A young population reflects several demographic characteristics of a country. For instance, together with a high population growth, life expectancy in Western Africa is low: this reached 58 years for men and 60 for women in 2024. Overall, Africa has the lowest life expectancy in the world.

Africa’s population is still growing Africa’s population growth can be linked to a high fertility rate, along with a drop in death rates. Despite the fertility rate on the continent following a constant declining trend, it remains far higher compared to all other regions worldwide. It was forecast to reach 4.02 children per woman, compared to a worldwide average of 2.25 children per woman in 2024. Furthermore, the crude death rate in Africa overall dropped, only increasing slightly during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The largest populations on the continent Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the most populous African countries. In 2025, people living in Nigeria amounted to over 237 million, while the number for the three other countries exceeded 100 million each. Of those, the Democratic Republic of Congo sustained the fourth-highest fertility rate in Africa in 2023. Nigeria and Ethiopia also had high rates, with 4.48 and 3.99 births per woman, respectively. Although such a high fertility rate is expected to slow down, it will still impact the population structure, growing younger nations.

In 2024, the fertility rate in Africa was *** children per woman. The average number of newborn infants per woman on the continent decreased compared to 2000, when women had approximately **** children throughout their reproductive years. By 2030, fertility in Africa is projected to decline to around *** births per woman, yet it will remain high. The highest fertility rate worldwide Despite its gradually declining rate, fertility in Africa is the highest in the world. In 2023, the average fertility rate on the continent stood at **** children per woman, compared to a global average of **** births per woman. In contrast, Europe and North America were the continents with the lowest proportion of newborns, each registering a fertility rate below two children per woman. Additionally, Africa records the highest fertility rate among the young female population aged 15 to 19 years. In 2022, West and Central Africa had an adolescent fertility rate of nearly *** children per 1,000 girls, the highest value worldwide. Lower fertility in Northern Africa Fertility levels vary significantly across Africa. In 2023, Somalia, Chad, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic were the countries with the highest fertility rates on the continent. In those countries, women had an average of over *** children in their reproductive years. The number of adolescent girls giving birth also differed within Africa. For instance, the adolescent fertility rate in North Africa stood at around **** children per 1,000 young women in 2023. On the other hand, Sub-Saharan Africa registered a higher rate of approximately **** children per 1,000 girls as of the same year. In general, higher poverty levels, inadequate social and health conditions, and increased infant mortality are some main drivers of higher fertility rates.