DR Congo Flag

DR Congo

Population

117,580,580

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026View source
Population rank
15th
Share of world
1.4%
Annual change
+3,619,6893.27%

Population of DR Congo

0200M400M600M800M1B1.2B1.4B2026117.6M2050 projection218.2M↑ 86% from 202619601980200020202040206020802100

Source: United Nations — World Population Prospects (2024 Revision)

95% prediction interval

Current population estimate: 117,580,580. 2050 projection: 218,246,072.Use the arrow keys on the chart to inspect individual years.

Historical population estimates for DR Congo. Annual change is shown as a percentage.
2026116,452,1623.27%15
2025112,832,4733.29%15
202095,989,9983.27%16
201992,947,4423.22%16
201890,047,6443.40%16
201787,083,3983.73%16
201581,035,5313.40%18
201068,563,0383.13%20
200558,775,7243.08%22
200050,507,4422.60%23

Showing 10 of 19 years.

Population by City

Kinshasa is home to 21,852,144 people, 18.76% of DR Congo's population.

City population20M9M3M
Kinshasa 21.9MMbuji-Mayi 3.3MLubumbashi 3.2MKananga 1.9MKisangani 1.6MBukavu 1.4MTshikapa 1.1MKolwezi 1.0MGoma 750.6KUvira 706.4K
Largest cities by 2026 population and share of the national population.
1Kinshasa21.9M18.76%
2Mbuji-Mayi3.3M2.85%
3Lubumbashi3.2M2.72%
4Kananga1.9M1.63%
5Kisangani1.6M1.36%
6Bukavu1.4M1.22%
7Tshikapa1.1M0.95%
8Kolwezi1.0M0.87%
9Goma750.6K0.64%
10Uvira706.4K0.61%

DR Congo by the Numbers

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026

Population
DR Congo is home to an estimated 117,580,580 people, the 15th largest population in the world.
Daily change
DR Congo has a net population change of approximately 9,986 people per day, driven by 12,690 births, 2,625 deaths, and net emigration of 79 people.
Share of world
DR Congo makes up 1.4% of the world's population and 7.35% of Africa's.
Density
51.4 people per km² of land (133.0 per mi²), ranking 164th among countries and territories.
Urban living
45.11% of people live in urban areas.

DR Congo Demographics

Age & longevity

MaleFemale100+ years, male: 24100+ years, female: 12195–99 years, male: 74595–99 years, female: 2,07590–94 years, male: 8,39390–94 years, female: 16,11185–89 years, male: 44,50885–89 years, female: 68,10980–84 years, male: 135,49480–84 years, female: 184,95175–79 years, male: 277,03775–79 years, female: 346,84470–74 years, male: 467,08370–74 years, female: 550,45165–69 years, male: 701,53965–69 years, female: 799,09560–64 years, male: 960,27460–64 years, female: 1,063,76455–59 years, male: 1,223,75955–59 years, female: 1,324,83250–54 years, male: 1,466,24450–54 years, female: 1,554,88845–49 years, male: 1,773,24245–49 years, female: 1,843,31640–44 years, male: 2,269,81140–44 years, female: 2,332,26935–39 years, male: 2,845,48635–39 years, female: 2,913,19030–34 years, male: 3,532,41630–34 years, female: 3,600,08325–29 years, male: 4,205,70825–29 years, female: 4,265,45820–24 years, male: 4,989,87320–24 years, female: 5,039,35615–19 years, male: 6,121,12515–19 years, female: 6,153,00610–14 years, male: 7,426,01710–14 years, female: 7,432,6305–9 years, male: 8,881,0585–9 years, female: 8,842,4050–4 years, male: 10,453,4470–4 years, female: 10,335,930100+95–9990–9485–8980–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–45M5M

Hover or tap an age group to see exact counts. Use the up and down arrow keys to inspect age groups.

Median age

16.9 yrs

World: 31

Life expectancy

62.4 yrs

World: 73.8

Male

49.62%

Female

50.38%

Life expectancy 60.3Life expectancy 64.6

Ethnicity

Percentages are not reported for these groups.

  • over 200 African ethnic groupsNot reported

Some groups have no reported percentage.

Data notes

Source estimate: est.

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

Religion

36.5%

Other Christian, the largest reported group

  • Other Christian36.5%
  • Roman Catholic29.9%
  • Protestant26.7%
  • Kimbanguist2.8%
  • Muslim1.3%
  • None1.3%
  • Other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs)1.2%
  • Unspecified0.2%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2014 est.

Related Pages

Sources

  1. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  2. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - DR Congo United Nations Graphs/Profiles
  3. World Bank / UN World Urbanization Prospects - 2025: Urban population (% of total population), using national definitions.
  4. Institut National de la Statistique (INS)