How many people live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo right now?
Right now, according to UN estimates
117,604,659
| Today | In 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Births | · | · |
| Deaths | · | · |
| Growth | · | · |
2026 figures
- Rank by population
- 15 of 237
- Share of world population
- 1.41%
- Median age
- 15.9 years
- Children per woman
- 5.80
- Life expectancy
- 62.4 years
- People per km²
- 51
According to UN estimates, about 118 million people live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo right now. It ranks 15th out of 237 countries and territories by population, between the Philippines and Vietnam, and it is home to one in every 71 people on the planet.
Every day, about 12,700 people are born there and about 2,600 die. Overall, the population grows by about 10,000 people a day (3.13% a year).
In 1950, about 12.3 million people lived there. Today there are 9.6 times as many. The UN expects it to keep growing for the rest of the century. By 2050 it is projected to have about 218 million people (86% more than today), and by 2100 about 431 million.
Half of its people are younger than 16 (worldwide, 31). Women have an average of 5.80 children each, above the 2.1 needed for each generation to replace the one before, and life expectancy at birth is 62 years (worldwide, 74). There are 51 people per square kilometer.
UN estimates up to today and projections (medium variant) from today onward.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2026?
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo has about 118 million people right now, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. On July 1, 2026, there were 116,452,162.
- How many people are born each day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
- About 12,700 a day (4.6 million a year). About 2,600 people die each day (959,000 a year).
- Is the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo growing?
- Yes: it grows by 3.13% a year, or about 3.6 million people.
- What will the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo be in 2050?
- According to the UN projection (medium variant), about 218 million.
- Why doesn't this figure match the country's official statistics?
- The UN estimates the population of every country with the same method, based on censuses, surveys and registers, and projects it year by year. Each national statistics office uses its own censuses and registers, which may be more up to date or count foreign residents differently. That is why the figures can differ slightly.
Countries with a similar population
- Japan 122,207,043
- Egypt 120,651,621
- Philippines 118,018,862
- Vietnam 102,351,309
- Iran 93,380,242
- Turkey 88,012,261
More countries in Africa
- Nigeria 243,986,529
- Ethiopia 139,989,729
- Egypt 120,651,621
- Tanzania 73,204,144
- South Africa 65,670,834
- Kenya 58,985,540
- Sudan 53,735,146
- Uganda 53,195,597
- Algeria 48,206,602
- Angola 40,591,442
- Morocco 38,862,776
- Mozambique 36,962,639
All countries and territories →
Where these figures come from
The figures are estimates from the United Nations Population Division, published in World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant): the reference used by international organizations and by most population counters. The UN estimates how many people there are on July 1 of each year and how many are born, die and migrate; between one date and the next, this counter spreads the change continuously, second by second.
It is not a real-time headcount: nobody can count every person in a country at once. It is the best available estimate, and it may differ slightly from the figures of each country's statistics office, which use their own censuses and population registers.