Fertility rate: births per woman in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Fertility rate: births per woman was 6.05 live births per woman in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
6.05 live births per woman
Change on year
down 0.9%
World rank
4th
of 236 countries
All-time high
6.7 live births per woman
in 2000
All-time low
5.97 live births per woman
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Fertility rate: births per woman in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1950–2023

0246195019862023

Source: Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in live births per woman.

Analysis

Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 6.05 live births per woman for fertility rate: births per woman in 2023.

That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and down 7.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, fertility rate: births per woman in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 6.7 live births per woman in 2000 and was at its lowest, 5.97 live births per woman, in 1950.

That places Democratic Republic of Congo 4th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 5.99 live births per woman 5.97 live births per woman 6.07 live births per woman 10
1960s 6.2 live births per woman 6.11 live births per woman 6.3 live births per woman 10
1970s 6.41 live births per woman 6.33 live births per woman 6.48 live births per woman 10
1980s 6.59 live births per woman 6.5 live births per woman 6.66 live births per woman 10
1990s 6.66 live births per woman 6.64 live births per woman 6.7 live births per woman 10
2000s 6.59 live births per woman 6.53 live births per woman 6.7 live births per woman 10
2010s 6.45 live births per woman 6.25 live births per woman 6.59 live births per woman 10
2020s 6.13 live births per woman 6.05 live births per woman 6.21 live births per woman 4

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 1 Somalia 6.13 live births per woman compare
  2. 2 Chad 6.12 live births per woman compare
  3. 3 Niger 6.06 live births per woman compare
  4. 5 Central African Republic 6.01 live births per woman compare
  5. 6 Mali 5.61 live births per woman compare
  6. 7 Angola 5.12 live births per woman compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is fertility rate: births per woman in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Fertility rate: births per woman in Democratic Republic of Congo was 6.05 live births per woman in 2023, according to Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest fertility rate: births per woman recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 6.7 live births per woman in 2000.
What is the lowest fertility rate: births per woman recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 5.97 live births per woman in 1950.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for fertility rate: births per woman?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 4th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is fertility rate: births per woman rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
The figures come from Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fertility rate: births per woman. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Fertility rate: births per woman
Unit
live births per woman
Source
Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,683 data points, 1891–2023
Last refreshed

The average number of live births a hypothetical cohort of women would have at the end of their reproductive period if they were subject during their whole lives to the fertility rates of a given period and if they were not subject to mortality.