Population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Population growth was 3.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1961–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in annual %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo is 3.2%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 1.2% on the previous year and down 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 4.7% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 1997.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 10th of 215 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.8% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.8% | 2.5% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.2% | 2.9% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.2% | 1.6% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.1% | 2.9% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.4% | 3.2% | 3.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.2% | 3.2% | 3.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More climate change data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Population, total 112.83 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 4.0% (2025)
- Urban population 50.90 million (2025)
- Urban population 45.1% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 24.2% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 0.6836 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 0.1% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 14.9% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 14.9% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 0.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo was 3.2% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest population growth recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 4.7% in 1994.
- What is the lowest population growth recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 1997.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for population growth?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 10th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population growth rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.