Urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Urban population growth was 4.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo stood at 4.0%.
The figure is down 1.3% on the previous year and down 5.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 6.1% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 1961.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 20th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 | 3.5% | 3.0% | 3.8% | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.9% | 3.7% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.3% | 4.1% | 4.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.6% | 3.1% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.3% | 4.1% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.3% | 4.1% | 4.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.1% | 4.0% | 4.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More climate change data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Population growth 3.2% (2025)
- Population, total 112.83 million (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 urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo was 4.0% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 6.1% in 1994.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 1961.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for urban population growth?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 20th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.2%. 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 Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban 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 urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.