This article is about the demographic features of the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Young women preparing fufu

The population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was estimated at 65.8 million in 2007. As many as 250 ethnic groups have been distinguished and named. The most numerous people are the Bakongo, Luba, and Mongo. Although 700 local languages and dialects are spoken, the linguistic variety is bridged both by the use of French and the intermediary languages Kikongo, Tshiluba, Swahili, and Lingala.

About 80% of the Congolese population are Christian, predominantly Roman Catholic. This gives the DR Congo the largest population of Catholics in Africa. Most of the non-Christians adhere to either traditional religions or syncretic sects. Traditional religions embody such concepts as monotheism, animism, vitalism, spirit and ancestor worship, witchcraft, and sorcery and vary widely among ethnic groups; none is formalized. The syncretic sects often merge Christianity with traditional beliefs and rituals. The most popular of these sects, Kimbanguism, was seen as a threat to the colonial regime and was banned by the Belgians. Kimbanguism, officially "the church of Christ on Earth by the prophet Simon Kimbangu," now has about 3 million members, primarily among the Bakongo of Bas-Congo and Kinshasa. In 1969, it was the first independent African church admitted to the World Council of Churches.

Before independence, education was largely in the hands of religious groups. The primary school system was well-developed at independence; however, the secondary school system was limited, and higher education was almost nonexistent in most regions of the country. The principal objective of this system was to train low-level administrators and clerks. Since independence, efforts have been made to increase access to education, and secondary and higher education have been made available to many more Congolese. Despite the deterioration of the state-run educational system in recent years, about 80% of the males and 65% of females, ages 6–11, were enrolled in a mixture of state- and church-run primary schools in 1996. At higher levels of education, males greatly outnumber females. The elite continues to send their children abroad to be educated, primarily in Western Europe.

[edit] Congolese diaspora

The table below shows DRC born people who have emigrated abroad (although it excludes their descendants).^[1]

Rank	Country	Region	DRC born population
1	France	Western Europe	19,080
2	Canada	North America	14,125
3	Belgium	Western Europe	9,911
4	United Kingdom	Northern Europe	8,569
5	United States	North America	3,455
6	Switzerland	Central Europe	2,570
7	Norway	Northern Europe	1,686
8	Portugal	Southern Europe	1,453
9	Netherlands	Western Europe	1,314
10	Italy	Southern Europe	1,302

These are only estimates as they do not account for illegal Congolese residing in all these countries. It is also important to note the outstanding jobs performed by Congolese Doctors in the most disadvantaged areas of South Africa. It is estimated that more than 20 000 Congolese reside in South Africa and Namibia. Worth mentioning is the fact that Congolese diaspora is one of the largest from the African continent following that of Nigeria, although the latest is primarily centered around English speaking countries, the former is more spread as farthest as India, Vietnam, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, without forgeting other African countries.

[edit] CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

[edit] Population

65,890,551

Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)

[edit] Median age

Total: 16.1 years

Male: 15.8 years

Female: 16.4 years (2007 est.)

[edit] Population growth rate

3.22% (2006) ^[2]

[edit] Birth rate

42.96 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

[edit] Death rate

10.34 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

[edit] Net migration rate

1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population

note: fighting between the Congolese Government and Uganda- and Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DRC in August 1998, which left 2.33 million Congolese internally displaced and caused 412,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries (2007 est.)

[edit] Sex ratio

At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female

Total population: 3.00 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

[edit] Infant mortality rate

Total: 88.62 deaths/1,000 live births

Male: 96.9 deaths/1,000 live births

Female: 80.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

[edit] Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 53.74 years

Male: 52.52 years

Female: 55 years (2008 est.)

[edit] Total fertility rate

6.37 children born/woman (2007 est.)

[edit] HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 4.2% (2003 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 1.1 million (2003 est.)

Deaths: 100,000 (2003 est.)

[edit] Major infectious diseases

Degree of risk: very high

Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

Vectorborne diseases: malaria, plague, and African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) are high risks in some locations

Water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2005)

[edit] Nationality

Noun: Congolese (singular and plural)

Adjective: Congolese or Congo

[edit] Ethnic groups

Over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande make up about 45% of the population. The country has also 60,000 Belgians, whose ancestors stepped out after it won independence.

[edit] Religions

Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10%

These values are only estimate dating from a census that is at least a decade old as the Religious landscape in the Congo has dramatically changed since the collapse of the economy during the 80's and the advent of American Pentecostal movement. For instance, with more than 10 millions souls, Kinshasa, the largest and capital city accounts for a number of Charismatic or Evangelical churches known as Eglises de Reveil ( Awakening Churches), whose members come primarily from the Roman Catholic Church, and in number may rivals the Roman Catholic. Mega churches are all over the country. These Charismatic churches also have a strong number of young followers in Kinshasa, Mbuji Mayi, and Lubumbashi. Roman Catholic percentage maybe a little less than 45%, Mainstream Protestant 15%, Kimbanguist 10%, The Islamic religion is not as much anymore and is mostly concentrated in the eastern provinces and maybe a little less than 5%. Adding to the resentment of the Catholic Church and Mainstream Protestant, Evangelical churhes are called "Sect" a derogatory term in the Congo for non denominational churches.Evangelicals (or Non denominational churches) may therefore account for a little over 15 % and indigenous beliefs the remaining of the population.In the diaspora, most Congolese belong to Evangelical churches.

[edit] Languages

French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba

English is taught as a compulsory Foreign language in Secondary and High School around the country. It is a required subject in the Faculty of Economics at majors Universities around the country and there are countless language schools in major cities around the country that teach primarily English. In the town of Beni, for instance there is a Bilingual University that offer courses in both French and English. President Kabila himself is fluent in both English and French, as was his father.

[edit] Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba

Total population: 65.5%

Male: 76.2%

Female: 55.1% (2003 est.)

[edit] See also

• Alur
• Azande
• Banyamulenge
• Chokwe
• Hema
• Kakwa
• Lendu
• Luba
• Mangbetu
• Twa
• Yaka

[edit] References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2007 edition".

[edit] See also

• Health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

[edit] External links

• Mortality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: An Ongoing CrisisPDF (1.07 MiB), International Rescue Committee, January 2008 (estimates 5.4 million excess deaths above sub-Saharan average from 1998 - 2007)

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