Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Congo, Democratic Republic of the People

Population
58,317,930
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 2004 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 48.2% (male 14,122,237; female 14,008,654)
15-64 years: 49.3% (male 14,097,301; female 14,646,285)
65 years and over: 2.5% (male 590,262; female 853,191) (2004 est.)

Median age
total: 15.8 years
male: 15.4 years
female: 16.2 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate
2.99% (2004 est.)

Birth rate
44.73 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate
14.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate
-0.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: fighting between the Congolese Government and Uganda- and Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DROC in August 1998, which left 1.8 million Congolese internally displaced and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries (2004 est.)

Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate
total: 94.69 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 103.18 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 85.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 49.14 years
male: 47.06 years
female: 51.28 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate
6.62 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
4.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
1.1 million (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths
100,000 (2003 est.)

Nationality
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo

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 (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population

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

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

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.)



- Info Provided by the CIA World Factbook -