Demographics of the Republic of the Congo

Demographic features of the population of the Republic of the Congo include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Republic of the Congo
Population pyramid of the Republic of the Congo in 2020
Population	5,835,806 (2021 est.)
Growth rate	2.34% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	31.82 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	8.38 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy	62.1 years
• male	60.65 years
• female	63.61 years
Fertility rate	4.36 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate	47.93 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	41.57%
65 and over	3.2%
Sex ratio
Total	1.01 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.02 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.66 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Congolese
Language
Official	French

The Republic of the Congo's sparse population is concentrated in the southwestern portion of the country, leaving the vast areas of tropical jungle in the north virtually uninhabited. Thus, Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa, with 85% of its total population living in a few urban areas, namely in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or one of the small cities or villages lining the 534-kilometre (332 mi) railway which connects the two cities. In rural areas, industrial and commercial activity has declined rapidly in recent years, leaving rural economies dependent on the government for support and subsistence. Before the 1997 war, about 15,000 Europeans and other non-Africans lived in Congo, most of whom were French. Presently, only about 9,500 remain. Pygmies make up 2% of Congo's population.

Population

Population of the Republic of the Congo, Data of FAO, year 2005

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects the total population was 5,835,806 in 2021, compared to only 808 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 40.6%, 55.7% was between 15 and 65 years of age while 3.7% was 65 years or older .

	Total population	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	808 000	40.1	56.4	3.5
1955	899 000	40.5	55.9	3.6
1960	1 014 000	41.4	55.0	3.7
1965	1 158 000	42.5	53.7	3.8
1970	1 335 000	43.5	52.7	3.8
1975	1 555 000	44.2	52.0	3.8
1980	1 798 000	44.8	51.4	3.8
1985	2 081 000	44.6	51.7	3.7
1990	2 389 000	43.7	52.5	3.7
1995	2 733 000	42.5	53.7	3.7
2000	3 136 000	41.5	54.7	3.7
2005	3 533 000	41.3	55.0	3.7
2010	4 043 000	40.6	55.7	3.7

Republic of Congo Population and Housing Census

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1974	1,319,790	—
1984	1,909,248	+3.76%
2007	3,697,490	+2.92%
2023	6,142,180	+3.22%

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2009):

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	1 891 558	1 946 680	3 838 238	100
0–4	294 305	292 273	586 578	15.28
5–9	238 682	237 182	475 864	12.40
10–14	208 162	208 912	417 074	10.87
15–19	186 405	196 268	382 673	9.97
20–24	167 519	191 226	358 745	9.35
25–29	160 897	178 236	339 133	8.84
30–34	152 642	151 367	304 009	7.92
35–39	131 794	123 203	254 997	6.64
40–44	103 248	95 346	198 594	5.17
45–49	76 921	71 877	148 798	3.88
50–54	54 925	56 887	111 812	2.91
55–59	38 051	42 791	80 842	2.11
60–64	27 592	32 009	59 601	1.55
65-69	20 879	25 827	46 706	1.22
70-74	14 954	20 007	34 961	0.91
75-79	8 820	13 048	21 868	0.57
80+	5 762	10 221	15 983	0.42
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	741 149	738 367	1 479 516	38.55
15–64	1 099 994	1 139 210	2 239 204	58.34
65+	50 415	69 103	119 518	3.11

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020):

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	2 693 804	2 774 818	5 468 622	100
0–4	411 671	412 877	824 548	15.08
5–9	340 319	337 291	677 610	12.39
10–14	303 346	306 542	609 889	11.15
15–19	271 095	289 989	561 084	10.26
20–24	243 060	282 727	525 788	9.61
25–29	241 223	253 353	494 576	9.04
30–34	218 257	209 888	428 145	7.83
35–39	183 437	169 496	352 933	6.45
40–44	138 775	128 121	266 896	4.88
45–49	104 065	98 609	202 673	3.71
50–54	72 724	79 083	151 807	2.78
55–59	52 219	57 918	110 137	2.01
60–64	39 423	46 323	85 746	1.57
65-69	30 885	38 323	69 207	1.27
70-74	21 747	29 537	51 285	0.94
75-79	12 425	18 699	31 124	0.57
80-84	5 168	9 115	14 283	0.26
85+	3 964	6 928	10 891	0.20
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	1 055 336	1 056 710	2 112 046	38.62
15–64	1 564 279	1 615 506	3 179 785	58.15
65+	74 189	102 602	176 791	3.23

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events in the Republic of the Congo is incomplete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.

Period	Population (thousands)	Live births (thousands)	Deaths (thousands)	Natural change (thousands)	CBR	CDR	NC	TFR	IMR	Life expectancy (years)
1950	835	38	20	18	44.9	23.6	21.3	6.07	154.5	40.06
1951	853	38	20	18	44.8	23.2	21.6	6.07	151.2	40.65
1952	872	39	20	19	44.6	22.6	22.0	6.06	147.6	41.36
1953	892	40	20	20	44.5	22.0	22.5	6.06	143.7	42.16
1954	912	40	20	21	44.3	21.5	22.8	6.05	139.6	42.85
1955	933	41	19	22	44.2	20.8	23.3	6.07	135.3	43.65
1956	956	42	19	23	44.0	20.1	23.9	6.07	130.9	44.56
1957	979	43	19	24	43.8	19.5	24.4	6.07	126.4	45.43
1958	1 003	44	19	25	43.8	18.9	24.9	6.09	122.0	46.29
1959	1 029	45	19	26	43.6	18.2	25.4	6.09	117.7	47.12
1960	1 056	46	19	27	43.4	17.6	25.7	6.09	113.6	47.98
1961	1 083	47	19	28	43.2	17.1	26.1	6.09	109.9	48.70
1962	1 112	48	18	30	43.1	16.5	26.5	6.10	106.4	49.50
1963	1 143	49	18	31	43.2	16.1	27.1	6.15	103.2	50.12
1964	1 174	51	18	32	43.3	15.7	27.6	6.18	100.2	50.70
1965	1 207	52	19	34	43.5	15.4	28.1	6.23	97.4	51.20
1966	1 242	54	19	35	43.6	15.0	28.6	6.27	94.6	51.77
1967	1 278	56	19	37	43.6	14.8	28.9	6.29	92.3	52.10
1968	1 316	58	19	39	43.8	14.4	29.4	6.33	89.7	52.72
1969	1 356	59	19	40	43.9	14.1	29.8	6.35	87.4	53.20
1970	1 397	61	19	42	44.0	13.8	30.2	6.38	85.3	53.63
1971	1 440	64	19	44	44.2	13.5	30.7	6.42	83.3	54.04
1972	1 485	66	20	46	44.3	13.3	31.0	6.44	81.4	54.36
1973	1 532	68	20	48	44.1	13.0	31.0	6.42	79.6	54.70
1974	1 580	69	20	49	43.9	12.8	31.1	6.39	78.0	55.06
1975	1 625	71	20	51	43.7	12.6	31.1	6.36	76.4	55.32
1976	1 665	72	21	52	43.3	12.3	30.9	6.32	74.9	55.60
1977	1 706	73	21	53	42.9	12.2	30.7	6.27	73.5	55.81
1978	1 747	74	21	53	42.4	11.9	30.5	6.21	72.1	56.07
1979	1 788	75	21	54	41.9	11.7	30.2	6.14	70.6	56.31
1980	1 829	76	21	55	41.5	11.5	30.0	6.07	69.3	56.59
1981	1 871	77	21	56	41.2	11.2	29.9	5.98	67.9	56.83
1982	1 912	79	21	57	40.9	11.1	29.9	5.90	66.5	57.02
1983	1 952	80	21	59	40.8	10.9	29.9	5.81	65.1	57.23
1984	2 002	81	21	60	40.6	10.6	30.0	5.73	63.7	57.45
1985	2 063	83	22	61	40.3	10.6	29.7	5.65	62.3	57.52
1986	2 125	85	22	63	40.0	10.5	29.5	5.57	61.2	57.55
1987	2 189	87	23	64	39.8	10.5	29.2	5.49	60.4	57.43
1988	2 253	89	24	65	39.5	10.7	28.8	5.40	60.0	57.01
1989	2 319	91	25	66	39.2	10.9	28.3	5.31	60.0	56.51
1990	2 385	93	27	66	38.8	11.1	27.7	5.21	60.5	55.93
1991	2 453	95	28	67	38.7	11.5	27.2	5.16	61.4	55.24
1992	2 521	97	30	68	38.6	11.7	26.9	5.11	62.7	54.66
1993	2 594	100	31	68	38.4	12.0	26.4	5.06	64.4	54.15
1994	2 669	102	33	70	38.3	12.2	26.1	5.00	66.1	53.74
1995	2 742	105	34	71	38.2	12.3	25.9	4.97	68.1	53.64
1996	2 817	108	35	73	38.2	12.4	25.8	4.97	70.0	53.49
1997	2 875	110	47	64	38.3	16.2	22.1	4.96	75.1	47.19
1998	2 937	111	41	71	38.0	13.8	24.1	4.93	75.1	50.89
1999	3 017	114	38	75	37.7	12.7	25.0	4.85	74.0	52.76
2000	3 134	115	38	77	37.2	12.2	25.0	4.76	73.1	53.68
2001	3 254	122	39	84	37.6	11.8	25.8	4.71	71.4	54.40
2002	3 331	125	38	87	37.5	11.5	26.1	4.72	68.8	55.09
2003	3 425	127	37	90	37.3	11.0	26.3	4.70	65.6	55.95
2004	3 543	132	37	95	37.4	10.4	27.0	4.69	61.7	56.99
2005	3 673	137	36	101	37.4	9.8	27.5	4.66	57.8	58.13
2006	3 813	142	36	107	37.5	9.4	28.1	4.66	54.0	58.88
2007	3 956	148	36	113	37.7	9.1	28.6	4.67	50.7	59.64
2008	4 090	156	36	121	38.2	8.7	29.5	4.73	47.7	60.43
2009	4 257	162	35	127	38.4	8.4	30.0	4.79	45.3	61.09
2010	4 438	172	36	136	38.9	8.1	30.7	4.82	43.6	61.68
2011	4 584	175	36	139	38.2	7.9	30.3	4.79	42.1	61.99
2012	4 713	177	37	141	37.5	7.8	29.8	4.75	41.0	62.32
2013	4 828	177	36	140	36.5	7.5	29.0	4.69	40.0	62.70
2014	4 945	176	36	140	35.5	7.4	28.2	4.63	38.7	62.95
2015	5 064	176	37	139	34.6	7.2	27.5	4.56	37.6	63.23
2016	5 187	175	36	139	33.7	7.0	26.7	4.49	36.5	63.58
2017	5 312	176	37	139	33.0	6.9	26.1	4.43	35.4	63.76
2018	5 441	176	37	139	32.3	6.8	25.5	4.37	34.5	64.05
2019	5 571	177	41	135	31.7	7.4	24.3	4.30	35.4	62.75
2020	5 702	178	39	138	31.2	6.9	24.2	4.23	32.6	63.79
2021	5 892	185	41	140	31.4	6.9	23.7	4.28	30.7	64.2
2022	6 035	187	40	146	30.9	6.6	24.2	4.22	29.7	65.0
2023	6 183	189	39	149	30.6	6.3	24.2	4.16	28.8	65.8

Source: UN DESA, World Population Prospects, 2022

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):

Year	CBR (Total)	TFR (Total)	CBR (Urban)	TFR (Urban)	CBR (Rural)	TFR (Rural)
2005	40,0	4,8 (4,4)	34,6	3,8 (3,5)	46,1	6,1 (5,7)
2011-2012	41,4	5,1 (4,5)	40,6	4,5 (4,1)	42,8	6,5 (5,5)

Fertility data as of 2011-2012 (DHS Program):

Department	Total fertility rate	Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant	Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
Kouilou	6.8	11.4	6.2
Niari	5.9	11.9	5.4
Lékoumou	6.5	9.9	5.7
Bouenza	5.7	8.5	5.6
Pool	6.4	10.2	5.5
Plateaux	6.3	11.4	5.6
Cuvette	6.4	12.5	5.6
Cuvette-Ouest	6.0	10.1	6.1
Sangha	5.8	11.9	5.4
Likouala	7.0	11.7	6.4
Brazzaville	4.3	8.7	4.3
Pointe-Noire	4.6	9.2	4.5

Ethnic groups

Kongo 40.5%, Teke 16.9%, Mbochi 13.1%, Sangha 5.6%, Europeans and other 23.9%

Languages

Kikongo/Kituba language area

Lingala language area

French (official), Kituba or Monokutuba (lingua franca), Kongo or Kikongo, Lingala, and many local languages and dialects.

The majority of the population is concentrated along the railroad between Pointe-Noire and Brazzaville in the south where Kituba (a creole language based on Kikongo) is the primary language. Lingala is influential in the sparsely inhabited northern half of the country.

Religion

Roman Catholic 33.1%, Awakening Churches/Christian Revival 22.3%, Protestant 19.9%, Salutiste 2.2%, Islam 1.6%, Kimbanguiste 1.5%, Other 8.1%, None 11.3% (2010 est.)

Health

Life expectancy for the population was estimated at 54.91 years in 2011: 53.62 for males and 56.25 for females. The adult prevalence rate for HIV/AIDS was 3.4% as of 2009, representing 77,000 people living with the disease and 5,100 deaths. The Republic of Congo is considered to have a high degree of risk of infectious diseases, particularly bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and typhoid fever (all food- or waterborne), and malaria (vectorborne).

Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	43.15
1955–1960	46.83
1960–1965	50.16
1965–1970	52.49
1970–1975	54.11
1975–1980	55.44
1980–1985	56.63
1985–1990	56.66
1990–1995	54.83
1995–2000	51.99
2000–2005	52.12
2005–2010	57.95
2010–2015	62.55

Education

As of 2003, 83.8% of the adult population was considered literate, consisting 89.3% of males and 78.4% of females.

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.

• One birth every 3 minutes
• One death every 14 minutes
• One net migrant every 206 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 4 minutes

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.

Population

5,546,307 (2022 est.)

5,062,021 (July 2018 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 33.1%, Awakening Churches/Christian Revival 22.3%, Protestant 19.9%, Salutiste 2.2%, Muslim 1.6%, Kimbanguiste 1.5%, other 8.1%, none 11.3% (2007 est.)

Age structure

Population pyramid of the Republic of the Congo in 2020

0-14 years: 41.57% (male 1,110,484/female 1,089,732)

15-24 years: 17.14% (male 454,981/female 452,204)

25-54 years: 33.5% (male 886,743/female 886,312)

55-64 years: 4.59% (male 125,207/female 117,810)

65 years and over: 3.2% (male 75,921/female 93,676) (2020 est.)

0-14 years: 41.75% (male 1,066,474 /female 1,046,924)

15-24 years: 16.99% (male 431,279 /female 428,999)

25-54 years: 33.77% (male 857,596 /female 851,712)

55-64 years: 4.39% (male 112,669 /female 109,429)

65 years and over: 3.1% (male 69,621 /female 87,318) (2018 est.)

0-14 years: 41.67% (male 1,041,761/female 1,022,763)

15-24 years: 17.1% (male 424,521/female 422,755)

25-54 years: 33.89% (male 843,856/female 835,041)

55-64 years: 4.29% (male 106,776/female 105,573)

65 years and over: 3.06% (male 66,962/female 84,666) (2017 est.)

Median age

total: 19.5 years. Country comparison to the world: 202nd

male: 19.3 years

female: 19.7 years (2020 est.)

total: 19.6 years. Country comparison to the world: 199th

male: 19.4 years

female: 19.8 years (2018 est.)

total: 19.7 years

male: 19.5 years

female: 19.8 years (2017 est.)

Birth rate

31.82 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 26th

33.7 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 26th

34.4 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Death rate

8.38 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 76th

9.2 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 58th

9.5 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.86 children born/woman (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 28th

4.36 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 21st

4.26 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 28th

Population growth rate

2.34% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 30th

2.17% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 38th

2.11% (2017 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

19.8 years (2011/12 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Contraceptive prevalence rate

30.1% (2014/15)

Net migration rate

-2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 172nd

Religions

Roman Catholic 33.1%, Awakening Churches/Christian Revival 22.3%, Protestant 19.9%, Salutiste 2.2%, Muslim 1.6%, Kimbanguiste 1.5%, other 8.1%, none 11.3% (2010 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 84.5 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio: 78.3 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio: 6.2 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio: 16.1 (2015 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 68.7% of total population (2022)

rate of urbanization: 3.19% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

urban population: 66.9% of total population (2018)

rate of urbanisation: 3.28% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 53.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

male: 58.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

female: 48.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 62.1 years. Country comparison to the world: 215th

male: 60.65 years

female: 63.61 years (2022 est.)

total population: 60.3 years (2018 est.)

male: 59 years (2018 est.)

female: 61.6 years (2018 est.)

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 3.1% (2017 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 100,000 (2017 est.)

HIV/AIDS deaths: 4,900 (2017 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

9.6% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

12.3% (2015)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 80.3%

male: 86.1%

female: 74.6% (2018)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

total population: 79.3% (2015 est.)

male: 86.4% (2015 est.)

female: 72.9% (2015 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 11 years (2012)

male: 11 years (2012)

female: 11 years (2012)

Major infectious diseases

• degree of risk: very high (2020)
• food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
• vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
• water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
• animal contact diseases: rabies

note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; the Republic of the Congo is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2006 edition.)