The People of Congo, Democratic Republic of the
The People of Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Congolese or Congo People
Population: 68,692,542 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2009 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 46.9% (male 16,161,301/female 16,038,024) 15-64 years: 50.6% (male 17,289,453/female 17,483,027) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 699,667/female 1,021,070) (2009 est.)
Median age: total: 16.4 years male: 16.2 years female: 16.6 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.208% (2009 est.)
Death rate: 11.88 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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: 0.99 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 81.21 deaths/1,000 live births male: 89.11 deaths/1,000 live births female: 73.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 54.36 years male: 52.58 years female: 56.2 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.2 children born/woman (2009 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 (includes 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: 67.2% male: 80.9% female: 54.1% (2001 est.)