Fertility & birth rates in Congo and DR Congo

Fertility rate in Congo vs DR Congo chart

According to the latest available data on birth rates, the fertility rate in the Congo was 4.16 children per woman in 2023, compared to 6.05 in the DR Congo in 2023. The replacement level is considered to be 2.1 children per woman.

Check the Congo vs the DR Congo population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases historical changes in the birth rates.

Table

Year	Fertility rate
	Congo	DR Congo
1960	6.09	6.11
1961	6.09	6.12
1962	6.1	6.14
1963	6.15	6.16
1964	6.18	6.19
1965	6.23	6.21
1966	6.27	6.24
1967	6.29	6.27
1968	6.33	6.29
1969	6.35	6.3
1970	6.38	6.33
1971	6.42	6.34
1972	6.44	6.37
1973	6.42	6.39
1974	6.39	6.4
1975	6.36	6.42
1976	6.32	6.44
1977	6.27	6.45
1978	6.21	6.46
1979	6.14	6.48
1980	6.07	6.5
1981	5.98	6.52
1982	5.85	6.54
1983	5.76	6.56
1984	5.66	6.59
1985	5.59	6.61
1986	5.51	6.63
1987	5.46	6.65
1988	5.39	6.66
1989	5.33	6.65
1990	5.27	6.65
1991	5.22	6.65
1992	5.18	6.64
1993	5.13	6.64
1994	5.1	6.64
1995	5.07	6.68
1996	5.03	6.67
1997	5	6.69
1998	4.91	6.7
1999	4.81	6.69
2000	4.72	6.7
2001	4.67	6.66
2002	4.7	6.61
2003	4.7	6.55
2004	4.69	6.53
2005	4.67	6.53
2006	4.65	6.55
2007	4.65	6.56
2008	4.73	6.58
2009	4.81	6.59
2010	4.85	6.59
2011	4.83	6.58
2012	4.79	6.56
2013	4.73	6.53
2014	4.67	6.48
2015	4.61	6.44
2016	4.55	6.39
2017	4.5	6.35
2018	4.44	6.3
2019	4.38	6.25
2020	4.33	6.21
2021	4.28	6.16
2022	4.22	6.11
2023	4.16	6.05
2024	4.11	5.98
2025	4.05	5.9
2026	3.99	5.8
2027	3.93	5.71
2028	3.88	5.62
2029	3.83	5.52
2030	3.78	5.42
2031	3.73	5.32
2032	3.68	5.2
2033	3.64	5.09
2034	3.59	4.99
2035	3.54	4.87
2036	3.5	4.77
2037	3.46	4.64
2038	3.42	4.55
2039	3.38	4.47
2040	3.35	4.38
2041	3.31	4.3
2042	3.27	4.21
2043	3.24	4.14
2044	3.2	4.06
2045	3.16	3.99
2046	3.13	3.92
2047	3.09	3.85
2048	3.06	3.78
2049	3.03	3.72
2050	3	3.66

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	Congo	DR Congo
1960	42.7%	42.9%
1961	43%	42.8%
1962	43.3%	42.7%
1963	43.5%	42.7%
1964	43.7%	42.7%
1965	43.9%	42.8%
1966	44%	42.9%
1967	44.2%	43%
1968	44.3%	43.2%
1969	44.5%	43.3%
1970	44.7%	43.4%
1971	44.8%	43.6%
1972	45%	43.8%
1973	45.2%	44%
1974	45.4%	44.2%
1975	45.5%	44.3%
1976	45.7%	44.5%
1977	45.8%	44.6%
1978	45.8%	44.5%
1979	45.8%	44.3%
1980	45.7%	44.2%
1981	45.6%	44.3%
1982	45.4%	44.3%
1983	45.2%	44.2%
1984	45%	44.1%
1985	44.9%	44.1%
1986	44.7%	44.1%
1987	44.6%	44.2%
1988	44.5%	44.3%
1989	44.3%	44.3%
1990	44.2%	44.4%
1991	44%	44.4%
1992	43.8%	44.5%
1993	43.6%	44.5%
1994	43.4%	44.1%
1995	43.3%	44%
1996	43.2%	44.7%
1997	43.3%	45.4%
1998	43.3%	45.6%
1999	43.1%	45.6%
2000	42.5%	45.7%
2001	41.9%	45.7%
2002	41.9%	45.7%
2003	41.7%	45.8%
2004	41.4%	45.9%
2005	41.1%	45.9%
2006	40.9%	45.9%
2007	40.7%	46%
2008	40.7%	46%
2009	40.5%	46.1%
2010	40.4%	46.1%
2011	40.6%	46%
2012	41%	46%
2013	41.3%	46%
2014	41.7%	46%
2015	41.9%	46%
2016	42.1%	45.9%
2017	42.1%	45.8%
2018	42.1%	45.9%
2019	41.9%	46%
2020	41.8%	46.1%
2021	41.5%	46.1%
2022	41.3%	46.1%
2023	40.9%	46.1%
2024	40.4%	46%
2025	39.9%	45.9%
2026	39.4%	45.8%
2027	38.9%	45.7%
2028	38.4%	45.5%
2029	38%	45.3%
2030	37.6%	45%
2031	37.3%	44.8%
2032	37%	44.5%
2033	36.8%	44.2%
2034	36.6%	43.8%
2035	36.4%	43.4%
2036	36.2%	43%
2037	36%	42.6%
2038	35.8%	42.2%
2039	35.6%	41.7%
2040	35.5%	41.3%
2041	35.3%	40.9%
2042	35.1%	40.4%
2043	34.9%	40%
2044	34.7%	39.6%
2045	34.4%	39.2%
2046	34.2%	38.8%
2047	33.9%	38.4%
2048	33.6%	38%
2049	33.4%	37.7%
2050	33.1%	37.3%

Children aged 0-14 make up 40.4% of the population in the Congo and 46% in the DR Congo in 2024, compared to 44.2% and 44.4% respectively in 1990.

Demographics of the Congo and the DR Congo compared.

Natural population change in Congo vs DR Congo by year

For the past 10 years, the annual natural population change (excluding migration) has been +2.59% in the Congo and +3.29% in the DR Congo. The chart below illustrates the comparison of the absolute yearly changes resulting from births and deaths.

Table

Year	Population change due to births and deaths
	Congo	DR Congo
1960	27,094	363,517
1961	28,220	368,207
1962	29,342	383,406
1963	30,832	398,972
1964	32,270	406,334
1965	33,865	429,002
1966	35,452	463,397
1967	36,866	479,552
1968	38,786	497,682
1969	40,532	514,800
1970	42,374	533,300
1971	44,431	549,343
1972	46,427	564,495
1973	48,017	578,280
1974	49,563	593,539
1975	51,155	608,655
1976	52,148	624,147
1977	53,179	638,242
1978	53,885	646,411
1979	54,723	691,773
1980	55,550	724,111
1981	56,603	748,371
1982	57,036	774,823
1983	58,120	807,122
1984	59,028	844,956
1985	60,359	885,670
1986	61,669	925,334
1987	63,183	959,875
1988	64,629	995,278
1989	65,944	1,027,238
1990	67,241	1,063,508
1991	68,534	1,114,033
1992	69,973	1,152,781
1993	71,119	1,209,242
1994	72,857	1,259,539
1995	74,189	1,395,440
1996	75,628	1,380,490
1997	66,149	1,392,037
1998	72,450	1,375,130
1999	76,204	1,450,318
2000	78,491	1,549,518
2001	84,876	1,594,999
2002	88,497	1,631,597
2003	91,326	1,679,188
2004	96,577	1,731,022
2005	101,344	1,800,300
2006	106,876	1,889,398
2007	112,459	1,963,738
2008	120,711	2,044,210
2009	126,904	2,126,912
2010	136,908	2,212,255
2011	140,371	2,310,679
2012	142,464	2,405,462
2013	142,080	2,489,378
2014	141,674	2,580,251
2015	141,539	2,665,016
2016	141,358	2,753,687
2017	141,973	2,883,245
2018	142,704	2,993,184
2019	139,513	3,075,538
2020	143,492	3,156,152
2021	144,241	3,227,992
2022	147,076	3,347,664
2023	150,486	3,467,787

Maternal mortality chart: Congo vs DR Congo

The maternal mortality rate, which is the probability of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination, is 241 deaths per 100,000 live births in the Congo, compared to 427 deaths in the DR Congo.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	Congo	DR Congo
1985	546	934
1986	535	902
1987	519	863
1988	510	824
1989	506	791
1990	505	755
1991	514	735
1992	531	709
1993	541	683
1994	551	656
1995	551	644
1996	545	661
1997	650	617
1998	597	605
1999	554	601
2000	509	585
2001	489	588
2002	464	601
2003	436	605
2004	400	607
2005	385	613
2006	394	619
2007	370	631
2008	395	620
2009	414	608
2010	382	601
2011	378	589
2012	374	578
2013	320	567
2014	302	558
2015	284	545
2016	263	526
2017	262	519
2018	259	508
2019	245	493
2020	247	489
2021	301	507
2022	241	456
2023	241	427

Under-five mortality rates

The chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five is 4.05% in the Congo and 7.32% in the DR Congo. Below is the historical data on under-five mortality rates.

Table

Year	Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
	Congo	DR Congo
1960	19.4%	-
1961	18.6%	-
1962	18%	-
1963	17.3%	-
1964	16.7%	-
1965	16.1%	-
1966	15.6%	-
1967	15.1%	-
1968	14.6%	-
1969	14.2%	25.1%
1970	13.7%	24.7%
1971	13.4%	24.3%
1972	13%	24%
1973	12.6%	23.7%
1974	12.4%	23.4%
1975	12.1%	23%
1976	11.8%	22.6%
1977	11.5%	22.3%
1978	11.2%	21.9%
1979	11%	21.5%
1980	10.7%	21.2%
1981	10.5%	20.9%
1982	10.2%	20.6%
1983	9.95%	20.3%
1984	9.68%	20%
1985	9.44%	19.7%
1986	9.25%	19.5%
1987	9.11%	19.2%
1988	9.04%	19%
1989	9.05%	18.8%
1990	9.15%	18.5%
1991	9.31%	18.3%
1992	9.54%	18.1%
1993	9.84%	17.9%
1994	10.2%	17.7%
1995	10.5%	17.5%
1996	10.9%	17.3%
1997	11.2%	17%
1998	11.4%	16.7%
1999	11.5%	16.3%
2000	11.4%	15.9%
2001	11.1%	15.5%
2002	10.6%	15%
2003	10%	14.6%
2004	9.35%	14.1%
2005	8.66%	13.6%
2006	8.02%	13.1%
2007	7.43%	12.7%
2008	6.95%	12.2%
2009	6.55%	11.8%
2010	6.25%	11.4%
2011	6.02%	11%
2012	5.82%	10.6%
2013	5.64%	10.3%
2014	5.45%	9.9%
2015	5.27%	9.56%
2016	5.09%	9.23%
2017	4.93%	8.93%
2018	4.77%	8.63%
2019	5.24%	8.35%
2020	4.47%	8.07%
2021	4.33%	7.81%
2022	4.19%	7.57%
2023	4.05%	7.32%