DR Congo birth & fertility rate charts by year

Fertility rate in the DR Congo chart

According to the latest birth rate data available, the fertility rate in the DR Congo is 6.05, which is above the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. In 1993, the fertility rate was 6.64 — a -8.88% decline in 30 years.

Check population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases the historical changes in birth rates.

Table

Year	Fertility rate
	DR Congo	World
1960	6.11	4.69
1961	6.12	4.56
1962	6.14	5.02
1963	6.16	5.31
1964	6.19	5.13
1965	6.21	5.08
1966	6.24	4.97
1967	6.27	4.87
1968	6.29	4.98
1969	6.3	4.88
1970	6.33	4.84
1971	6.34	4.69
1972	6.37	4.55
1973	6.39	4.42
1974	6.4	4.26
1975	6.42	4.07
1976	6.44	3.97
1977	6.45	3.84
1978	6.46	3.77
1979	6.48	3.76
1980	6.5	3.73
1981	6.52	3.71
1982	6.54	3.72
1983	6.56	3.59
1984	6.59	3.57
1985	6.61	3.53
1986	6.63	3.51
1987	6.65	3.48
1988	6.66	3.39
1989	6.65	3.35
1990	6.65	3.31
1991	6.65	3.13
1992	6.64	3.04
1993	6.64	2.97
1994	6.64	2.92
1995	6.68	2.87
1996	6.67	2.82
1997	6.69	2.78
1998	6.7	2.75
1999	6.69	2.72
2000	6.7	2.73
2001	6.66	2.69
2002	6.61	2.66
2003	6.55	2.64
2004	6.53	2.63
2005	6.53	2.61
2006	6.55	2.61
2007	6.56	2.6
2008	6.58	2.6
2009	6.59	2.59
2010	6.59	2.57
2011	6.58	2.55
2012	6.56	2.56
2013	6.53	2.53
2014	6.48	2.52
2015	6.44	2.49
2016	6.39	2.49
2017	6.35	2.46
2018	6.3	2.39
2019	6.25	2.35
2020	6.21	2.28
2021	6.16	2.25
2022	6.11	2.22
2023	6.05	2.2
2024	5.98	2.19
2025	5.9	2.18
2026	5.8	2.18
2027	5.71	2.17
2028	5.62	2.16
2029	5.52	2.15
2030	5.42	2.14
2031	5.32	2.13
2032	5.2	2.12
2033	5.09	2.12
2034	4.99	2.11
2035	4.87	2.1
2036	4.77	2.09
2037	4.64	2.09
2038	4.55	2.08
2039	4.47	2.08
2040	4.38	2.08
2041	4.3	2.07
2042	4.21	2.07
2043	4.14	2.07
2044	4.06	2.07
2045	3.99	2.06
2046	3.92	2.06
2047	3.85	2.06
2048	3.78	2.05
2049	3.72	2.05
2050	3.66	2.05

Birth rates by women ages chart

In 2025, of all live births 13.6% were to women under 20 years old, 49% to women ages 20-29, and 37.5% to women ages 30 and above. In comparison, the percentages in 1990 were 13.5%, 47.3%, and 39.3% for the same age groups respectively. A chart displaying the historical birth rates in the DR Congo by maternal age is provided below.

Annual births per 1,000 women ages

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Children 0-14 as share of population
	DR Congo	World
1960	42.9%	37.4%
1961	42.8%	37.5%
1962	42.7%	37.6%
1963	42.7%	37.8%
1964	42.7%	38%
1965	42.8%	38%
1966	42.9%	38%
1967	43%	38%
1968	43.2%	37.9%
1969	43.3%	37.8%
1970	43.4%	37.7%
1971	43.6%	37.6%
1972	43.8%	37.5%
1973	44%	37.3%
1974	44.2%	37.2%
1975	44.3%	37.1%
1976	44.5%	36.9%
1977	44.6%	36.7%
1978	44.5%	36.3%
1979	44.3%	35.9%
1980	44.2%	35.5%
1981	44.3%	35.2%
1982	44.3%	34.9%
1983	44.2%	34.6%
1984	44.1%	34.3%
1985	44.1%	34%
1986	44.1%	33.8%
1987	44.2%	33.6%
1988	44.3%	33.4%
1989	44.3%	33.2%
1990	44.4%	33%
1991	44.4%	32.9%
1992	44.5%	32.7%
1993	44.5%	32.5%
1994	44.1%	32.3%
1995	44%	32.1%
1996	44.7%	31.8%
1997	45.4%	31.5%
1998	45.6%	31.1%
1999	45.6%	30.8%
2000	45.7%	30.4%
2001	45.7%	30%
2002	45.7%	29.6%
2003	45.8%	29.2%
2004	45.9%	28.8%
2005	45.9%	28.5%
2006	45.9%	28.1%
2007	46%	27.9%
2008	46%	27.6%
2009	46.1%	27.5%
2010	46.1%	27.3%
2011	46%	27.1%
2012	46%	27%
2013	46%	26.9%
2014	46%	26.8%
2015	46%	26.6%
2016	45.9%	26.5%
2017	45.8%	26.4%
2018	45.9%	26.2%
2019	46%	26%
2020	46.1%	25.8%
2021	46.1%	25.6%
2022	46.1%	25.3%
2023	46.1%	25%
2024	46%	24.7%
2025	45.9%	24.4%
2026	45.8%	24.1%
2027	45.7%	23.8%
2028	45.5%	23.4%
2029	45.3%	23.1%
2030	45%	22.8%
2031	44.8%	22.6%
2032	44.5%	22.3%
2033	44.2%	22.1%
2034	43.8%	21.9%
2035	43.4%	21.7%
2036	43%	21.6%
2037	42.6%	21.5%
2038	42.2%	21.4%
2039	41.7%	21.3%
2040	41.3%	21.2%
2041	40.9%	21.1%
2042	40.4%	21%
2043	40%	21%
2044	39.6%	20.9%
2045	39.2%	20.8%
2046	38.8%	20.7%
2047	38.4%	20.7%
2048	38%	20.6%
2049	37.7%	20.5%
2050	37.3%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in the DR Congo was 42.9% in 1960, 44.5% in 1993, and 46% as of the latest data in 2025.

More about the demographics of the DR Congo.

Natural population change by year

For the past 10 years, the natural population change in the DR Congo, excluding migration, has been +3.29% annually. On average, 3,015,051 more people were born each year than died.

Table

Year	Population change due to births and deaths
	DR Congo
1960	363,517
1961	368,207
1962	383,406
1963	398,972
1964	406,334
1965	429,002
1966	463,397
1967	479,552
1968	497,682
1969	514,800
1970	533,300
1971	549,343
1972	564,495
1973	578,280
1974	593,539
1975	608,655
1976	624,147
1977	638,242
1978	646,411
1979	691,773
1980	724,111
1981	748,371
1982	774,823
1983	807,122
1984	844,956
1985	885,670
1986	925,334
1987	959,875
1988	995,278
1989	1,027,238
1990	1,063,508
1991	1,114,033
1992	1,152,781
1993	1,209,242
1994	1,259,539
1995	1,395,440
1996	1,380,490
1997	1,392,037
1998	1,375,130
1999	1,450,318
2000	1,549,518
2001	1,594,999
2002	1,631,597
2003	1,679,188
2004	1,731,022
2005	1,800,300
2006	1,889,398
2007	1,963,738
2008	2,044,210
2009	2,126,912
2010	2,212,255
2011	2,310,679
2012	2,405,462
2013	2,489,378
2014	2,580,251
2015	2,665,016
2016	2,753,687
2017	2,883,245
2018	2,993,184
2019	3,075,538
2020	3,156,152
2021	3,227,992
2022	3,347,664
2023	3,467,787

Maternal mortality chart

The maternal mortality rate in the DR Congo was 427 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023 — a 0.43% chance of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination. This is a -27% decrease compared to the year 2000.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	DR Congo	World
1985	934	460
1986	902	438
1987	863	429
1988	824	414
1989	791	401
1990	755	391
1991	735	395
1992	709	395
1993	683	389
1994	656	382
1995	644	371
1996	661	366
1997	617	358
1998	605	360
1999	601	340
2000	585	328
2001	588	321
2002	601	311
2003	605	301
2004	607	291
2005	613	283
2006	619	276
2007	631	269
2008	620	264
2009	608	258
2010	601	253
2011	589	247
2012	578	239
2013	567	235
2014	558	231
2015	545	228
2016	526	220
2017	519	215
2018	508	211
2019	493	207
2020	489	211
2021	507	242
2022	456	203
2023	427	197

Under-five mortality rate chart

The under-5 mortality rate in the DR Congo was 73.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023 — a 7.32% chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five. This is down from 159.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000.

Table

Year	Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
	DR Congo	World
1960	-	18.5%
1961	-	18.1%
1962	-	17.8%
1963	-	17.5%
1964	-	17.7%
1965	-	17.5%
1966	-	17.3%
1967	-	17%
1968	-	16.5%
1969	25.1%	15.5%
1970	24.7%	15.2%
1971	24.3%	15.1%
1972	24%	14.4%
1973	23.7%	14.1%
1974	23.4%	13.7%
1975	23%	13.4%
1976	22.6%	13%
1977	22.3%	12.5%
1978	21.9%	12.1%
1979	21.5%	11.7%
1980	21.2%	11.4%
1981	20.9%	11%
1982	20.6%	10.8%
1983	20.3%	10.6%
1984	20%	10.4%
1985	19.7%	10.1%
1986	19.5%	9.81%
1987	19.2%	9.47%
1988	19%	9.31%
1989	18.8%	9.02%
1990	18.5%	8.81%
1991	18.3%	8.66%
1992	18.1%	8.46%
1993	17.9%	8.19%
1994	17.7%	7.98%
1995	17.5%	7.76%
1996	17.3%	7.52%
1997	17%	7.28%
1998	16.7%	7.05%
1999	16.3%	6.76%
2000	15.9%	6.48%
2001	15.5%	6.21%
2002	15%	5.94%
2003	14.6%	5.65%
2004	14.1%	5.43%
2005	13.6%	5.16%
2006	13.1%	4.92%
2007	12.7%	4.7%
2008	12.2%	4.5%
2009	11.8%	4.31%
2010	11.4%	4.11%
2011	11%	3.97%
2012	10.6%	3.77%
2013	10.3%	3.61%
2014	9.9%	3.48%
2015	9.56%	3.35%
2016	9.23%	3.23%
2017	8.93%	3.11%
2018	8.63%	2.97%
2019	8.35%	2.86%
2020	8.07%	2.75%
2021	7.81%	2.66%
2022	7.57%	2.59%
2023	7.32%	2.49%