Fertility & birth rates in DR Congo and Netherlands

Fertility rate in DR Congo vs Netherlands chart

According to the latest available data on birth rates, the fertility rate in the DR Congo was 6.05 children per woman in 2023, compared to 1.43 in the Netherlands in 2023. The replacement level is considered to be 2.1 children per woman.

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

The chart below showcases historical changes in the birth rates.

Table

Year	Fertility rate
	DR Congo	Netherlands
1960	6.11	3.12
1961	6.12	3.22
1962	6.14	3.18
1963	6.16	3.19
1964	6.19	3.17
1965	6.21	3.04
1966	6.24	2.9
1967	6.27	2.81
1968	6.29	2.72
1969	6.3	2.75
1970	6.33	2.57
1971	6.34	2.36
1972	6.37	2.15
1973	6.39	1.9
1974	6.4	1.77
1975	6.42	1.66
1976	6.44	1.63
1977	6.45	1.58
1978	6.46	1.58
1979	6.48	1.56
1980	6.5	1.6
1981	6.52	1.56
1982	6.54	1.5
1983	6.56	1.47
1984	6.59	1.49
1985	6.61	1.51
1986	6.63	1.55
1987	6.65	1.56
1988	6.66	1.55
1989	6.65	1.55
1990	6.65	1.62
1991	6.65	1.61
1992	6.64	1.59
1993	6.64	1.57
1994	6.64	1.57
1995	6.68	1.53
1996	6.67	1.53
1997	6.69	1.56
1998	6.7	1.63
1999	6.69	1.65
2000	6.7	1.72
2001	6.66	1.71
2002	6.61	1.73
2003	6.55	1.75
2004	6.53	1.72
2005	6.53	1.71
2006	6.55	1.72
2007	6.56	1.72
2008	6.58	1.77
2009	6.59	1.79
2010	6.59	1.79
2011	6.58	1.76
2012	6.56	1.72
2013	6.53	1.68
2014	6.48	1.71
2015	6.44	1.66
2016	6.39	1.66
2017	6.35	1.62
2018	6.3	1.59
2019	6.25	1.57
2020	6.21	1.54
2021	6.16	1.62
2022	6.11	1.49
2023	6.05	1.43
2024	5.98	1.43
2025	5.9	1.44
2026	5.8	1.44
2027	5.71	1.45
2028	5.62	1.45
2029	5.52	1.45
2030	5.42	1.46
2031	5.32	1.46
2032	5.2	1.47
2033	5.09	1.47
2034	4.99	1.48
2035	4.87	1.48
2036	4.77	1.48
2037	4.64	1.48
2038	4.55	1.48
2039	4.47	1.49
2040	4.38	1.49
2041	4.3	1.49
2042	4.21	1.5
2043	4.14	1.5
2044	4.06	1.5
2045	3.99	1.5
2046	3.92	1.5
2047	3.85	1.51
2048	3.78	1.51
2049	3.72	1.51
2050	3.66	1.51

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	DR Congo	Netherlands
1960	42.9%	30%
1961	42.8%	29.7%
1962	42.7%	29.1%
1963	42.7%	28.7%
1964	42.7%	28.5%
1965	42.8%	28.3%
1966	42.9%	28.1%
1967	43%	27.8%
1968	43.2%	27.6%
1969	43.3%	27.5%
1970	43.4%	27.3%
1971	43.6%	27.1%
1972	43.8%	26.8%
1973	44%	26.4%
1974	44.2%	25.9%
1975	44.3%	25.3%
1976	44.5%	24.8%
1977	44.6%	24.2%
1978	44.5%	23.5%
1979	44.3%	22.9%
1980	44.2%	22.3%
1981	44.3%	21.8%
1982	44.3%	21.3%
1983	44.2%	20.7%
1984	44.1%	20.1%
1985	44.1%	19.5%
1986	44.1%	19.1%
1987	44.2%	18.7%
1988	44.3%	18.5%
1989	44.3%	18.4%
1990	44.4%	18.4%
1991	44.4%	18.4%
1992	44.5%	18.5%
1993	44.5%	18.5%
1994	44.1%	18.6%
1995	44%	18.6%
1996	44.7%	18.6%
1997	45.4%	18.6%
1998	45.6%	18.6%
1999	45.6%	18.7%
2000	45.7%	18.8%
2001	45.7%	18.8%
2002	45.7%	18.8%
2003	45.8%	18.7%
2004	45.9%	18.6%
2005	45.9%	18.5%
2006	45.9%	18.3%
2007	46%	18.1%
2008	46%	17.9%
2009	46.1%	17.7%
2010	46.1%	17.6%
2011	46%	17.4%
2012	46%	17.3%
2013	46%	17.1%
2014	46%	16.9%
2015	46%	16.6%
2016	45.9%	16.4%
2017	45.8%	16.2%
2018	45.9%	16%
2019	46%	15.8%
2020	46.1%	15.6%
2021	46.1%	15.5%
2022	46.1%	15.4%
2023	46.1%	15.2%
2024	46%	15%
2025	45.9%	14.9%
2026	45.8%	14.9%
2027	45.7%	14.8%
2028	45.5%	14.8%
2029	45.3%	14.8%
2030	45%	14.8%
2031	44.8%	14.8%
2032	44.5%	14.7%
2033	44.2%	14.7%
2034	43.8%	14.7%
2035	43.4%	14.7%
2036	43%	14.7%
2037	42.6%	14.6%
2038	42.2%	14.6%
2039	41.7%	14.6%
2040	41.3%	14.5%
2041	40.9%	14.5%
2042	40.4%	14.4%
2043	40%	14.4%
2044	39.6%	14.3%
2045	39.2%	14.2%
2046	38.8%	14.1%
2047	38.4%	14.1%
2048	38%	14%
2049	37.7%	13.9%
2050	37.3%	13.8%

Children aged 0-14 make up 46% of the population in the DR Congo and 15% in the Netherlands in 2024, compared to 44.4% and 18.4% respectively in 1990.

Demographics of the DR Congo and the Netherlands compared.

Natural population change in DR Congo vs Netherlands by year

For the past 10 years, the annual natural population change (excluding migration) has been +3.29% in the DR Congo and +0.08% in the Netherlands. 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
	DR Congo	Netherlands
1960	363,517	151,623
1961	368,207	159,450
1962	383,406	153,474
1963	398,972	154,361
1964	406,334	157,653
1965	429,002	146,308
1966	463,397	138,265
1967	479,552	138,580
1968	497,682	132,389
1969	514,800	139,082
1970	533,300	129,082
1971	549,343	116,112
1972	564,495	101,297
1973	578,280	84,668
1974	593,539	75,853
1975	608,655	64,232
1976	624,147	63,361
1977	638,242	63,739
1978	646,411	61,344
1979	691,773	63,172
1980	724,111	66,504
1981	748,371	62,688
1982	774,823	54,388
1983	807,122	51,722
1984	844,956	54,812
1985	885,670	55,069
1986	925,334	59,746
1987	959,875	64,526
1988	995,278	61,993
1989	1,027,238	59,396
1990	1,063,508	68,777
1991	1,114,033	69,321
1992	1,152,781	66,811
1993	1,209,242	58,103
1994	1,259,539	61,532
1995	1,395,440	54,106
1996	1,380,490	51,251
1997	1,392,037	56,198
1998	1,375,130	61,258
1999	1,450,318	60,086
2000	1,549,518	66,887
2001	1,594,999	62,580
2002	1,631,597	59,751
2003	1,679,188	58,411
2004	1,731,022	56,987
2005	1,800,300	50,592
2006	1,889,398	49,038
2007	1,963,738	49,145
2008	2,044,210	49,337
2009	2,126,912	51,244
2010	2,212,255	48,184
2011	2,310,679	45,072
2012	2,405,462	35,186
2013	2,489,378	30,248
2014	2,580,251	35,417
2015	2,665,016	23,716
2016	2,753,687	23,843
2017	2,883,245	18,844
2018	2,993,184	15,508
2019	3,075,538	17,345
2020	3,156,152	0
2021	3,227,992	7,014
2022	3,347,664	-1,770
2023	3,467,787	-5,363

Maternal mortality chart: DR Congo vs Netherlands

The maternal mortality rate, which is the probability of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination, is 427 deaths per 100,000 live births in the DR Congo, compared to 4 deaths in the Netherlands.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	DR Congo	Netherlands
1985	934	12
1986	902	12
1987	863	12
1988	824	12
1989	791	12
1990	755	12
1991	735	12
1992	709	12
1993	683	12
1994	656	12
1995	644	12
1996	661	12
1997	617	13
1998	605	12
1999	601	13
2000	585	13
2001	588	13
2002	601	13
2003	605	12
2004	607	11
2005	613	10
2006	619	9
2007	631	8
2008	620	8
2009	608	7
2010	601	6
2011	589	7
2012	578	6
2013	567	6
2014	558	5
2015	545	5
2016	526	5
2017	519	5
2018	508	5
2019	493	5
2020	489	4
2021	507	5
2022	456	4
2023	427	4

Under-five mortality rates

The chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five is 7.32% in the DR Congo and 0.4% in the Netherlands. 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
	DR Congo	Netherlands
1960	-	2.08%
1961	-	2.03%
1962	-	1.97%
1963	-	1.92%
1964	-	1.88%
1965	-	1.83%
1966	-	1.79%
1967	-	1.74%
1968	-	1.69%
1969	25.1%	1.64%
1970	24.7%	1.58%
1971	24.3%	1.53%
1972	24%	1.47%
1973	23.7%	1.41%
1974	23.4%	1.36%
1975	23%	1.31%
1976	22.6%	1.26%
1977	22.3%	1.21%
1978	21.9%	1.16%
1979	21.5%	1.12%
1980	21.2%	1.09%
1981	20.9%	1.06%
1982	20.6%	1.04%
1983	20.3%	1.02%
1984	20%	0.99%
1985	19.7%	0.97%
1986	19.5%	0.95%
1987	19.2%	0.92%
1988	19%	0.89%
1989	18.8%	0.86%
1990	18.5%	0.83%
1991	18.3%	0.8%
1992	18.1%	0.77%
1993	17.9%	0.74%
1994	17.7%	0.71%
1995	17.5%	0.69%
1996	17.3%	0.67%
1997	17%	0.66%
1998	16.7%	0.64%
1999	16.3%	0.63%
2000	15.9%	0.62%
2001	15.5%	0.61%
2002	15%	0.59%
2003	14.6%	0.57%
2004	14.1%	0.55%
2005	13.6%	0.53%
2006	13.1%	0.51%
2007	12.7%	0.49%
2008	12.2%	0.47%
2009	11.8%	0.46%
2010	11.4%	0.44%
2011	11%	0.43%
2012	10.6%	0.42%
2013	10.3%	0.42%
2014	9.9%	0.41%
2015	9.56%	0.41%
2016	9.23%	0.41%
2017	8.93%	0.4%
2018	8.63%	0.4%
2019	8.35%	0.4%
2020	8.07%	0.4%
2021	7.81%	0.4%
2022	7.57%	0.4%
2023	7.32%	0.4%