Fertility & birth rates in DR Congo and Sao Tome and Principe

Fertility rate in DR Congo vs Sao Tome and Principe 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 3.64 in Sao Tome and Principe in 2023. The replacement level is considered to be 2.1 children per woman.

Check the DR Congo vs Sao Tome and Principe 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	Sao Tome
1960	6.11	6.24
1961	6.12	6.26
1962	6.14	6.28
1963	6.16	6.31
1964	6.19	6.33
1965	6.21	6.35
1966	6.24	6.37
1967	6.27	6.39
1968	6.29	6.42
1969	6.3	6.44
1970	6.33	6.47
1971	6.34	6.49
1972	6.37	6.51
1973	6.39	6.53
1974	6.4	6.53
1975	6.42	6.53
1976	6.44	6.52
1977	6.45	6.5
1978	6.46	6.47
1979	6.48	6.43
1980	6.5	6.39
1981	6.52	6.33
1982	6.54	6.28
1983	6.56	6.22
1984	6.59	6.16
1985	6.61	6.1
1986	6.63	6.05
1987	6.65	5.99
1988	6.66	5.94
1989	6.65	5.88
1990	6.65	5.83
1991	6.65	5.77
1992	6.64	5.7
1993	6.64	5.64
1994	6.64	5.56
1995	6.68	5.55
1996	6.67	5.47
1997	6.69	5.4
1998	6.7	5.3
1999	6.69	5.23
2000	6.7	5.16
2001	6.66	5.1
2002	6.61	5.06
2003	6.55	5.01
2004	6.53	4.96
2005	6.53	4.94
2006	6.55	4.93
2007	6.56	4.96
2008	6.58	4.91
2009	6.59	4.84
2010	6.59	4.77
2011	6.58	4.72
2012	6.56	4.66
2013	6.53	4.58
2014	6.48	4.49
2015	6.44	4.35
2016	6.39	4.2
2017	6.35	4.07
2018	6.3	3.98
2019	6.25	3.9
2020	6.21	3.83
2021	6.16	3.76
2022	6.11	3.7
2023	6.05	3.64
2024	5.98	3.6
2025	5.9	3.53
2026	5.8	3.47
2027	5.71	3.42
2028	5.62	3.36
2029	5.52	3.32
2030	5.42	3.26
2031	5.32	3.21
2032	5.2	3.17
2033	5.09	3.13
2034	4.99	3.09
2035	4.87	3.04
2036	4.77	3.01
2037	4.64	2.97
2038	4.55	2.94
2039	4.47	2.9
2040	4.38	2.87
2041	4.3	2.83
2042	4.21	2.8
2043	4.14	2.78
2044	4.06	2.75
2045	3.99	2.73
2046	3.92	2.7
2047	3.85	2.67
2048	3.78	2.64
2049	3.72	2.62
2050	3.66	2.59

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	DR Congo	Sao Tome
1960	42.9%	32.9%
1961	42.8%	34.3%
1962	42.7%	36.6%
1963	42.7%	38.5%
1964	42.7%	40.2%
1965	42.8%	41.6%
1966	42.9%	42.9%
1967	43%	44%
1968	43.2%	44.9%
1969	43.3%	45.8%
1970	43.4%	46.2%
1971	43.6%	46.1%
1972	43.8%	45.9%
1973	44%	45.7%
1974	44.2%	45.6%
1975	44.3%	45.5%
1976	44.5%	45.4%
1977	44.6%	45.3%
1978	44.5%	45.2%
1979	44.3%	45.1%
1980	44.2%	44.9%
1981	44.3%	44.7%
1982	44.3%	44.5%
1983	44.2%	44.5%
1984	44.1%	44.4%
1985	44.1%	44.5%
1986	44.1%	44.7%
1987	44.2%	44.9%
1988	44.3%	45%
1989	44.3%	45%
1990	44.4%	45.1%
1991	44.4%	45.1%
1992	44.5%	45.2%
1993	44.5%	45.2%
1994	44.1%	45.1%
1995	44%	44.9%
1996	44.7%	44.7%
1997	45.4%	44.3%
1998	45.6%	43.9%
1999	45.6%	43.4%
2000	45.7%	42.8%
2001	45.7%	42.5%
2002	45.7%	42.3%
2003	45.8%	42.2%
2004	45.9%	42.1%
2005	45.9%	42%
2006	45.9%	42%
2007	46%	42%
2008	46%	42.1%
2009	46.1%	42.1%
2010	46.1%	42.1%
2011	46%	42%
2012	46%	42%
2013	46%	42%
2014	46%	42%
2015	46%	41.9%
2016	45.9%	41.7%
2017	45.8%	41.4%
2018	45.9%	40.9%
2019	46%	40.5%
2020	46.1%	39.9%
2021	46.1%	39.4%
2022	46.1%	38.8%
2023	46.1%	38.3%
2024	46%	37.8%
2025	45.9%	37.5%
2026	45.8%	37.2%
2027	45.7%	36.8%
2028	45.5%	36.4%
2029	45.3%	36%
2030	45%	35.6%
2031	44.8%	35.4%
2032	44.5%	35.2%
2033	44.2%	35%
2034	43.8%	34.8%
2035	43.4%	34.7%
2036	43%	34.5%
2037	42.6%	34.2%
2038	42.2%	34%
2039	41.7%	33.8%
2040	41.3%	33.5%
2041	40.9%	33.2%
2042	40.4%	32.9%
2043	40%	32.6%
2044	39.6%	32.3%
2045	39.2%	32%
2046	38.8%	31.6%
2047	38.4%	31.3%
2048	38%	31%
2049	37.7%	30.6%
2050	37.3%	30.2%

Children aged 0-14 make up 46% of the population in the DR Congo and 37.8% in Sao Tome and Principe in 2024, compared to 44.4% and 45.1% respectively in 1990.

Demographics of the DR Congo and Sao Tome and Principe compared.

Natural population change in DR Congo vs Sao Tome and Principe by year

For the past 10 years, the annual natural population change (excluding migration) has been +3.29% in the DR Congo and +2.4% in Sao Tome and Principe. 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	Sao Tome
1960	363,517	1,547
1961	368,207	1,657
1962	383,406	1,625
1963	398,972	1,609
1964	406,334	1,600
1965	429,002	1,611
1966	463,397	1,642
1967	479,552	1,693
1968	497,682	1,767
1969	514,800	1,862
1970	533,300	1,980
1971	549,343	2,127
1972	564,495	2,232
1973	578,280	2,329
1974	593,539	2,422
1975	608,655	2,515
1976	624,147	2,608
1977	638,242	2,705
1978	646,411	2,800
1979	691,773	2,893
1980	724,111	2,965
1981	748,371	3,015
1982	774,823	3,047
1983	807,122	3,100
1984	844,956	3,163
1985	885,670	3,242
1986	925,334	3,180
1987	959,875	3,440
1988	995,278	3,544
1989	1,027,238	3,576
1990	1,063,508	3,719
1991	1,114,033	3,801
1992	1,152,781	3,822
1993	1,209,242	3,841
1994	1,259,539	3,860
1995	1,395,440	3,948
1996	1,380,490	3,993
1997	1,392,037	4,041
1998	1,375,130	4,120
1999	1,450,318	4,221
2000	1,549,518	4,334
2001	1,594,999	4,471
2002	1,631,597	4,591
2003	1,679,188	4,702
2004	1,731,022	4,810
2005	1,800,300	4,897
2006	1,889,398	5,057
2007	1,963,738	5,226
2008	2,044,210	5,297
2009	2,126,912	5,349
2010	2,212,255	5,391
2011	2,310,679	5,445
2012	2,405,462	5,501
2013	2,489,378	5,449
2014	2,580,251	5,381
2015	2,665,016	5,269
2016	2,753,687	5,125
2017	2,883,245	5,007
2018	2,993,184	4,957
2019	3,075,538	4,932
2020	3,156,152	4,874
2021	3,227,992	4,954
2022	3,347,664	5,102
2023	3,467,787	5,221

Maternal mortality chart: DR Congo vs Sao Tome and Principe

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 75 deaths in Sao Tome and Principe.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	DR Congo	Sao Tome
1985	934	159
1986	902	175
1987	863	161
1988	824	157
1989	791	167
1990	755	164
1991	735	166
1992	709	164
1993	683	166
1994	656	168
1995	644	172
1996	661	171
1997	617	173
1998	605	175
1999	601	179
2000	585	180
2001	588	178
2002	601	179
2003	605	178
2004	607	177
2005	613	181
2006	619	177
2007	631	174
2008	620	174
2009	608	172
2010	601	170
2011	589	164
2012	578	158
2013	567	150
2014	558	138
2015	545	128
2016	526	119
2017	519	110
2018	508	100
2019	493	95
2020	489	92
2021	507	98
2022	456	82
2023	427	75

Under-five mortality rates

The chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five is 7.32% in the DR Congo and 1.39% in Sao Tome and Principe. 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	Sao Tome
1965	-	9.56%
1966	-	9.29%
1967	-	9.04%
1968	-	8.85%
1969	25.1%	8.71%
1970	24.7%	8.64%
1971	24.3%	8.63%
1972	24%	8.67%
1973	23.7%	8.73%
1974	23.4%	8.79%
1975	23%	8.85%
1976	22.6%	8.89%
1977	22.3%	8.93%
1978	21.9%	8.96%
1979	21.5%	9.02%
1980	21.2%	9.1%
1981	20.9%	9.21%
1982	20.6%	9.37%
1983	20.3%	9.56%
1984	20%	9.77%
1985	19.7%	9.99%
1986	19.5%	11.4%
1987	19.2%	10.4%
1988	19%	10.6%
1989	18.8%	10.7%
1990	18.5%	10.8%
1991	18.3%	10.9%
1992	18.1%	10.9%
1993	17.9%	10.8%
1994	17.7%	10.7%
1995	17.5%	10.4%
1996	17.3%	10.1%
1997	17%	9.73%
1998	16.7%	9.26%
1999	16.3%	8.76%
2000	15.9%	8.21%
2001	15.5%	7.66%
2002	15%	7.1%
2003	14.6%	6.57%
2004	14.1%	6.05%
2005	13.6%	5.56%
2006	13.1%	5.11%
2007	12.7%	4.68%
2008	12.2%	4.3%
2009	11.8%	3.95%
2010	11.4%	3.63%
2011	11%	3.33%
2012	10.6%	3.04%
2013	10.3%	2.77%
2014	9.9%	2.54%
2015	9.56%	2.31%
2016	9.23%	2.11%
2017	8.93%	1.95%
2018	8.63%	1.81%
2019	8.35%	1.7%
2020	8.07%	1.6%
2021	7.81%	1.53%
2022	7.57%	1.46%
2023	7.32%	1.39%