Polity · 1960 CE – present
Democratic Republic of the Congo
République démocratique du Congo · République démocratique du Congo · RDC
Also recorded as DRC, DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa
- Peak recorded area
- 2,381,000 km²
- 1894 CE
- Rulers on record
- 23
- from 1960 CE
- Data series
- 433
- 1960 CE–2025 CE
Overview
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo, or less often Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 112 million people, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the fourth-most populous in Africa and most populous Francophone country in the world.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
7 dated territorial extents on record from CShapes 2.0. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. Cliopatria holds 4 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 61 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population216 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 112.8Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 62.23years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -27.3Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 3.18% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 64.4years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 60.1years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 169 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 1,003int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd110 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 91Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita73 obs · 1950 CE–2022 CE | 844.172011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Fao Barley Area Harvested64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 1,514ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Barley Production64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 1,007.09tonnes2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Barley Yield64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 665.1hg_per_ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
Military
6 of 39 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure Usd58 obs · 1963 CE–2024 CE | 899.2Mcurrent US$2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| CINC Score57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 0.005CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 41.2Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 30Ktons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 134Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure55 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 875Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 75 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 6.57% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Coal Production117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 0.062TWh2016 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 12.62TWh2016 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 54.19% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 15.48%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.1408hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Governance
6 of 29 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.327index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.133index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.17index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.137index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity253 obs · 1960 CE–2012 CE | 5index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 60 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.641index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Railway Line Km119 obs · 1873 CE–1998 CE | 5,118km1998 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Electricity Production63 obs · 1930 CE–1993 CE | 5.9BGWh1993 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Telegraph56 obs · 1910 CE–1978 CE | 0.134count1978 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Telephones56 obs · 1947 CE–2002 CE | 9,797.42count2002 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Passenger Cars55 obs · 1925 CE–1991 CE | 93Kcount1991 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
23 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Joseph IléoPrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo1960 CE
- Joseph Kasa-VubuPresident of the Democratic Republic of the Congo1960 CE – 1965 CE
- Patrice LumumbaPrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo1960 CE
- Cyrille AdoulaPrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo1961 CE – 1964 CE
- Tchombé MoïsePrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo1964 CE – 1965 CE
- Évariste KimbaPrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo1965 CE
- Léonard MulambaPrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo1965 CE – 1966 CE
- Mobutu Sese SekoPresident of the Democratic Republic of the Congo1965 CE – 1997 CE
- Laurent-Désiré KabilaPresident of the Democratic Republic of the Congo1997 CE – 2001 CE
- Joseph KabilaHead of State2001 CE – 2019 CE
- Abdoulaye Yerodia NdombasiVice-President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo2003 CE – 2007 CE
- Arthur Z'ahidi NgomaVice-President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo2003 CE – 2007 CE
- Azarias RuberwaVice-President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo2003 CE – 2007 CE
- Antoine GizengaPrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo2006 CE – 2008 CE
- Adolphe MuzitoPrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo2008 CE – 2012 CE
- Koyagialo Ngbase te Gerengo Louis AlphonsePrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo2012 CE
- Matata Ponyo Mapon AugustinPrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo2012 CE – 2016 CE
- Samy BadibangaPrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo2016 CE – 2017 CE
- Bruno TshibalaHead of Government2017 CE – 2019 CE
- Félix TshisekediHead of State2019 CE –
- Ilunga Ilunkamba SylvestreHead of Government2019 CE –
- Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde KyengePrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo2021 CE – 2024 CE
- Judith Tuluka SuminwaPrime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo2024 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Central Africa, northeast of Angola
- Government type
- semi-presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Felix TSHISEKEDI (since 20 January 2024); head of government: Prime Minister Judith SUMINWA Tuluka (since 29 May 2024); cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president; election/appointment process: president directly elected by simple majority vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
- Ethnic groups
- more than 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest groups - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) - make up about 45% of the population
- Natural resources
- cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber
- Economy
- very poor, large, natural resource-rich sub-Saharan country; possesses the world’s second largest rainforest; increasing Chinese extractive sector trade; massive decrease in government investments; increasing current account deficit and public debts
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- French
- Currency
- Congolese francs (CDF)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1960 CE –
- Democratic Republic of the Congo–Burundi–Rwanda Defense Pact (1966)Military alliance · member1966 CE – 1994 CE
- Democratic Republic of the Congo–Angola–Zambia Non-Aggression Pact (1979)Historical alliance · member1979 CE – 1982 CE
- SADCSADCEconomic bloc · member1997 CE –
- Congo–Democratic Republic of the Congo Non-Aggression Pact (1998)Historical alliance · member1998 CE –
- 11-member Defense Pact (2000)Military alliance · member2000 CE –
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member2002 CE –
- 11-member Defense Pact (2006)Military alliance · member2006 CE –
- OPECOPECEconomic bloc · member2018 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
CShapes 2.02.0
Schvitz, G. et al. (2022). Mapping the International System, 1886-2019: The CShapes 2.0 Dataset. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(1).
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.