Population:
50,481,305 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
48% (male 12,200,532; female 12,136,372)
15-64 years:
49% (male 12,135,901; female 12,692,057)
65 years and over:
3% (male 564,084; female 752,359) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.96% (1999 est.)
Birth rate:
46.37 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate:
14.99 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate:
-1.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
note:
in 1994, about a million refugees fled into Zaire (now called the
Democratic Republic of the Congo or DROC), to escape the fighting between
the Hutus and the Tutsis in Rwanda and Burundi; the outbreak of widespread
fighting in the DROC between rebels and government forces in October 1996
spurred about 875,000 refugees to return to Rwanda in late 1996 and early
1997; additionally,the DROC is host to 200,000 Angolan, 110,000 Burundi,
100,000 Sudanese, and 15,000 Ugandan refugees; renewed fighting in the DROC
in August 1998 resulted in more internal displacement and refugee outflows
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.75 male(s)/female
total population:
0.97 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
99.45 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
49.44 years
male:
47.28 years
female:
51.67 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate:
6.45 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Congolese or Congo
Ethnic groups:
over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four
largest tribes—Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande
(Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population
Religions:
Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other
syncretic sects and traditional beliefs 10%
Languages:
French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a
dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba
total population:
77.3%
male:
86.6%
female:
67.7% (1995 est.)
