Population 49,000,511 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 48% (male 11,829,386; female 11,766,829)
15-64 years: 49% (male 11,778,121; female 12,339,837)
65 years and over: 3% (male 557,095; female 729,243) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate 2.99% (1998 est.)

Birth rate 46.77 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate 15.2 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate -1.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
note: in 1994, about a million refugees fled into Zaire (now called Democratic Republic of the Congo), to escape the fighting between the Hutus and the Tutsis in Rwanda and Burundi; the outbreak of widespread fighting between rebels and government forces in October 1996 spurred about 875,000 refugees to return to Rwanda in late 1996 and early 1997; additionally, Democratic Republic of the Congo is host to about 200,000 Angolan, about 110,000 Burundi, about 100,000 Sudanese, about 15,000 Ugandan, and about 18,000 Republic of the Congo refugees

Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate 101.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 49.31 years
male: 47.27 years
female: 51.4 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate 6.51 children born/woman (1998 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 in French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba
total population: 77.3%
male: 86.6%
female: 67.7% (1995 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Congo, Democratic Republic of the on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Congo, Democratic Republic of the People 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Congo, Democratic Republic of the People 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.