Africa on the Ground

Middle Africa

DR Congo

Capital Kinshasa · 113 million people

Population113 million
Area2,344,860 km²
People per km²48
Rank by population4 of 54

DR Congo at a glance

DR Congo is in Middle Africa. Its capital is Kinshasa[1]. About 113 million people live there[3], on 2,344,860 km²[4]: number 4 by population and number 2 by area of the 54 countries on this site. The sentences and figures on this page are calculated from those sources; the writing about places and people is on the cards and stories below.

Capital
Kinshasa[1]
Region
Middle Africa[2]
Population
112,832,473, 2025 estimate[3]
Area
2,344,860 km², including inland water[4]
Government
semi-presidential republic[5]
Languages marked official by the Factbook
French[5]
African languages mentioned by the Factbook
Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba[5]
Religion, share of people
Christian 96%, Muslim 1%, no religion 1% (2014 estimate)[5]
Regional blocs
AU, EAC, SADC, COMESA, ECCAS[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

Places in DR Congo

Stories that touch DR Congo

Keep exploring

From people who know DR Congo

What readers add

No local voice on DR Congo yet.Notes are added once the author has agreed to publication, and are read by people who know the subject afterwards.
Not yet sourced
  • Population is an estimate for 2025 and area a 2023 value; neither is a census figure.
  • Government, languages and religions are the World Factbook's words and carry its own estimate years. Language and religion groupings are ours and flatten real differences.
  • This page has no history, daily life or economy of its own yet. Those belong to the place cards and stories, with their own sources and local voices.

Sources

  1. Institutional[1] Country metadata: capital city. World Bank. api.worldbank.org retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    One capital per country. The World Bank writes some names without accents; they are restored here.
  2. Institutional[2] Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). United Nations Statistics Division. unstats.un.org retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    Source of the five African subregions. The classification is for statistical convenience and implies no assumption about political affiliation.
  3. Institutional[3] Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL). World Bank. data.worldbank.org retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    Most recent value per country, 2025, obtained through the World Bank API. Estimates, not census counts.
  4. Institutional[4] Surface area, sq. km (AG.SRF.TOTL.K2). World Bank. data.worldbank.org retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    Most recent value per country, 2023, obtained through the World Bank API. Total area including inland water.
  5. Institutional · to verify[5] The World Factbook: Government type, Languages, Religions (africa/*.json). CIA, via the factbook/factbook.json copy on GitHub. github.com retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Public-domain text copied unchanged. The copy does not say which edition it holds, and each figure carries its own estimate year in the text. Shares are estimates from censuses or surveys of different years; official languages are as the Factbook records them.
  6. Institutional[6] African Union member states. African Union. au.int retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Lists 55 member states by region, including the Sahrawi Republic. The list does not show suspensions.
  7. Institutional[7] African Union overview. African Union. au.int retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Gives the founding of the OAU (May 1963) and the launch of the African Union (July 2002).
  8. Institutional[8] Overview of EAC. East African Community. www.eac.int retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Lists the eight Partner States with their accession dates, and the Treaty's signing and entry into force.
  9. Institutional[9] SADC member states. Southern African Development Community. www.sadc.int retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Lists 16 member states. Read on 2026-10-07.
  10. Institutional[10] History and Treaty. Southern African Development Community. www.sadc.int retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Gives the founding of SADCC (1980) and the SADC Declaration and Treaty (1992).
  11. Institutional[11] COMESA member states. COMESA. www.comesa.int retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    The table lists 21 states. Read on 2026-10-07.
  12. Institutional[12] COMESA in brief. COMESA. www.comesa.int retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Says COMESA began as the Preferential Trade Area (1981) and became COMESA in 1994.
  13. Institutional[13] ECCAS member states and treaty. Economic Community of Central African States. www.ceeac-eccas.org retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Lists 11 member states, the Libreville treaty of 18 October 1983 and its revision of December 2019.