2.5% (male 590,262; female 853,191) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 15.8 years
female: 16.2 years (2004 est.)
male: 15.4 years

Population growth rate:
2.99% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
44.73 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
14.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-0.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: fighting between the Congolese Government and Uganda- and
Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DROC in
August 1998, which left 1.8 million Congolese internally displaced
and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding
countries (2004 est.)

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: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 94.69 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 85.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 103.18 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 49.14 years
male: 47.06 years
female: 51.28 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
6.62 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
4.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1.1 million (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
100,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
typhoid fever, malaria, trypanosomiasis, plague, schistosomiasis
overall degree of risk: very high (2004)

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 indigenous 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: 65.5%
male: 76.2%
female: 55.1% (2003 est.)

Government Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Country name:
conventional long form: Democratic Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: none
local short form: none
former: Co