Rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Rural population was 61.93 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
61.93 million
Change on year
up 2.6%
World rank
11th
of 218 countries
All-time high
61.93 million
in 2025
All-time low
11.86 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo stood at 61.93 million. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.6% on the previous year and up 30.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 61.93 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 11.86 million, in 1960.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 11th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 11.86 million | — |
| 1961 | 12.15 million | +2.5% |
| 1962 | 12.45 million | +2.5% |
| 1963 | 12.77 million | +2.5% |
| 1964 | 13.09 million | +2.5% |
| 1965 | 13.42 million | +2.6% |
| 1966 | 13.78 million | +2.6% |
| 1967 | 14.15 million | +2.7% |
| 1968 | 14.53 million | +2.7% |
| 1969 | 14.91 million | +2.6% |
| 1970 | 15.30 million | +2.6% |
| 1971 | 15.67 million | +2.4% |
| 1972 | 16.04 million | +2.3% |
| 1973 | 16.41 million | +2.4% |
| 1974 | 16.80 million | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 17.18 million | +2.3% |
| 1976 | 17.57 million | +2.2% |
| 1977 | 17.95 million | +2.2% |
| 1978 | 18.44 million | +2.7% |
| 1979 | 19.02 million | +3.2% |
| 1980 | 19.54 million | +2.8% |
| 1981 | 20.03 million | +2.5% |
| 1982 | 20.55 million | +2.6% |
| 1983 | 21.12 million | +2.8% |
| 1984 | 21.75 million | +2.9% |
| 1985 | 22.38 million | +2.9% |
| 1986 | 22.98 million | +2.7% |
| 1987 | 23.60 million | +2.7% |
| 1988 | 24.24 million | +2.7% |
| 1989 | 24.88 million | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 25.58 million | +2.8% |
| 1991 | 26.29 million | +2.8% |
| 1992 | 27.02 million | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 27.83 million | +3.0% |
| 1994 | 28.99 million | +4.2% |
| 1995 | 30.01 million | +3.5% |
| 1996 | 30.38 million | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 30.65 million | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 31.27 million | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 32.09 million | +2.6% |
| 2000 | 32.88 million | +2.5% |
| 2001 | 33.67 million | +2.4% |
| 2002 | 34.43 million | +2.3% |
| 2003 | 35.16 million | +2.1% |
| 2004 | 35.91 million | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 36.79 million | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 37.70 million | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 38.61 million | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 39.54 million | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 40.51 million | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 41.56 million | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 42.66 million | +2.7% |
| 2012 | 43.82 million | +2.7% |
| 2013 | 45.04 million | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 46.29 million | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 47.53 million | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 48.92 million | +2.9% |
| 2017 | 50.41 million | +3.0% |
| 2018 | 51.78 million | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 53.10 million | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 54.47 million | +2.6% |
| 2021 | 55.89 million | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 57.34 million | +2.6% |
| 2023 | 58.84 million | +2.6% |
| 2024 | 60.38 million | +2.6% |
| 2025 | 61.93 million | +2.6% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 61.93 million is above the median for low income countries, which is 15.21 million, 4.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 61.93 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.41 million, 6.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 13.31 million | 11.86 million | 14.91 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 17.04 million | 15.30 million | 19.02 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 22.11 million | 19.54 million | 24.88 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 29.01 million | 25.58 million | 32.09 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 36.52 million | 32.88 million | 40.51 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.11 million | 41.56 million | 53.10 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 58.14 million | 54.47 million | 61.93 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More agriculture & rural data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 6.48 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0893 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 72.04 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0007 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5489 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 8.9% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 8.9% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.6% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo was 61.93 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 61.93 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.86 million in 1960.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for rural population?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 11th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.