REPUBLIC OF

CONGO

The people of the Congo come from different ethnic groups. The largest group are the Kongo, which make up 48% of the population. The Sangha make up 20% of the population, the Teke make up 17% and the M'Bochi 10%.

POPULATION GRAPH

Population:
2,958,448
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 42.4% (male 630,985; female 622,024)
15-64 years: 54.3% (male 783,238; female 823,882)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 39,369; female 58,950) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.18% (2002 est.)
Birth rate:
37.91 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate:
16.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
97.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 47.71 years
female: 51.24 years (2002 est.)
male: 44.27 years
Total fertility rate:
4.94 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
6.43% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
86,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
8,600 (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo
Ethnic groups:
Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3%
note: Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly French, before the 1997 civil war; may be half that in 1998, following the widespread destruction of foreign businesses in 1997
Religions:
Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%
Languages:
French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74.9%
male: 83.1%
female: 67.2% (1995 est.)