Congo, Democratic Republic of the People 1997

Population 47,440,362 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years : 48% (male 11,418,713; female 11,378,403)
15-64 years: 49% (male 11,412,269; female 11,980,993)
65 years and over: 3% (male 541,435; female 708,549) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate 2.34% (1997 est.)

Birth rate 47.66 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate 16.61 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate -7.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
note: in 1994, about a million refugees fled into Democratic Republic of theCongo, formerly Zaire, to escape the fighting between the Hutus and the Tutsisin Rwanda and Burundi; the outbreak of widespread fighting between rebelsand government forces in October 1996 spurred about 720,000 refugees to returnto Rwanda in late 1996 and early 1997; additionally, Democratic Republicof the Congo is host to about 100,000 Angolan, and about 100,000 Sudaneserefugees

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
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate 105.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 47.03 years
male: 45.16 years
female: 48.95 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate 6.58 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality
noun : Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo

Ethnic groups over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; thefour 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%, othersyncretic 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, orTshiluba
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 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Congo, Democratic Republic of the People 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Congo, Democratic Republic of the People 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.