Urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Urban population growth was 4.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo stood at 4.0%.
The figure is down 1.3% on the previous year and down 5.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 6.1% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 1961.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 20th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.0% | — |
| 1962 | 3.1% | +3.6% |
| 1963 | 3.3% | +3.7% |
| 1964 | 3.4% | +2.8% |
| 1965 | 3.5% | +4.0% |
| 1966 | 3.6% | +4.6% |
| 1967 | 3.8% | +3.2% |
| 1968 | 3.8% | +1.7% |
| 1969 | 3.8% | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 3.8% | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 3.7% | -2.3% |
| 1972 | 3.7% | -1.4% |
| 1973 | 3.7% | +1.5% |
| 1974 | 3.8% | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 3.8% | -0.1% |
| 1976 | 3.7% | -1.3% |
| 1977 | 3.7% | -1.2% |
| 1978 | 4.2% | +15.9% |
| 1979 | 4.7% | +9.8% |
| 1980 | 4.3% | -8.1% |
| 1981 | 4.1% | -5.2% |
| 1982 | 4.1% | +2.1% |
| 1983 | 4.3% | +3.9% |
| 1984 | 4.5% | +3.8% |
| 1985 | 4.5% | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 4.3% | -2.8% |
| 1987 | 4.4% | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 4.5% | +1.9% |
| 1989 | 4.5% | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 4.6% | +4.2% |
| 1991 | 4.7% | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 4.8% | +1.5% |
| 1993 | 5.0% | +4.5% |
| 1994 | 6.1% | +23.7% |
| 1995 | 5.6% | -9.2% |
| 1996 | 3.4% | -39.8% |
| 1997 | 3.1% | -9.1% |
| 1998 | 4.2% | +36.6% |
| 1999 | 4.8% | +15.5% |
| 2000 | 4.7% | -3.1% |
| 2001 | 4.6% | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 4.5% | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 4.4% | -3.0% |
| 2004 | 4.4% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 4.2% | -5.6% |
| 2006 | 4.1% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 4.1% | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 4.1% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 4.1% | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 4.2% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 4.3% | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 4.3% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 4.4% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 4.3% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 4.2% | -2.3% |
| 2016 | 4.5% | +5.3% |
| 2017 | 4.6% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 4.3% | -7.0% |
| 2019 | 4.1% | -4.5% |
| 2020 | 4.1% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 4.1% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 4.1% | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 4.1% | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 4.1% | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 4.0% | -1.3% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 4.0% is above the median for low income countries, which is 4.0%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 4.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.4%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | -39.8% | 5.6% | 3.4% |
| 1998 | +36.6% | 3.1% | 4.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.5% | 3.0% | 3.8% | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.9% | 3.7% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.3% | 4.1% | 4.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.6% | 3.1% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.3% | 4.1% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.3% | 4.1% | 4.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.1% | 4.0% | 4.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More climate change data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.2047 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.8778 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 1.05 °C (2026)
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 4.2% (2100)
- Population, total, annual growth rate 3.25 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population, total, per unit of GDP 0.0012 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, annual growth rate 4.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population, per unit of GDP 0.0006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.4511 units per person (2025)
- Precipitation anomalies, annual growth rate 28.16 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Urban population growth in Democratic Republic of Congo was 4.0% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 6.1% in 1994.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 1961.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for urban population growth?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 20th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.2%. 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 Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.