Congo vs DR Congo
DR Congo is 6.86 times larger than Congo. Congo would fit into DR Congo about 6.9 times.
CongoDR CongoCongo moved onto DR Congo · Equal-area projection
0.15×
Congo is 0.15× the area of DR Congo. Put the other way, DR Congo is 6.86× the size of Congo.
 Congo |  DR Congo | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaDR Congo: 6.86× the area | 342,000 km²#65 of 194 | 2,344,858 km²#11 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 5 | 9 |
| People | ||
| PopulationDR Congo: 17.4× the population | 6,484,437#110 of 194 · 2025 | 112,832,473#15 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityDR Congo: 2.54× the density | 19 / km²#169 of 194 | 48 / km²#136 of 194 |
| Urban populationCongo: 1.42× the urban share | 64%#92 of 192 · 2025 | 45%#138 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateDR Congo: 1.45× the births per woman | 4.11 per woman#23 of 192 · 2024 | 5.98 per woman#3 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthDR Congo: 0.84 points higher | +2.36%#31 of 192 · 2025 | +3.20%#10 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateDR Congo: 1.35× the birth rate | 30.4 per 1,000#28 of 192 · 2024 | 40.9 per 1,000#5 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateDR Congo: 1.35× the death rate | 6.2 per 1,000#129 of 192 · 2024 | 8.4 per 1,000#66 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15DR Congo: 6.0 points higher | 39.9%#26 of 192 · 2025 | 45.9%#5 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65The same | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationDR Congo: 0.3 per 1,000 higher | −0.5 per 1,000#100 of 192 · 2025 | −0.2 per 1,000#84 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadDR Congo: 5.14× the refugees for its size | 2.03 per 1,000#42 of 190 · 2025 | 10.43 per 1,000#18 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyCongo: 3.9 years longer | 66.0 years#163 of 192 · 2024 | 62.1 years#179 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityDR Congo: 2.09× the infant mortality | 27.0 per 1,000 births#54 of 191 · 2024 | 56.4 per 1,000 births#9 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsDR Congo: 1.24× the doctors per person | 0.17 per 1,000#155 of 178 · 2022 | 0.21 per 1,000#147 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentCongo: 1.63× the university enrolment | 10.4%#130 of 145 · 2023 | 6.4%#137 of 145 · 2020 |
| Human Development IndexCongo: 0.127 higher | 0.649#135 of 190 · 2023 | 0.522#168 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaCongo: 3.17× the income per person | $2,280#144 of 185 · 2025 | $720#177 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPDR Congo: 5.58× the economy | $16.31B2025 | $91.03B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Congo: 3.77× the output per person | $7,248#140 of 184 · 2025 | $1,920#179 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthDR Congo: 2.7 points higher | +3.1%#96 of 187 · 2025 | +5.8%#35 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | +2.4%#103 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentCongo: 4.52× the unemployment | 19.9%#6 of 178 · 2025 | 4.4%#108 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 85.3%#1 of 149 · 2020 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 44.7#17 of 149 · 2020 |
| Jobs in agricultureDR Congo: 22.1 points higher | 36.4% of jobs#44 of 178 · 2025 | 58.5% of jobs#15 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryCongo: 11.5 points higher | 19.5% of jobs#84 of 178 · 2025 | 8.0% of jobs#165 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesCongo: 10.7 points higher | 44.2% of jobs#138 of 178 · 2025 | 33.5% of jobs#160 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentCongo: 1.6 points higher | 3.7% of GDP#52 of 184 · 2025 | 2.1% of GDP#89 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsCongo: 4.6 points higher | 48.0% of GDP#49 of 168 · 2025 | 43.4% of GDP#59 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingDR Congo: 1.05× the military spending | 1.3% of GDP#97 of 155 · 2025 | 1.4% of GDP#93 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersCongo: 2.4× the share online | 47%#146 of 184 · 2024 | 20%#173 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsCongo: 1.63× the mobile subscriptions | 96 per 100#135 of 191 · 2024 | 59 per 100#177 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaCongo: 1.04× the forest share | 64% of land#21 of 192 · 2024 | 62% of land#25 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personCongo: 22.3× the CO₂ per person | 1.34 t a year#118 of 185 · 2024 | 0.06 t a year#180 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyDR Congo: 24.9 points higher | 71.4%#26 of 190 · 2021 | 96.3%#1 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityCongo: 30.5 points higher | 53.0%#175 of 192 · 2024 | 22.5%#186 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)About the same air pollution | 36.5 µg/m³#29 of 191 · 2023 | 35.8 µg/m³#31 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landCongo: 21.7 points higher | 36.6% of land#21 of 191 · 2025 | 14.9% of land#117 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landDR Congo: 5.7 points higher | 1.6% of land#167 of 190 · 2024 | 7.3% of land#115 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stress | 0.0%#176 of 176 · 2022 | 0.2%#172 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationCongo: 1.07× the rain and snow | 1,646 mm#49 of 180 · 2022 | 1,543 mm#54 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityCongo: 1.64 higher | −0.49#138 of 193 · 2025 | −2.13#189 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionCongo: 0.07 higher | −1.42#180 of 193 · 2025 | −1.49#182 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Semi-presidential republic |
| Member of | OPEC | — |
| Capital | Brazzaville | Kinshasa |
| Currency | Central African CFA franc (XAF) | Congolese franc (CDF) |
| Official languages | French | French |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+1 | UTC+1 · UTC+1 to UTC+2, 2 time zones |
| Calling code | +242 | +243 |
| Region | Middle Africa, Africa | Middle Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Congo sits at about 1° S and is stretched to 1.0× its true area; DR Congo at 3° S is stretched to 1.0×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Congo bigger than DR Congo?
- No. Congo is 6.86 times smaller than DR Congo. Congo covers 342,000 km² and DR Congo covers 2,344,858 km².
- How many times does Congo fit into DR Congo?
- About 6.9 times: DR Congo has 6.86× the area of Congo.
- Why do Congo and DR Congo look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Congo is drawn about 1.0× its true area there and DR Congo about 1.0×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Congo or DR Congo?
- DR Congo: 112,832,473 people against 6,484,437. Density: Congo 19 per km², DR Congo 48 per km².
- Which is richer, Congo or DR Congo?
- By gross national income per person, Congo: $2,280 against $720 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 3.17× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Congo or DR Congo?
- In Congo: life expectancy at birth is 66.0 years, against 62.1 — 3.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Congo and DR Congo have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Congo: presidential republic; DR Congo: semi-presidential republic.