DR Congo vs Saudi Arabia
DR Congo is 4% larger than Saudi Arabia.
DR CongoSaudi ArabiaDR Congo moved onto Saudi Arabia · Equal-area projection
1.04×
DR Congo is 1.04× the area of Saudi Arabia.
 DR Congo |  Saudi Arabia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaDR Congo: 1.04× the area | 2,344,858 km²#11 of 194 | 2,250,000 km²#12 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 9 | 7 |
| People | ||
| PopulationDR Congo: 3.05× the population | 112,832,473#15 of 194 · 2025 | 36,973,555#43 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityDR Congo: 2.93× the density | 48 / km²#136 of 194 | 16 / km²#176 of 194 |
| Urban populationSaudi Arabia: 1.88× the urban share | 45%#138 of 192 · 2025 | 85%#32 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateDR Congo: 2.59× the births per woman | 5.98 per woman#3 of 192 · 2024 | 2.31 per woman#79 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSaudi Arabia: 1.43 points higher | +3.20%#10 of 192 · 2025 | +4.63%#2 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateDR Congo: 2.48× the birth rate | 40.9 per 1,000#5 of 192 · 2024 | 16.5 per 1,000#88 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateDR Congo: 3.65× the death rate | 8.4 per 1,000#66 of 192 · 2024 | 2.3 per 1,000#187 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15DR Congo: 22.3 points higher | 45.9%#5 of 192 · 2025 | 23.6%#101 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65The same | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSaudi Arabia: 3.4 per 1,000 higher | −0.2 per 1,000#84 of 192 · 2025 | +3.2 per 1,000#29 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadDR Congo: 174× the refugees for its size | 10.43 per 1,000#18 of 190 · 2025 | 0.06 per 1,000#129 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySaudi Arabia: 16.9 years longer | 62.1 years#179 of 192 · 2024 | 79.0 years#45 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityDR Congo: 12× the infant mortality | 56.4 per 1,000 births#9 of 191 · 2024 | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSaudi Arabia: 16.2× the doctors per person | 0.21 per 1,000#147 of 178 · 2022 | 3.41 per 1,000#48 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolmentSaudi Arabia: 13.1× the university enrolment | 6.4%#137 of 145 · 2020 | 83.9%#18 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSaudi Arabia: 0.378 higher | 0.522#168 of 190 · 2023 | 0.900#36 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSaudi Arabia: 50.1× the income per person | $720#177 of 185 · 2025 | $36,070#33 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSaudi Arabia: 14× the economy | $91.03B2025 | $1.28T2025 |
| Income group | Low income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Saudi Arabia: 38.4× the output per person | $1,920#179 of 184 · 2025 | $73,784#19 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthDR Congo: 1.3 points higher | +5.8%#35 of 187 · 2025 | +4.5%#55 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +2.0%#120 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentDR Congo: 1.47× the unemployment | 4.4%#108 of 178 · 2025 | 3.0%#138 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 85.3%#1 of 149 · 2020 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 44.7#17 of 149 · 2020 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureDR Congo: 56.0 points higher | 58.5% of jobs#15 of 178 · 2025 | 2.5% of jobs#152 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySaudi Arabia: 15.1 points higher | 8.0% of jobs#165 of 178 · 2025 | 23.1% of jobs#54 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSaudi Arabia: 40.9 points higher | 33.5% of jobs#160 of 178 · 2025 | 74.4% of jobs#31 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSaudi Arabia: 0.5 points higher | 2.1% of GDP#89 of 184 · 2025 | 2.6% of GDP#73 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsDR Congo: 13.7 points higher | 43.4% of GDP#59 of 168 · 2025 | 29.7% of GDP#104 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingSaudi Arabia: 4.7× the military spending | 1.4% of GDP#93 of 155 · 2025 | 6.5% of GDP#7 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSaudi Arabia: 5.08× the share online | 20%#173 of 184 · 2024 | 100%#1 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSaudi Arabia: 2.71× the mobile subscriptions | 59 per 100#177 of 191 · 2024 | 160 per 100#20 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaDR Congo: 47.3× the forest share | 62% of land#25 of 192 · 2024 | 1% of land#175 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSaudi Arabia: 308× the CO₂ per person | 0.06 t a year#180 of 185 · 2024 | 18.5 t a year#8 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyDR Congo: 96.2 points higher | 96.3%#1 of 190 · 2021 | 0.1%#183 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySaudi Arabia: 77.5 points higher | 22.5%#186 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Saudi Arabia: 2.05× the air pollution | 35.8 µg/m³#31 of 191 · 2023 | 73.5 µg/m³#2 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSaudi Arabia: 3.6 points higher | 14.9% of land#117 of 191 · 2025 | 18.5% of land#90 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landDR Congo: 5.3 points higher | 7.3% of land#115 of 190 · 2024 | 2.0% of land#161 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSaudi Arabia: 4,871× the water stress | 0.2%#172 of 176 · 2022 | 974.2%#3 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationDR Congo: 26.2× the rain and snow | 1,543 mm#54 of 180 · 2022 | 59 mm#178 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySaudi Arabia: 2.15 higher | −2.13#189 of 193 · 2025 | +0.02#103 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSaudi Arabia: 2.30 higher | −1.49#182 of 193 · 2025 | +0.81#41 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 0.9 per 100,000#110 of 146 · 2019 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Semi-presidential republic | Absolute monarchy |
| Member of | — | G20, OPEC |
| Capital | Kinshasa | Riyadh |
| Currency | Congolese franc (CDF) | Saudi riyal (SAR) |
| Official languages | French | Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+1 · UTC+1 to UTC+2, 2 time zones | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +243 | +966 |
| Region | Middle Africa, Africa | Western Asia, Asia |
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. DR Congo sits at about 3° S and is stretched to 1.0× its true area; Saudi Arabia at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. 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 DR Congo bigger than Saudi Arabia?
- Yes. DR Congo is 4% larger than Saudi Arabia. DR Congo covers 2,344,858 km² and Saudi Arabia covers 2,250,000 km².
- How many times does Saudi Arabia fit into DR Congo?
- About 1.0 times: DR Congo has 1.04× the area of Saudi Arabia.
- Why do DR Congo and Saudi Arabia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. DR Congo is drawn about 1.0× its true area there and Saudi Arabia about 1.2×. 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, DR Congo or Saudi Arabia?
- DR Congo: 112,832,473 people against 36,973,555. Density: DR Congo 48 per km², Saudi Arabia 16 per km².
- Which is richer, DR Congo or Saudi Arabia?
- By gross national income per person, Saudi Arabia: $36,070 against $720 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 50.1× as much.
- Where do people live longer, DR Congo or Saudi Arabia?
- In Saudi Arabia: life expectancy at birth is 79.0 years, against 62.1 — 16.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do DR Congo and Saudi Arabia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — DR Congo: semi-presidential republic; Saudi Arabia: absolute monarchy.