DR Congo vs South Sudan
DR Congo is 3.64 times larger than South Sudan. South Sudan would fit into DR Congo about 3.6 times.
DR CongoSouth SudanDR Congo moved onto South Sudan · Equal-area projection
3.64×
DR Congo is 3.64× the area of South Sudan.
 DR Congo |  South Sudan | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaDR Congo: 3.64× the area | 2,344,858 km²#11 of 194 | 644,329 km²#41 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 9 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationDR Congo: 9.26× the population | 112,832,473#15 of 194 · 2025 | 12,188,788#81 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityDR Congo: 2.54× the density | 48 / km²#136 of 194 | 19 / km²#170 of 194 |
| Urban populationDR Congo: 2.08× the urban share | 45%#138 of 192 · 2025 | 22%#185 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateDR Congo: 1.58× the births per woman | 5.98 per woman#3 of 192 · 2024 | 3.79 per woman#32 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthDR Congo: 1.17 points higher | +3.20%#10 of 192 · 2025 | +2.03%#47 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateDR Congo: 1.4× the birth rate | 40.9 per 1,000#5 of 192 · 2024 | 29.2 per 1,000#34 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSouth Sudan: 1.17× the death rate | 8.4 per 1,000#66 of 192 · 2024 | 9.8 per 1,000#40 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15DR Congo: 7.9 points higher | 45.9%#5 of 192 · 2025 | 38.0%#33 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65The same | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Sudan: 0.7 per 1,000 higher | −0.2 per 1,000#84 of 192 · 2025 | +0.5 per 1,000#58 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSouth Sudan: 18.8× the refugees for its size | 10.43 per 1,000#18 of 190 · 2025 | 195.79 per 1,000#1 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyDR Congo: 4.4 years longer | 62.1 years#179 of 192 · 2024 | 57.7 years#189 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySouth Sudan: 1.27× the infant mortality | 56.4 per 1,000 births#9 of 191 · 2024 | 71.9 per 1,000 births#1 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsDR Congo: 5.25× the doctors per person | 0.21 per 1,000#147 of 178 · 2022 | 0.04 per 1,000#177 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | 6.4%#137 of 145 · 2020 | — |
| Human Development IndexDR Congo: 0.134 higher | 0.522#168 of 190 · 2023 | 0.388#190 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | $720#177 of 185 · 2025 | — |
| GDP | $91.03B2025 | — |
| Income group | Low income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $1,920#179 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| GDP growth | +5.8%#35 of 187 · 2025 | — |
| Inflation | — | +91.4%#4 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentSouth Sudan: 2.82× the unemployment | 4.4%#108 of 178 · 2025 | 12.4%#22 of 178 · 2023 |
| Extreme povertyDR Congo: 1.12× the share in extreme poverty | 85.3%#1 of 149 · 2020 | 76.5%#3 of 149 · 2016 |
| Income inequality (Gini)DR Congo: 0.7 higher | 44.7#17 of 149 · 2020 | 44.0#19 of 149 · 2016 |
| Jobs in agricultureSouth Sudan: 5.3 points higher | 58.5% of jobs#15 of 178 · 2025 | 63.8% of jobs#11 of 178 · 2023 |
| Jobs in industryDR Congo: 6.3 points higher | 8.0% of jobs#165 of 178 · 2025 | 1.7% of jobs#178 of 178 · 2023 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Sudan: 1.1 points higher | 33.5% of jobs#160 of 178 · 2025 | 34.6% of jobs#158 of 178 · 2023 |
| Foreign investment | 2.1% of GDP#89 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| Exports | 43.4% of GDP#59 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Military spendingSouth Sudan: 2.48× the military spending | 1.4% of GDP#93 of 155 · 2025 | 3.4% of GDP#19 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet users | 20%#173 of 184 · 2024 | — |
| Mobile subscriptionsDR Congo: 1.26× the mobile subscriptions | 59 per 100#177 of 191 · 2024 | 47 per 100#185 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaDR Congo: 5.44× the forest share | 62% of land#25 of 192 · 2024 | 11% of land#151 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per person | 0.06 t a year#180 of 185 · 2024 | — |
| Renewable energyDR Congo: 63.9 points higher | 96.3%#1 of 190 · 2021 | 32.4%#76 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityDR Congo: 17.1 points higher | 22.5%#186 of 192 · 2024 | 5.4%#192 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)DR Congo: 1.51× the air pollution | 35.8 µg/m³#31 of 191 · 2023 | 23.7 µg/m³#64 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSouth Sudan: 0.5 points higher | 14.9% of land#117 of 191 · 2025 | 15.4% of land#114 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landDR Congo: 3.5 points higher | 7.3% of land#115 of 190 · 2024 | 3.8% of land#141 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Sudan: 21× the water stress | 0.2%#172 of 176 · 2022 | 4.2%#127 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationDR Congo: 1.71× the rain and snow | 1,543 mm#54 of 180 · 2022 | 900 mm#97 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Sudan: 0.61 higher | −2.13#189 of 193 · 2025 | −1.52#173 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionDR Congo: 0.61 higher | −1.49#182 of 193 · 2025 | −2.10#193 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Semi-presidential republic | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Kinshasa | Juba |
| Currency | Congolese franc (CDF) | South Sudanese pound (SSP) |
| Official languages | French | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+1 · UTC+1 to UTC+2, 2 time zones | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +243 | +211 |
| Region | Middle Africa, Africa | Eastern 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. DR Congo sits at about 3° S and is stretched to 1.0× its true area; South Sudan at 7° N is stretched to 1.02×. 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 South Sudan?
- Yes. DR Congo is 3.64 times larger than South Sudan. DR Congo covers 2,344,858 km² and South Sudan covers 644,329 km².
- How many times does South Sudan fit into DR Congo?
- About 3.6 times: DR Congo has 3.64× the area of South Sudan.
- Why do DR Congo and South Sudan 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 South Sudan about 1.02×. 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 South Sudan?
- DR Congo: 112,832,473 people against 12,188,788. Density: DR Congo 48 per km², South Sudan 19 per km².
- Where do people live longer, DR Congo or South Sudan?
- In DR Congo: life expectancy at birth is 62.1 years, against 57.7 — 4.4 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do DR Congo and South Sudan have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — DR Congo: semi-presidential republic; South Sudan: presidential republic.