DR Congo vs South Africa
DR Congo has 1.7× the population of South Africa: 112,832,473 vs 64,747,319, a gap of 48.1 million. DR Congo is growing faster (+3.20% vs +1.15% a year), adding about 3,613,456 people a year against +744,395. At these source-year rates the modelled relative population gap is widening. South Africa is the older society: 6.9% aged 65+ against 3.1% in DR Congo, while DR Congo has more children (45.9% under 15 vs 25.7%). People in South Africa live 4.2 years longer on average (66.3 vs 62.1). GDP per capita is 8.2× higher in South Africa ($6,598 vs $807).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (DR Congo) and 2025 (South Africa); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
DR Congo vs South Africa — side by side
 DR Congo |  South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 112,832,4732025 | 64,747,3192025 |
| Growth rate / yr | +3.20%2025 | +1.15%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 40.92024 | 18.52024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 8.42024 | 9.22024 |
| Children per woman | 5.982024 | 2.212024 |
| Life expectancy | 62.1 yrs2024 | 66.3 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 45.9%2025 | 25.7%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 3.1%2025 | 6.9%2025 |
| Density | 46.7 /km²2023 | 52.1 /km²2023 |
| Area | 2,344,860 km²2023 | 1,219,090 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 45.1%2025 | 63.8%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | -27,3092025 | +146,3702025 |
| GDP per capita | $8072025 | $6,5982025 |
| Country population rank (available records) | #15 | #24 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 1.37% | 0.79% |
Highlighted cell = the higher value (not "better"). Small print under each value is its own data year. Source: World Bank; country/territory population bases may have different years. These are not live counts.
Population since 1960
World Bank population history (not the separate UN WPP timeline). DR Congo: 7.4× from 1960 to 2025; South Africa: 3.9× from 1960 to 2025. Left: absolute population. Right: each series indexed to its own first available year = 100; baseline years may differ.
More comparisons
Region: Sub-Saharan Africa · rankings
DR Congo: DR Congo vs India, DR Congo vs China, DR Congo vs United States, DR Congo vs Indonesia, DR Congo vs Pakistan, DR Congo vs Nigeria, DR Congo vs Brazil, DR Congo vs Bangladesh.
South Africa: South Africa vs India, South Africa vs China, South Africa vs United States, South Africa vs Indonesia, South Africa vs Pakistan, South Africa vs Nigeria, South Africa vs Brazil, South Africa vs Bangladesh.
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