PEOPLE

Back | Info Support | Projects | Main Menu | Home

sasha@tcid.on.ca

This space is available Advertise here

The Congo has a population of 2.2 million as compared with 100 million in Japan, which is roughly the same size. The major ethnic groups are the Kongo (or Bakongo) (45%) followed by the Sangha, the Teke (or Bateke), the Vili and the M'Bochi. The Kongo are also a major ethnic group in Zaire and Angola, and were part of the Kongo kingdom centred in Angola which was flourishing when the Portuguese explorers arrived in the 15th century and reached its height a century later. You'll find the Kongo living more around Brazzaville, the Vili more along the coast, the Sangha along the Oubangui and Sangha rivers, and the Teke just to the north of Brazzaville.

In terms of religion, about half the people are Catholics or Protestants and 2% are Muslims. The remainder practise traditional African religions.

Facts about People

Population: 2,446,902 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.38% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 40.27 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 16.49 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 111 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population 47.56 years
male 45.76 years
female 49.41 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.3 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Nationality:
noun Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective Congolese or Congo

Ethnic divisions:
south Kongo 48%
north Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%
center Teke 17%, Europeans 8,500 (mostly French)

Religions: Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%

Languages:
French (official), African languages (Lingala and Kikongo are the most widely used)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population 57%
male 70%
female 44%

Labor force: 79,100 wage earners
by occupation agriculture 75%, commerce, industry, and government 25%
note 51% of population of working age; 40% of population economically active (1985)