Life expectancy by sex in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Life expectancy by sex was 64.04 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
64.04 years
Change on year
up 1.5%
World rank
221st
of 236 countries
All-time high
64.04 years
in 2023
All-time low
39.27 years
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Life expectancy by sex in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1950–2023
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 64.04 years for life expectancy by sex in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.5% on the previous year and up 7.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy by sex in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 64.04 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 39.27 years, in 1950.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 221st of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy by sex in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 39.27 years | — |
| 1951 | 39.61 years | +0.9% |
| 1952 | 39.91 years | +0.8% |
| 1953 | 40.21 years | +0.7% |
| 1954 | 40.47 years | +0.6% |
| 1955 | 40.78 years | +0.8% |
| 1956 | 41.03 years | +0.6% |
| 1957 | 41.32 years | +0.7% |
| 1958 | 41.56 years | +0.6% |
| 1959 | 41.75 years | +0.5% |
| 1960 | 41.94 years | +0.5% |
| 1961 | 41.64 years | -0.7% |
| 1962 | 41.83 years | +0.5% |
| 1963 | 42.04 years | +0.5% |
| 1964 | 41.91 years | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 42.43 years | +1.2% |
| 1966 | 43.26 years | +2.0% |
| 1967 | 43.52 years | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 43.78 years | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 44.07 years | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 44.46 years | +0.9% |
| 1971 | 44.72 years | +0.6% |
| 1972 | 44.96 years | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 45.21 years | +0.5% |
| 1974 | 45.41 years | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 45.61 years | +0.4% |
| 1976 | 45.73 years | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 45.86 years | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 45.77 years | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 46.22 years | +1.0% |
| 1980 | 46.42 years | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 46.58 years | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 46.83 years | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 47.08 years | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 47.37 years | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 47.46 years | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 47.83 years | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 48.22 years | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 48.69 years | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 49.19 years | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 49.69 years | +1.0% |
| 1991 | 50.19 years | +1.0% |
| 1992 | 50.7 years | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 51.25 years | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 51.5 years | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 52.13 years | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 51.69 years | -0.8% |
| 1997 | 52.61 years | +1.8% |
| 1998 | 53 years | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 53.41 years | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 53.84 years | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 54.13 years | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 54.35 years | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 54.76 years | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 55.17 years | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 55.63 years | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 56.08 years | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 56.48 years | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 56.93 years | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 57.45 years | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 57.99 years | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 58.49 years | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 59.03 years | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 59.5 years | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 59.94 years | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 60.4 years | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 60.86 years | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 61.31 years | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 61.82 years | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 62.15 years | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 62.53 years | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 62.14 years | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 63.12 years | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 64.04 years | +1.5% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 64.04 years is below the median for low income countries, which is 66.36 years, 96% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 64.04 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 66.75 years, 96% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 40.59 years | 39.27 years | 41.75 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 42.64 years | 41.64 years | 44.07 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 45.4 years | 44.46 years | 46.22 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 47.57 years | 46.42 years | 49.19 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 51.62 years | 49.69 years | 53.41 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 55.48 years | 53.84 years | 57.45 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 60.15 years | 57.99 years | 62.15 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 62.96 years | 62.14 years | 64.04 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
- 218 Madagascar 65.38 years compare
- 219 Zimbabwe 65.01 years compare
- 220 Cote d'Ivoire 64.13 years compare
- 222 Nauru 64 years compare
- 223 Sierra Leone 63.5 years compare
- 224 Liberia 63.44 years compare
More population data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.6537 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.6699 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate 1.57 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.6699 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development 0.7% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 33.44 million people (2100)
- Population density 189.99 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth 0.7% (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.1964 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, per capita 0.5489 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy by sex in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Life expectancy by sex in Democratic Republic of Congo was 64.04 years in 2023, according to Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy by sex recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 64.04 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy by sex recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.27 years in 1950.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for life expectancy by sex?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 221st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy by sex rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy by sex. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Period life expectancy at birth among females, in a given year.