Life expectancy for people of different ages in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Life expectancy for people of different ages was 61.9 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy for people of different ages in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1950–2023
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for life expectancy for people of different ages in Democratic Republic of Congo is 61.9 years, measured 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 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy for people of different ages in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 61.9 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 38.22 years, in 1950.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 224th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 39.5 years | 38.22 years | 40.62 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 41.29 years | 40.1 years | 42.96 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 44.31 years | 43.3 years | 45.28 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 46.69 years | 45.54 years | 48.15 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 49.63 years | 48.54 years | 50.46 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 53.76 years | 51.89 years | 55.8 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 58.41 years | 56.41 years | 60.24 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 60.84 years | 60.04 years | 61.9 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
- 221 Liberia 62.16 years compare
- 222 Nauru 62.11 years compare
- 223 Cote d'Ivoire 61.94 years compare
- 225 Sierra Leone 61.79 years compare
- 226 Niger 61.18 years compare
- 227 Burkina Faso 61.09 years compare
More health data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 821.4 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 133,650 deaths (2100)
- Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 528 deaths (2026)
- Deaths in armed conflicts by region 528 deaths (2026)
- Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 873,860 (2025)
- Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 884,406 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 907,255 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 917,495 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 937,176 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 946,859 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy for people of different ages in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Life expectancy for people of different ages in Democratic Republic of Congo was 61.9 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy for people of different ages recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 61.9 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy for people of different ages recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.22 years in 1950.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for life expectancy for people of different ages?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 224th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy for people of different ages rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy for people of different ages. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.