People displaced internally by natural disasters in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: People displaced internally by natural disasters was 133,000 number of cases in 2023. ◆ Volatile
People displaced internally by natural disasters in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2008–2023
Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in number of cases.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 133,000 number of cases for people displaced internally by natural disasters in 2023.
The figure is down 68.6% on the previous year and up 3,400.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people displaced internally by natural disasters in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 888,000 number of cases in 2021 and was at its lowest, 120 number of cases, in 2009.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 27th of 146 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
People displaced internally by natural disasters in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | number of cases | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 5,100 number of cases | — |
| 2009 | 120 number of cases | -97.6% |
| 2010 | 98,000 number of cases | +81566.7% |
| 2011 | 12,000 number of cases | -87.8% |
| 2012 | 23,000 number of cases | +91.7% |
| 2013 | 3,800 number of cases | -83.5% |
| 2014 | 24,000 number of cases | +531.6% |
| 2015 | 106,000 number of cases | +341.7% |
| 2016 | 130,000 number of cases | +22.6% |
| 2017 | 27,000 number of cases | -79.2% |
| 2018 | 81,000 number of cases | +200.0% |
| 2019 | 237,000 number of cases | +192.6% |
| 2020 | 279,000 number of cases | +17.7% |
| 2021 | 888,000 number of cases | +218.3% |
| 2022 | 423,000 number of cases | -52.4% |
| 2023 | 133,000 number of cases | -68.6% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 133,000 number of cases is above the median for low income countries, which is 82,500 number of cases, 1.6× the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 133,000 number of cases is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 22,500 number of cases, 5.9× the median. (38 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where People displaced internally by natural disasters in Democratic Republic of Congo changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +81566.7% | 120 number of cases | 98,000 number of cases |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2,610 number of cases | 120 number of cases | 5,100 number of cases | 2 |
| 2010s | 74,180 number of cases | 3,800 number of cases | 237,000 number of cases | 10 |
| 2020s | 430,750 number of cases | 133,000 number of cases | 888,000 number of cases | 4 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric 3,057 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.66 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Burning - Crop 235.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure left on Pasture 1,764 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.82 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure Management 601.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 140.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 11.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure applied to Soils 313.43 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people displaced internally by natural disasters in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- People displaced internally by natural disasters in Democratic Republic of Congo was 133,000 number of cases in 2023, according to Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest people displaced internally by natural disasters recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 888,000 number of cases in 2021.
- What is the lowest people displaced internally by natural disasters recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 120 number of cases in 2009.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for people displaced internally by natural disasters?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 27th out of 146 countries with data for 2023.
- Is people displaced internally by natural disasters rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3,400.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of People displaced internally by natural disasters. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Internally-displaced persons are defined as people or groups of people who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, as a result of natural or human-made disasters and who have not crossed an international border.