Number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels was 5.29 million people in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
5.29 million people
Change on year
up 7.6%
World rank
90th
of 189 countries
All-time high
5.29 million people
in 2023
All-time low
505,074 people
in 2000
Years of data
24
2000–2023

Number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000–2023

1.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M5.0M2000201120232000: 505.1k people2001: 625.6k people2002: 806.3k people2003: 885.5k people2004: 1.0M people2005: 1.2M people2006: 1.4M people2007: 1.5M people2008: 1.7M people2009: 1.9M people2010: 2.1M people2011: 2.3M people2012: 2.5M people2013: 2.7M people2014: 3.0M people2015: 3.2M people2016: 3.4M people2017: 3.6M people2018: 3.8M people2019: 4.1M people2020: 4.2M people2021: 4.6M people2022: 4.9M people2023: 5.3M people

Source: World Health Organization (via World Bank) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels in Democratic Republic of Congo is 5.29 million people, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.

That represents a change of up 7.6% on the previous year and up 93.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 5.29 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 505,074 people, in 2000.

That places Democratic Republic of Congo 90th out of 189 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year

Annual values for Number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000 to 2023.
Year people Change
2000 505,074 people
2001 625,592 people +23.9%
2002 806,258 people +28.9%
2003 885,502 people +9.8%
2004 1.03 million people +15.9%
2005 1.18 million people +14.6%
2006 1.39 million people +18.6%
2007 1.50 million people +7.6%
2008 1.74 million people +15.9%
2009 1.93 million people +10.8%
2010 2.13 million people +10.4%
2011 2.34 million people +10.0%
2012 2.49 million people +6.5%
2013 2.73 million people +9.5%
2014 2.98 million people +9.2%
2015 3.16 million people +6.1%
2016 3.36 million people +6.3%
2017 3.57 million people +6.3%
2018 3.78 million people +5.9%
2019 4.09 million people +8.1%
2020 4.22 million people +3.3%
2021 4.56 million people +8.0%
2022 4.92 million people +7.8%
2023 5.29 million people +7.6%

Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries

  • Democratic Republic of Congo's 5.29 million people is above the median for low income countries, which is 991,365 people, 5.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Democratic Republic of Congo's 5.29 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.27 million people, 4.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1.16 million people 505,074 people 1.93 million people 10
2010s 3.06 million people 2.13 million people 4.09 million people 10
2020s 4.75 million people 4.22 million people 5.29 million people 4

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 87 Slovakia 5.43 million people compare
  2. 88 Honduras 5.35 million people compare
  3. 89 Ireland 5.31 million people compare
  4. 91 New Zealand 5.20 million people compare
  5. 92 Oman 5.05 million people compare
  6. 93 Zimbabwe 5.02 million people compare

See the full ranking of 189 places →

More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels in Democratic Republic of Congo was 5.29 million people in 2023, according to World Health Organization (via World Bank) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 5.29 million people in 2023.
What is the lowest number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 505,074 people in 2000.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 90th out of 189 countries with data for 2023.
Is number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is up 93.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization (via World Bank) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels in Democratic Republic of Congo. Statizoid, drawing on World Health Organization (via World Bank) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/number-with-without-clean-cooking-fuels/congo-dem-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of people with and without access to clean cooking fuels
Unit
people
Source
World Health Organization (via World Bank) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
189 places, 4,536 data points, 2000–2023
Last refreshed

Access to clean fuels or technologies such as natural gas, electricity, and clean cookstoves reduces exposure to indoor air pollutants, a leading cause of death in low-income households.