Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 19.22 million people in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 19.22 million people for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is up 64.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 19.22 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1950.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 18th of 182 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 1960s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 1970s | 517,810 people | 0 people | 1.04 million people | 2 |
| 1980s | 3.02 million people | 2.58 million people | 3.45 million people | 2 |
| 1990s | 5.21 million people | 4.45 million people | 5.97 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 9.20 million people | 8.25 million people | 10.16 million people | 2 |
| 2010s | 13.02 million people | 11.71 million people | 14.32 million people | 2 |
| 2020s | 19.22 million people | 19.22 million people | 19.22 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.2047 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.8778 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 1.05 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 1.17 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.6722 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 133.85 2010 = 100 (2016)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Democratic Republic of Congo was 19.22 million people in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 19.22 million people in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1950.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 18th out of 182 countries with data for 2020.
- Is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 64.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total population living in cities with 1 million or more people. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.