8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Africa / Middle Africa

Born in Republic of the Congo

About 1 in 698 people born in 2023 started life in Republic of the Congo. A boy can expect to live 64 years and a girl 68, up from 38 and 41 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and 73% have basic drinking water.

1 in 698
odds of being born here
189,400 births · Ranked 86th of 230
64 / 68
years of life, boys / girls
Was 38 / 41 in 1950
$1,539
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 188th of 203 · extrapolated
64%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 26 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 279 in every 1,000 births to 40.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth64.1 years for boys, 67.5 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 539.9 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year39,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.2World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles65%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV3.2%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year298 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year219 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.1 children on average in 1950. Now it is 4.2.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman4.16UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth28.6 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 54 and the poorest fifth 4.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2011
4%Poorest fifth
8%Second
13%Middle
21%Fourth
54%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $1,539 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth54% / 4% (2011)World Bank PIP
Unemployment19.9% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises4.3% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person-0.5% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming37% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed77% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment51% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Brazzaville, with 2.0 million people.

64%
live in cities
51%
have electricity at home
73%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Brazzaville2.0 million
Pointe-Noire1.0 million
Dolisie121,000
Nkayi103,000
Kayes58,737
Languages
Share of people who can use each
French61%
Lingala2%
French is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Brazzaville2.0 million
Pointe-Noire1.1 million
Bouenza255,687
Niari140,104
Cuvette98,687
Likouala86,145
Sangha55,769
Plateaux42,090
Lékoumou33,122

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

People on the move

About 3.6% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are France, South Africa, Tanzania.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
France94,890
South Africa29,093
Tanzania24,189
Residents born abroad6.1% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 3.6% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostFrance (94,890), South Africa (29,093), Tanzania (24,189)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $44.0 million a year (2021)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

22% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

22%
of older people receive a pension (2011)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2020)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024389Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19506; the deadliest, in 2008, killed about 47 people (magnitude 5.9)NOAA NCEI
Deaths in organized violence15,598 between 1993 and 2016UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Republic of the Congo, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Republic of the Congo

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences