Distillers Congo, The Democratic Republic of the
A one-page guide to Congo, The Democratic Republic of the for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Kinshasa
- Official languages
- French
- Currency
- Congolese franc (CDF)
- Time zone
- UTC+1 to UTC+2
- Area
- 2,345,410 km²
People
- Population
- 112.8 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 3.2% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 45.1%
- Aged under 15
- 45.9%
- Aged 65 and over
- 3.1%
- Life expectancy
- 62.1 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$91.0 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$807 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 5.75924471639999% (2025)
Climate
Equatorial and tropical with high rainfall (over 2,000 mm in places) and very frequent thunderstorms.
Alcohol
- Legal drinking age
- Purchase age 18
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 1.5 litres of pure alcohol (2022)
- What people drink
- Beer 89%, wine 1%, spirits 10% (2022)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); Wikipedia: Congo, The Democratic Republic of the (basics, climate, ports); Wikipedia: Legal drinking age; World Bank Open Data (population, GDP, growth, inflation, area); WHO Global Health Observatory: total alcohol per capita; UN Comtrade (HS 2208 trade); Wikipedia: Bralima; Compagnie sucrière Kwilu-Ngongo (Wikipedia); AllAfrica - Sucrière de Kwilu Ngongo green jobs (11 Feb 2026). Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.