DR Congo now has more children than Brazil
Children aged 0–14, millions, 2010–2025. World Bank estimates based on UN population data.
- 1. The world has already passed peak child
- 2. Japan's median age is more than three times Niger's
- 3. South Korea now has a quarter of its 1971 births
- 4. China's population is projected to more than halve by 2100
- 5. Japan now has over 100,000 centenarians, up from 153
- 6. Japan has 9 million empty homes: one in seven
- 7. One in ten in Japan will be foreign by 2070
- 8. Japan's foreign residents have doubled since 2012, passing 4 million
- 9. Jakarta, not Tokyo, is the world's largest city
- 10. Two in three newly licensed UK doctors qualified abroad
- 11. Iran dropped from top refugee host to fifth in 2025
- 12. More Christians live in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else
- 13. Two in three people live where fertility is below replacement
- 14. Japan's births fell below half their 1899 level
- 15. DR Congo now has more children than Brazil
- 16. Brazil now has more people over 65 than Germany
- 17. Egypt has more asylum seekers than Germany, Spain and Italy
- 18. 34 countries and territories are past their population peak
- 19. Chile's fertility rate fell below Italy's and Japan's
- 20. Nigeria now has almost 25 million more people than Brazil
- 21. Thailand's births have fallen below its deaths
- 22. Women hold at least half the seats in seven parliaments
- 23. Child marriage in South Asia has nearly halved since 2005
- 24. Six in ten child deaths now happen in sub-Saharan Africa
- 25. Pakistan now has more working-age people than Brazil
Children under 15 in DR Congo in 2025, up from 31.6 million in 2010.
The year DR Congo passed Brazil, where the number of children has fallen every year since 2010.
of DR Congo's people are under 15, against 19% in Brazil, so the world's children are shifting toward Africa.
the numbers & method
| Year | DR Congo (M) | Brazil (M) | United States (M) | Mexico (M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 31.6 | 47.9 | 60.9 | 33.8 |
| 2011 | 32.6 | 47.3 | 61.1 | 33.9 |
| 2012 | 33.7 | 46.8 | 61.3 | 33.9 |
| 2013 | 34.8 | 46.2 | 61.5 | 33.9 |
| 2014 | 36.0 | 45.6 | 61.6 | 34.0 |
| 2015 | 37.3 | 45.2 | 61.8 | 33.9 |
| 2016 | 38.5 | 44.7 | 61.8 | 33.7 |
| 2017 | 39.9 | 44.3 | 61.9 | 33.5 |
| 2018 | 41.3 | 44.0 | 61.7 | 33.3 |
| 2019 | 42.7 | 43.7 | 61.4 | 33.1 |
| 2020 | 44.2 | 43.3 | 61.0 | 32.9 |
| 2021 | 45.7 | 42.9 | 60.3 | 32.8 |
| 2022 | 47.2 | 42.5 | 59.7 | 32.6 |
| 2023 | 48.8 | 42.1 | 59.3 | 32.3 |
| 2024 | 50.3 | 41.7 | 58.9 | 32.1 |
| 2025 | 51.8 | 41.3 | 58.4 | 31.8 |
Claim types Fact · Estimate · Interpretation
All values read from the World Bank API (SP.POP.0014.TO, WDI last updated 8 Oct 2026) on 3 Nov 2026. Population estimates are modelled by the World Bank from UN World Population Prospects and national sources; they are estimates, not counts. DR Congo 2025: 51,846,285; Brazil 2025: 41,257,135. DR Congo passed Brazil in 2020 (44.2M vs 43.3M; 2019: 42.7M vs 43.7M). Shares derived with total population (SP.POP.TOTL, 2025): DR Congo 112,832,473 (46%), Brazil 212,812,405 (19.4%). Ethiopia (52.5M, not shown) also has more children than Brazil. Takeaway 3's second clause is an interpretation.
Published 3 Nov 2026
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