[5] A census is supposed to be conducted decennially, but this has been obstructed by periods of instability such as the political reorganization in 1991 and the civil war in 1996.

Opponents said this was intended to keep Joseph Kabila in power by delaying the next election, leading to protests that caused several deaths.

[8] President Félix Tshisekedi called for a census to improve demographic policies and to enable the creation of national identity cards.

[9][6] The National Office for Population Identification (ONIP), founded in 2011, was tasked with leading the census, settling a dispute between bids by the Ministries of Interior, Planning, and Digital Technology.

[10] Data collection began on 2 March 2020 and was scheduled to end on 10 June, but implementation was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[11] Data collection was arranged by the Ministries of Planning, Budget, and Finance, and the electoral commission sent materials to the ONIP and the National Statistics Institute [fr].

[23] The CIA The World Factbook gives the following percentages: Roman Catholic 29.9%, Protestant 26.7%, Kimbanguist 2.8%, Other Christian 36.5%, Islam 1.3%, Other (includes Syncretic Sects and Indigenous beliefs) 2.7%.

The table below shows DRC born people who have emigrated abroad in selected Western countries (although it excludes their descendants).