African Development Bank Group commits $80 million to Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) first census in over 40 years

The African Development Bank Group, has announced an $80 million contribution towards the Democratic Republic of the Congo's second General Population and Housing Census (RGPH2).

The announcement was made on 23 March 2026 in Kinshasa during a donor roundtable convening the census's technical and financial partners. The Bank's $80 million contribution represents a significant share of the $200 million in total commitments announced at the event.

The last population census in DRC was held in 1984. Since then, the country has undergone significant demographic transformation, with its population now estimated at more than 112.8 million inhabitants – almost four times the 1984 figure.

Of the Bank Group's commitment, $50 million will fund census operations, while $30 million will support capacity-building for national institutions including the National Institute of Statistics (INS) and those involved in the planning, programming, budgeting, and monitoring and evaluation (PPBME) chain.

Other partners, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the United Nations, also announced contributions. The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire pledged support for data collection equipment and knowledge exchange. The Congolese government has already mobilised $30 million from the state budget for the census.

"Far from being a simple technical or administrative exercise, this event marks a moment of truth for our country, an event where our nation decides we should get to know each other better to govern itself better, plan better and transform itself better," said President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, who chaired the roundtable.

President Tshisekedi added, "To continue to plan without reliable and up-to-date data would be to govern without visibility and therefore to weaken the capacity of the State to respond accurately to the expectations of the population.” The census, he stressed, is "an act of sovereignty, an instrument of public justice and an essential lever for the effectiveness of State action".

Commenting on the Bank Group’s contribution, Mohamed Coulibaly, Country Programme Officer for DRC, said: "This is a historic moment. Drawing on its experience in supporting this type of process in Africa, the African Development Bank Group wishes to support the DRC, in particular through strengthening the INS and institutions aligned with the planning, programming, budgeting, and monitoring and evaluation chain, in order to ensure the effective, transparent and sustainable implementation of this exercise."

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

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