# DR Congo and Zambia compared DR Congo and Zambia side by side: 43 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, their chronicles record no events of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/cod-vs-zmb Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - DR Congo: 30 June 1960 — Independence of the Congo from Belgian sovereignty - Zambia: 24 October 1964 — Zambia becomes independent of Britain ## Economy | Metric | DR Congo | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $71 B | 2024 | $25 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $649 | 2024 | $1,187 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 6.1% | 2024 | 3.8% | 2024 | | Inflation | 2.9% | 2016 | 15.0% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 100.6% | 2024 | 62.5% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | DR Congo | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 109 m | 2024 | 21 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 62.1 yrs | 2024 | 66.5 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 44.7% | 2024 | 45.5% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 6.0 | 2024 | 4.0 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | DR Congo | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 35.6 | 2024 | 49.7 | 2024 | | Political stability | 29.7 | 2024 | 64.2 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 18.4 | 2024 | 41.0 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 34.6 | 2024 | 48.2 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 29.0 | 2024 | 47.3 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 17.2 | 2024 | 38.6 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | DR Congo | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 3.7% | 2023 | 6.0% | 2023 | | Physicians | 0.21 | 2022 | 0.32 | 2022 | | Under-5 mortality | 89.7 | 2024 | 48.4 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 55.0% | 2024 | 88.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 11.9% | 2024 | — | — | ## Education | Metric | DR Congo | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 68.5% | 2023 | 71.8% | 2024 | | Education spending | 2.8% | 2022 | 4.1% | 2023 | | Primary enrolment | 117.6% | 2023 | 115.6% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 55.5% | 2023 | 56.8% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 6.4% | 2020 | 4.0% | 2012 | ## Technology | Metric | DR Congo | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.4% | 2015 | 0.3% | 2008 | | Researchers (per million) | 10 | 2015 | 42 | 2008 | | Internet users | 19.7% | 2024 | 17.1% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 59 | 2024 | 109 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 0.2% | 2023 | 1.5% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | DR Congo | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 2,267,050 km² | 2023 | 743,390 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 54.2% | 2023 | 59.5% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 15.5% | 2023 | 32.1% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 0.1 | 2024 | 0.5 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 96.3% | 2021 | 83.0% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | DR Congo | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 38.8% | 2021 | 35.3% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.6% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 28.8% | 2021 | 28.2% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 9.4% | 2021 | 6.8% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 22.1% | 2023 | 51.1% | 2023 | | Copper (mined) | 3.2 Mt | 2025 | 940 kt | 2025 | | Cobalt (mined) | 230 kt | 2025 | — | — | ## Military | Metric | DR Congo | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.2% | 2024 | 1.3% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $899 M | 2024 | $350 M | 2024 | | Armed forces | 134,000 | 2020 | 16,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/COD.md and https://terralore.co/country/ZMB.md. ## Entangled histories (0 events) Neither nation's sourced chronicle names the other — across both archives, no recorded event crosses between them. That is a fact about the two records as they stand, not a gap filled here. ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/COD/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/ZMB/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "DR Congo and Zambia compared", terralore.co/compare/cod-vs-zmb, retrieved .