World Sites & Apps
Africa · #37 · 2025–2026

DR Congo: internet and everyday apps

DR Congo has about 25 million people online — a penetration rate of 22.3% and rank #37 worldwide. This page walks through the local digital scene, the app categories people lean on, and 14 apps worth knowing.

Internet users 25 million Penetration 22.3% World rank #37 Updated 2026-11-12
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TL;DR
  • DR Congo has roughly 25 million internet users (25,000,000 people) — about 22.3% of the population and rank #37 globally.
  • The apps people open most: WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. They cover Messaging, Social, Video, Shopping, Payments, Mobility, News, Banking and more.
  • The one to know first: WhatsApp — The most widely used messenger on earth.

DR Congo in numbers

2025–2026
Internet users
25 million25,000,000 · #37
Penetration
22.3%#207
Population
112 million112,000,000 · #15
GDP
$76B#86
GDP growth
+6.1%#25
GDP per person
$676#210
Land area
2.34M km²#11
Capital
Kinshasa
Region
Africa
Official languages
French

How DR Congo goes online

In Kinshasa the day starts on WhatsApp: family messages, the neighbourhood group, sometimes a photo from yesterday's wedding. Facebook comes next, for news and the clips that travel faster than any radio bulletin. Money goes to a cousin upcountry through M-Pesa or Orange Money, and when rain turns the roads to soup the taxi is ordered on Yango. The real running argument is data: small bundles, mobile data switched off between checks, a friend's wifi borrowed for an hour.

Around 22.3%. With a population of about 112 million and 25 million online, roughly 87 million people are still offline — mostly because of rural coverage, device cost and age.

All 14 apps below are grouped by category.

What people actually use

14 Most-used apps

Messaging

1 Most-used apps →
WhatsApp Messaging · Meta · 2009

Social

2 Most-used apps →
Facebook Social · Meta · 2004 Instagram Social · Meta · 2010

Video

2 Most-used apps →
YouTube Video · Google · 2005 TikTok Video · ByteDance · 2016

Shopping

1 Most-used apps →
Jumia Shopping · Jumia Technologies · 2012

Payments

2 Most-used apps →
M-PESA Payments · Safaricom · 2007 Orange Money Payments · Orange · 2008

Mobility

3 Most-used apps →
Bolt Mobility · Bolt Technology · 2013 Yassir Mobility · Yassir · 2017 Yango Mobility · Yango · 2018

News

1 Most-used apps →
BBC News · BBC（英国公共广播机构） · 1997

Banking

2 Most-used apps →
GTBank Banking · Guaranty Trust Holding · 1990 Rawbank Banking · Rawbank · 2002

Websites people in DR Congo actually use

9

The 9 sites locals open most often — news, shopping, search, banking and government services. Every link goes to the official site.

News2Banking2Telecom2Classifieds1Education1Transport1
Actualite.cdNewsactualite.cdKinshasa news site people check every morning for politics and city life. Radio OkapiNewsradiookapi.netUN-backed radio and news site trusted nationwide for balanced coverage. RawbankBankingrawbank.comLargest local bank, used for salaries, cards and everyday transfers. Central Bank of CongoBankingbcc.cdThe central bank and the Congolese franc. Vodacom CongoTelecomvodacom.cdOne of DR Congo's main mobile networks — airtime, data bundles and the M-Pesa wallet used across the country. Airtel DRCTelecomairtel.cdThe second operator, strong in the east. CoinAfriqueClassifiedscoinafrique.comClassifieds app for buying and selling phones, furniture and cars locally. University of KinshasaEducationunikin.ac.cdThe country’s largest university. SNCCTransportsncc.cdThe national railway company.

2808 websites →

Frequently asked questions

6 Q&A
How many people in DR Congo are online?

About 25 million (25,000,000 people). That works out to roughly 22.3% of the population, which puts DR Congo at #37 in the world for total internet users. Figures come from DataReportal’s Digital 2026, which draws on ITU and national statistics.

Which apps do people in DR Congo use most?

Mostly WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube — they cover Messaging, Social, Video, Shopping, Payments, Mobility, News, Banking. The full list, grouped by category, is further down this page.

What is the leading Messaging app in DR Congo?

WhatsApp dominate this space. The best-known is WhatsApp — The most widely used messenger on earth.

How high is internet penetration in DR Congo?

Around 22.3%. With a population of about 112 million and 25 million online, roughly 87 million people are still offline — mostly because of rural coverage, device cost and age.

Where do these app facts come from?

Usage figures come from DataReportal’s Digital 2026 (Kepios, based on ITU and national statistics); app details come from each product’s official site. Updated 2026-11-12.

Which websites are most popular in DR Congo?

The everyday ones are Actualite.cd, Radio Okapi, Rawbank, plus the other 9 sites listed above. They cover news, shopping, search, banking and official paperwork, and every link points to the official site.

Sources

Updated 2026-11-12
Cite this pageWorld Sites & Apps. “DR Congo: internet and everyday apps”. 2026. https://abcvv.com/c/cd-en.html