1. Diverging pathsVietnam and DR Congo

   Vietnam and DR Congo: similar GDP per person in 1990, 9.4 times apart in 2025

   VietnamDR Congo

   Output per person a year, in 2021 dollars adjusted for price differences: $2,500 in Vietnam and $2,400 in DR Congo in 1990; $15,500 and $1,600 in 2025. Vietnam grew 6.3-fold; DR Congo fell 32%.

   Source: World Bank (WDI, ITU and UNESCO data); UN WPP 2024Open on the chart →

More findings

• DR Congo: more babies born than in the US
• DR Congo now has more people than Germany
• Vietnam: 84% are online, but only 45% have toilet waste that is safely treated
• DR Congo: more babies are born than in the whole EU
• DR Congo: 2.1M natives live abroad, 1.9 times as many as the foreign-born living there
• DR Congo: all its electricity is made without coal, gas or oil, but there is 14 times less of it per person than in a typical country

All findings →