1950
In 1950 the population was clearly still in stage 2 with an extremely wide base where the children make up most of the population. The dependency ratio was extremely high since a large percentage of the population were children. 0.0% of the population was greater than 80 years old, also meaning that the elderly dependency ratio is low. There were more women than men, meaning that the sex ratio is less than one. This also means that the life expectancy was a low rate at this point since the base was really wide and the oldest people were under 80 years old. The total fertility rate was still high, and so was the birth and death rate. At this point the DRC was still apart of Belgium and many people were in awful conditions at the time. This is why so many people died at younger ages, and mothers needed to have a lot of children to get through daily life. This is why the TFR was so high and the base was so wide.
1975
There was not much change at all from 1950 to 1975 in the population pyramid. The wide base stayed the same and the oldest age group was only up to 80 years old. Part of the reason why citizens are dying so young is due to poor medical and food conditions which can lead to high maternal mortality rates, infant mortality rates, and many children underweight. There is also the daily worry about the large number of diseases that can be transferred, including an AIDS rate that compares to the middle of the pack. The median age was still very young in the DRC, the only thing that changed was the sex ratio becoming more even. At this point the DRC was advancing and getting stronger as a young nation. Not long after though, war broke out in 1977.
2000
By 2000 there was still not a noticeable change in the population pyramid as it remained the same throughout all of these years and the base remained wide. The country was having worse problems due to conflict, so there was not many resources to help with healthcare, food, and necessities. That is why these age groups stayed the same. Another reason why so many children are born is due to the low contraception rate. This leads to a high TFR and CBR and a wider base on the pyramid. Another reason why the base is so thin at the top is due to all the people who have died in the war that was being fought.
2015
In 2015 there was still a very wide base and curves in until the top. The TFR and dependency ratio increased due to the population of the young children increasing. The death rate was still low as people were growing older and older. This population pyramid shows that the DRC is still in a strong stage 2 and still has a lot of work until it gets to a three. In 2015 the war was calming down and there was still much tension in the country that could boil over into another war any day.
2050
In 2050 geographers project the DRC to move into stage 3 of the DTM due to the population pyramid base shifting up and getting wider as it goes up. This means that the country is starting to industrialize more and move out of farming some. This also means that parents will start to have less children, meaning the TFR and CBR will start to decrease. Medical technology will be more available meaning life expectancy will go up, and AIDS rates and the CDR will go down. Childhood malnutrition will also go down because food will be more available and parents will be having less children. The median will increase due to the shift up in population with people growing older and developing. The RNI and doubling rate will decrease due to less people having children, and the migration rate will go up with foreign countries moving in to take out the DRC's natural resources. In the end we do not know if the country will end up like it is predicted to look on the population pyramid due to the instability. It could still be a stage 2 with not much progress due to the amount of violence still occurring.
2099
By 2099 it looks to be as the DRC will be transitioning into stage 4 of the DTM. This means the country will continue to improve medically, economically, and technologically. At this point the diseases that are being seen in the DRC right now will go away and degenerative diseases will begin to appear more often. Obesity rates will begin to increase, while childhood nutrition should almost be gone. Once again with more women going to college and into the workplace less children will be had and the birthrate and the TFR will continue to stay low. As stated earlier, we do not know if this is what the DRC's pyramid will look like in 2099 due to the amount of violence and instability that has occurred in the country's history.