The facts and figures about life in the Democratic Republic of Congo make for grim reading. It is estimated that the war in the Congo has killed upwards of 5.4 million people, the most causalities of any war in earth's history, save for the Second World War.

Millions have been orphaned (it is estimated that 15% of the Democratic Republic of Congo's under 18 population are orphans, 770,000 of them orphaned through AIDS alone), thousands are still dying daily with a recent estimate of forty five thousand people dying very a month, a quarter of a million children are now living on the streets and millions more are displaced and  living in camps in daily fear of raids by rebel groups, the Lord's Resistance Army or the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. A recent survey suggested that three quarters of the population being affected by events there.

Malnutrition is also rife, particularly in the east of the country, not just because of poverty, but because the numbers of displaced people are such that they have no land on which to grow crops.

Life expectancy in the Democratic Republic of Congo is under 48years and over 125 babies die at birth out of every 1000 born. But these are just facts and figures. This video documentary takes you to the ground and explores what daily life is like for many living in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

For other insights into daily life in the DR Congo check out our profile page below with links to articles about street children, orphans, education and with video documentaries on the background of the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.