Democratic Republic of Congo: Economic and Political Overview
The DRC is open to international trade, which represents 95% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available). With 80 million hectares of arable land and over 1,100 minerals and precious metals, the DRC has the potential to become one of the major exporting countries on the continent and a driver of African growth. The country mainly exports refined copper (USD 16.3b), cobalt (USD 5.99b), copper ore (USD 1.55b), raw copper (USD 1.37b), and crude petroleum (USD 916m), while imports are led by refined petroleum (USD 1.12b), sulphur (USD 979m), delivery trucks (USD 367m), stone processing machines (USD 363m), and iron structures (USD 285m – data OEC 2022). Between 2020 and 2022, copper exports from the Democratic Republic of Congo surged by nearly 50%, climbing from 1.601 million tonnes in 2020 to 2.394 million tonnes in 2022, with intermediate figures of 1.797 million tonnes in 2021. This remarkable growth is primarily attributed to the surge in copper prices, which soared by 51.3% to an average of USD 9,299.3 per tonne in 2021, substantially boosting the export value of copper. Additionally, cobalt exports increased from 86,590 tonnes in 2020 to 115,371 tonnes in 2022, with an estimated 93,010 tonnes in 2021.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s key export partners are China (USD 15.6B), Singapore (USD 1.36B), United Arab Emirates (USD 1.3B), Hong Kong (USD 1.24B), and Tanzania (USD 1.17B), with imports coming chiefly from China (USD 5.06B), Zambia (USD 1.51B), South Africa (USD 1.47B), United Arab Emirates (USD 734M), and India (USD 680M – data OEC 2022).
Although the DRC's trade balance was structurally negative, the takeover of the raw material prices plays in favor of the exports growth and of the rebalancing of current accounts, making the country’s trade balance turn positive in the last few years. According to figures by WTO, exports of goods totaled USD 28.2 billion in 2022, against USD 11 billion in imports. As per services, the DRC is a net importer (USD 4.5 billion in imports vs. USD 109 million in exports).
| Foreign Trade Values | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Imports of Goods (million USD) | 7,930 | 8,825 | 6,663 | 7,658 | 11,000 |
| Exports of Goods (million USD) | 20,004 | 13,382 | 14,122 | 24,125 | 28,200 |
| Imports of Services (million USD) | 2,802 | 2,260 | 2,691 | 3,948 | 4,492 |
| Exports of Services (million USD) | 115 | 142 | 144 | 169 | 109 |
Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data
| Foreign Trade Indicators | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 69.9 | 55.2 | 58.5 | 80.5 | 98.9 |
| Trade Balance (million USD) | 994 | 400 | 1,923 | 3,940 | n/a |
| Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) | -1,693 | -1,719 | -624 | 161 | n/a |
| Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 22.6 | -15.3 | 12.0 | 43.6 | 24.9 |
| Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 14.2 | 1.4 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 18.9 |
| Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 37.4 | 29.4 | 29.9 | 40.1 | 50.9 |
| Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 32.6 | 25.9 | 28.6 | 40.4 | 48.0 |
Source: World Bank ; Latest available data
| Foreign Trade Forecasts | 2023 | 2024 (e) | 2025 (e) | 2026 (e) | 2027 (e) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 12.0 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
| Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 1.4 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.8 |
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
• South African Development Community (SADC)
• World Trade Organisation (WTO)
• Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (ECGLC)
• Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)
• Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
• Organisation for Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA)
• African Union (AU)
To go further, check out our service Import Export Flows.
| 0.2 bn USD of services exported in 2021 | |
| 58.29% | |
| Business travelBusiness travel | 58.29% |
| 16.38% | |
| 10.40% | |
| 8.72% | |
| Other personal, cultural, and...Other personal, cultural, and recreational services | 8.72% |
| 2.54% | |
| Merchanting and other trade-related...Merchanting and other trade-related services | 2.54% |
| Other trade-related servicesOther trade-related services | 2.54% |
| 2.20% | |
| Telecommunications servicesTelecommunications services | 2.20% |
| 1.47% | |
| n/a% | |
| 4.0 bn USD of services imported in 2021 | |
| 40.05% | |
| 24.69% | |
| Merchanting and other trade-related...Merchanting and other trade-related services | 24.69% |
| Other trade-related servicesOther trade-related services | 24.69% |
| 15.15% | |
| 6.68% | |
| 5.56% | |
| Business travelBusiness travel | 5.56% |
| 4.06% | |
| 3.20% | |
| Construction in the compiling...Construction in the compiling economy | 3.20% |
| 0.41% | |
| Other personal, cultural, and...Other personal, cultural, and recreational services | 0.41% |
| 0.20% | |
| Telecommunications servicesTelecommunications services | 0.20% |
| n/a% | |
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
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Latest Update: April 2024
