Sub-Saharan Africa · Low income

DR Congo: the economy in numbers

Per person: $807, or $1,920 at purchasing power parity. Population: 113 million (2025).

$91B+5.8%real GDP growth, 2025

GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #81 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +5.2%.

GDP per capita

$807

2025 · #196 of 204

GDP per capita, PPP

$1,920

2025 · #192 of 197

Inflation

7.4%

2025 · IMF forecast 2026: 4.3%

Government debt

17.2%

2023 · % of GDP, general government

Population

113M

2025 · #15 of 217

Unemployment

4.4%

2025 · ILO estimate

Life expectancy

62.1 years

2024

GDP

Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $36.6 billion in 1960, $91 billion in 2025.

Current US dollars; “In 2025 dollars” removes US inflationSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

GDP per capita

In 2025 dollars: $2,398 per person in 1960, $807 in 2025.

GDP per capitaGDP per capita, PPP (international $)

PPP: purchasing power parity, international dollarsSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Real GDP growth

Average over 2016–2025: 4.8% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1961: 21 of 65.

Shaded: IMF forecasts from 2026Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)

Inflation

Consumer prices rose 19.7 times from 2000 to 2016. Highest annual inflation: 23,773% in 1994. Years with inflation above 100%: 12. The chart cuts the scale at 100%; “Full scale” shows everything.

Shaded: IMF forecasts from 2026Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)

Government debt, % of GDP

Highest since 2000: 185.4% of GDP in 2001. IMF forecast for 2031: 32.6%.

General government (IMF)Central government only (World Bank)

Shaded: IMF estimates from 2024, forecasts from 2026Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Population

1960: 15.3 million · 2025: 113 million.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Unemployment rate

1991: 3.3% · 2025: 4.4%.

% of the labor force, ILO modeled estimatesSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Life expectancy at birth

1960: 40.8 years · 2024: 62.1 years.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Exports of goods and services

1994: 22.6% · 2025: 43.4%.

% of GDPSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Data by year

Show the year-by-year table

Year	GDP	GDP per capita	Per capita, PPP	Real growth	Inflation	Gov. debt, % GDP	Population	Unemployment	Life expectancy	Exports, % GDP
2031				5.5%^f	7.0%^f	32.6%^f
2030				5.5%^f	7.0%^f	31.5%^f
2029				5.5%^f	7.0%^f	30.0%^f
2028				5.5%^f	7.0%^f	28.4%^f
2027				5.7%^f	7.4%^f	26.9%^f
2026				5.2%^f	4.3%^f	23.7%^f
2025	$91B	$807	$1,920	5.8%	7.4%	20.4%^e	113M	4.4%		43.4%
2024	$75.7B	$693	$1,823	6.1%	17.7%	17.3%^e	109M	4.4%	62.1	45.7%
2023	$69.8B	$660	$1,732	8.5%	19.9%	17.2%	106M	4.5%	61.9	42.1%
2022	$70.4B	$688	$1,590	9.3%	9.3%	16.6%	102M	4.5%	61.0	40.8%
2021	$59.1B	$596	$1,402	6.4%	9.0%	15.6%	99.1M	5.3%	60.0	37.8%
2020	$46.7B	$486	$1,089	0.8%	11.4%	12.8%	96M	5.4%	60.4	29.8%
2019	$46.8B	$504	$1,056	0.6%	4.7%	9.7%	92.9M	4.6%	60.2	28.5%
2018	$46.7B	$518	$1,049	6.1%	29.3%	9.2%	90M	4.6%	59.9	34.5%
2017	$37.5B	$431	$991	4.2%	35.7%	8.4%	87.1M	4.6%	59.5	31.1%
2016	$38.6B	$460	$950	0.4%	2.9%	10.6%	84M	4.5%	59.1	31.1%
2015	$40.2B	$496	$910	6.4%	0.7%	10.2%	81M	4.4%	58.7	26.0%
2014	$38.4B	$489	$859	7.3%	1.2%	8.7%	78.4M	4.4%	58.2	32.9%
2013	$34.9B	$460	$761	17.5%	0.8%	8.3%	75.8M	4.5%	57.8	34.1%
2012	$30B	$410	$648	8.7%	9.7%	7.6%	73.3M	4.5%	57.4	30.1%
2011	$26.4B	$373	$644	−0.4%	15.3%	7.8%	70.8M	4.3%	56.9	38.7%
2010	$24.2B	$352	$654	8.6%	7.1%	31.8%	68.6M	4.1%	56.4	36.7%
2009	$18.6B	$280	$615	0.5%	2.8%	91.6%	66.4M	3.9%	55.8	26.9%
2008	$22.7B	$353	$627	7.4%	17.3%	80.3%	64.4M	3.6%	55.4	34.0%
2007	$18.4B	$294	$590	8.6%	16.9%	85.1%	62.5M	3.4%	55.0	35.6%
2006	$15.5B	$255	$545	5.1%	13.1%	107.5%	60.6M	3.2%	54.5	20.3%
2005	$12.6B	$215	$519	6.1%	21.3%	112.0%	58.8M	2.9%	54.0	23.2%
2004	$10.3B	$181	$489	6.7%	4.0%	164.1%	57M	3.0%	53.5	22.7%
2003	$8.94B	$161	$459	5.6%	12.9%	114.5%	55.3M	3.1%	53.0	24.0%
2002	$8.73B	$162	$439	2.9%	31.5%	136.0%	53.8M	3.2%	52.4	15.7%
2001	$7.44B	$143	$433	−2.1%	359.9%	185.4%	52.1M	3.3%	52.2	12.0%
2000	$19.1B	$378	$447	−6.9%	513.9%	135.0%	50.5M	3.2%	51.9	11.4%
1999	$4.71B	$96	$484	−4.3%	284.9%		48.9M	3.2%	50.1	23.6%
1998	$6.22B	$131	$516	−1.6%	29.1%		47.3M	3.2%	49.7	29.8%
1997	$6.09B	$132	$533	−5.6%	198.5%		46M	3.2%	50.5	18.8%
1996	$5.77B	$127	$564	−1.0%	492.4%		45.3M	3.2%	49.4	30.0%
1995	$5.64B	$127	$570	0.7%	541.9%		44.4M	3.3%	50.4	28.5%
1994	$5.82B	$137	$578	−3.9%	23,773%		42.6M	3.4%	49.9	22.6%
1993	$10.7B	$263	$618	−13.5%	1,987%		40.7M	3.5%	49.6
1992	$8.23B	$210	$723	−10.5%	4,129%		39.2M	3.4%	49.3
1991	$9.63B	$254	$817	−8.4%	2,154%		37.9M	3.3%	48.9
1990	$9.35B	$255	$892	−6.6%	81.3%		36.7M		48.5
1989	$9.02B	$254		−1.3%	104.1%		35.5M		48.1
1988	$8.86B	$258		0.5%	71.1%		34.4M		47.8
1987	$7.66B	$230		2.7%	78.7%		33.3M		47.4
1986	$8.1B	$251		4.7%	44.4%		32.3M		47.0
1985	$7.2B	$230		0.5%	23.8%		31.3M		46.7
1984	$7.86B	$260		5.5%	52.2%		30.2M		46.5
1983	$11B	$376		1.4%	76.5%		29.3M		46.2
1982	$13.7B	$482		−0.5%	36.7%		28.3M		45.9
1981	$12.5B	$456		2.4%	35.4%		27.5M		45.7
1980	$14.4B	$539		2.2%	46.6%		26.7M		45.5
1979	$15.1B	$582		0.4%	101.1%		25.9M		45.3
1978	$15.4B	$615		−5.3%	48.8%		25M		44.6
1977	$12.3B	$509		0.8%	68.9%		24.2M		44.9
1976	$9.65B	$408		−5.3%	80.4%		23.6M		44.7
1975	$10.2B	$445		−5.0%	28.7%		23M		44.5
1974	$9.6B	$428		3.1%	29.5%		22.4M		44.3
1973	$7.87B	$361		8.1%	15.6%		21.8M		44.1
1972	$6.17B	$291		0.2%	15.8%		21.3M		43.9
1971	$5.59B	$270		6.0%	5.8%		20.7M		43.6
1970	$4.88B	$242		−0.2%	8.0%		20.1M		43.3
1969	$5.03B	$257		9.3%	6.2%		19.6M		43.0
1968	$3.91B	$206		4.3%	53.3%		19M		42.7
1967	$3.38B	$183		−1.0%	36.9%		18.5M		42.3
1966	$4.53B	$253		6.8%	15.8%		17.9M		42.2
1965	$4.04B	$232		1.0%	−2.7%		17.4M		40.8
1964	$2.88B	$170		−2.4%	35.4%		17M		40.1
1963	$6.21B	$376		5.2%			16.5M		40.6
1962	$3.78B	$235		21.2%			16.1M		40.4
1961	$3.09B	$197		−10.9%			15.7M		40.2
1960	$3.36B	$220					15.3M		40.8

e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Inflation: IMF data for 2017–2025, World Bank for the other years.

Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa

Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.

Republic of the Congo

$2,515 per person (2025)

Angola

$3,129 per person (2025)

Gabon

$8,263 per person (2025)

Cameroon

$1,972 per person (2025)

São Tomé and Príncipe

$4,084 per person (2025)

Equatorial Guinea

$6,615 per person (2025)

Central African Republic

$556 per person (2025)

Burundi

$234 per person (2025)

Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d’Ivoire · DR Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · São Tomé and Príncipe · Tanzania · Togo · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe

Rankings

GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country

Data and methods

GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)