Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower middle income
Republic of the Congo: the economy in numbers
Per person: $2,515, or $7,248 at purchasing power parity. Population: 6.48 million (2025).
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #141 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +3.5%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $1.44 billion in 1960, $16.3 billion in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $1,358 per person in 1960, $2,515 in 2025.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: −1.3% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1961: 14 of 65.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose by 93.2% from 2000 to 2025. Highest annual inflation: 42.4% in 1994.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 2000: 185.3% of GDP in 2003. IMF forecast for 2031: 57.9%.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Population
1960: 1.06 million · 2025: 6.48 million.
Unemployment rate
1991: 19.9% · 2025: 19.9%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 47.6 years · 2024: 66.0 years.
Exports of goods and services
1960: 20.5% · 2025: 48.0%.
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 | 4.0%f | 3.0%f | 57.9%f | |||||||
| 2030 | 4.0%f | 3.0%f | 63.5%f | |||||||
| 2029 | 3.9%f | 3.0%f | 69.5%f | |||||||
| 2028 | 3.7%f | 3.0%f | 74.6%f | |||||||
| 2027 | 3.6%f | 3.4%f | 77.6%f | |||||||
| 2026 | 3.5%f | 4.0%f | 80.5%f | |||||||
| 2025 | $16.3B | $2,515 | $7,248 | 3.1% | 2.4% | 100.4% | 6.48M | 19.9% | 48.0% | |
| 2024 | $15.7B | $2,482 | $7,004 | 2.1% | 3.1% | 93.8% | 6.33M | 19.9% | 66.0 | 52.8% |
| 2023 | $15.3B | $2,478 | $6,856 | 1.9% | 4.3% | 98.3% | 6.18M | 19.9% | 65.8 | 56.9% |
| 2022 | $15.8B | $2,621 | $6,646 | 1.5% | 3.0% | 84.1% | 6.04M | 20.1% | 65.0 | 63.8% |
| 2021 | $14.8B | $2,516 | $6,263 | 1.0% | 1.7% | 95.7% | 5.89M | 22.0% | 64.2 | 52.8% |
| 2020 | $11.5B | $1,994 | $4,771 | −6.3% | 1.8% | 110.0% | 5.75M | 22.3% | 64.4 | 40.7% |
| 2019 | $14B | $2,488 | $5,720 | 1.1% | 2.2% | 78.5% | 5.62M | 20.5% | 63.2 | 56.2% |
| 2018 | $14.8B | $2,694 | $5,593 | −2.3% | 1.2% | 71.2% | 5.48M | 20.8% | 64.5 | 62.2% |
| 2017 | $11.8B | $2,212 | $4,445 | −5.6% | 0.5% | 88.5% | 5.35M | 20.7% | 64.2 | 48.0% |
| 2016 | $10.9B | $2,093 | $4,016 | −8.7% | 3.2% | 84.5% | 5.22M | 20.3% | 63.9 | 42.1% |
| 2015 | $12.4B | $2,439 | $4,715 | 0.4% | 3.2% | 70.9% | 5.1M | 20.0% | 63.7 | 40.9% |
| 2014 | $17.9B | $3,601 | $5,733 | 6.6% | 0.9% | 42.3% | 4.98M | 19.7% | 63.3 | 53.1% |
| 2013 | $18B | $3,697 | $5,834 | −0.7% | 4.6% | 33.9% | 4.86M | 19.8% | 63.0 | 52.9% |
| 2012 | $17.7B | $3,732 | $6,058 | 9.9% | 5.0% | 30.2% | 4.74M | 19.5% | 62.7 | 58.1% |
| 2011 | $15.7B | $3,396 | $5,175 | 2.2% | 1.8% | 34.4% | 4.61M | 19.4% | 62.3 | 73.6% |
| 2010 | $13.1B | $2,947 | $5,125 | 9.9% | 0.4% | 43.5% | 4.46M | 19.3% | 61.7 | 68.5% |
| 2009 | $9.72B | $2,271 | $4,801 | 11.6% | 4.4% | 83.8% | 4.28M | 19.8% | 61.2 | 64.5% |
| 2008 | $11.6B | $2,832 | $4,448 | 6.3% | 5.0% | 69.6% | 4.11M | 20.0% | 60.8 | 73.4% |
| 2007 | $8.78B | $2,206 | $4,243 | −6.6% | 2.7% | 93.8% | 3.98M | 19.9% | 60.0 | 68.5% |
| 2006 | $8.07B | $2,104 | $4,588 | 8.0% | 6.5% | 94.7% | 3.84M | 19.6% | 59.5 | 77.5% |
| 2005 | $6.65B | $1,799 | $4,279 | 7.8% | 3.1% | 99.8% | 3.7M | 19.8% | 58.7 | 75.0% |
| 2004 | $4.66B | $1,306 | $3,992 | 3.5% | 2.4% | 122.6% | 3.57M | 19.9% | 58.0 | 80.5% |
| 2003 | $3.5B | $1,017 | $3,887 | 0.8% | −0.6% | 185.3% | 3.45M | 19.9% | 57.1 | 80.8% |
| 2002 | $3.03B | $906 | $3,888 | 4.6% | 4.4% | 163.5% | 3.35M | 19.6% | 56.4 | 81.5% |
| 2001 | $2.8B | $855 | $3,748 | 3.8% | 0.1% | 180.1% | 3.27M | 19.9% | 55.9 | 77.4% |
| 2000 | $3.23B | $1,024 | $3,667 | 7.6% | −0.9% | 145.0% | 3.15M | 19.9% | 55.4 | 80.3% |
| 1999 | $2.35B | $776 | $3,464 | −2.6% | 4.1% | 3.03M | 20.1% | 54.4 | 72.3% | |
| 1998 | $1.95B | $660 | $3,602 | 3.7% | 2.95M | 19.9% | 52.6 | 76.3% | ||
| 1997 | $2.32B | $804 | $3,510 | −0.6% | 2.89M | 19.9% | 48.6 | 75.6% | ||
| 1996 | $2.54B | $899 | $3,547 | 4.3% | 10.0% | 2.83M | 20.0% | 55.2 | 68.5% | |
| 1995 | $2.12B | $770 | $3,434 | 4.0% | 9.4% | 2.75M | 20.2% | 55.5 | 64.7% | |
| 1994 | $1.77B | $662 | $3,327 | −5.5% | 42.4% | 2.67M | 20.3% | 55.6 | 58.5% | |
| 1993 | $2.68B | $1,034 | $3,550 | −1.0% | 4.9% | 2.6M | 20.0% | 56.0 | 42.8% | |
| 1992 | $2.93B | $1,164 | $3,608 | 2.6% | −3.9% | 2.52M | 19.9% | 56.5 | 40.7% | |
| 1991 | $2.72B | $1,113 | $3,536 | 2.4% | −1.7% | 2.45M | 19.9% | 56.8 | 41.6% | |
| 1990 | $2.8B | $1,176 | $3,437 | 1.0% | 2.9% | 2.38M | 57.1 | 51.8% | ||
| 1989 | $2.39B | $1,033 | 2.6% | −1.8% | 2.31M | 57.3 | 48.5% | |||
| 1988 | $2.21B | $984 | 1.8% | 1.0% | 2.25M | 57.5 | 40.6% | |||
| 1987 | $2.3B | $1,052 | 0.2% | 0.4% | 2.18M | 57.6 | 41.7% | |||
| 1986 | $1.85B | $872 | −6.9% | 4.2% | 2.12M | 57.6 | 39.8% | |||
| 1985 | $2.16B | $1,049 | −1.2% | 3.5% | 2.06M | 57.6 | 56.8% | |||
| 1984 | $2.19B | $1,097 | 7.0% | 3.5% | 2.0M | 57.5 | 61.6% | |||
| 1983 | $2.1B | $1,075 | 5.9% | 3.5% | 1.95M | 57.4 | 57.9% | |||
| 1982 | $2.16B | $1,131 | 23.6% | 3.5% | 1.91M | 57.2 | 55.3% | |||
| 1981 | $1.99B | $1,066 | 17.6% | 0.8% | 1.87M | 57.1 | 58.0% | |||
| 1980 | $1.71B | $933 | 17.6% | 7.3% | 1.83M | 56.8 | 60.0% | |||
| 1979 | $1.2B | $670 | 9.8% | 1.79M | 56.5 | 47.4% | ||||
| 1978 | $879M | $503 | 6.4% | 1.75M | 56.2 | 43.7% | ||||
| 1977 | $765M | $448 | −9.0% | 1.71M | 56.0 | 45.6% | ||||
| 1976 | $755M | $453 | 0.9% | 1.67M | 55.7 | 40.4% | ||||
| 1975 | $767M | $471 | 7.7% | 1.63M | 55.4 | 35.9% | ||||
| 1974 | $585M | $370 | 7.9% | 1.58M | 55.1 | 53.2% | ||||
| 1973 | $542M | $353 | 8.2% | 1.53M | 54.7 | 31.6% | ||||
| 1972 | $411M | $276 | 8.6% | 1.49M | 54.4 | 28.3% | ||||
| 1971 | $322M | $224 | 7.8% | 1.44M | 54.0 | 32.6% | ||||
| 1970 | $275M | $197 | 6.4% | 1.4M | 53.6 | 34.7% | ||||
| 1969 | $265M | $195 | 7.5% | 1.36M | 53.1 | 32.1% | ||||
| 1968 | $251M | $191 | 7.6% | 1.32M | 52.6 | 30.4% | ||||
| 1967 | $237M | $186 | 2.1% | 1.28M | 51.9 | 30.5% | ||||
| 1966 | $221M | $178 | 1.4% | 1.24M | 51.6 | 29.9% | ||||
| 1965 | $198M | $164 | 3.7% | 1.21M | 51.0 | 36.0% | ||||
| 1964 | $186M | $158 | 3.8% | 1.17M | 50.4 | 38.2% | ||||
| 1963 | $172M | $151 | −4.0% | 1.14M | 49.7 | 36.5% | ||||
| 1962 | $167M | $150 | 5.2% | 1.11M | 49.0 | 30.5% | ||||
| 1961 | $152M | $140 | 8.4% | 1.08M | 48.4 | 19.5% | ||||
| 1960 | $132M | $125 | 1.06M | 47.6 | 20.5% |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Inflation: IMF data for 1980–1985, World Bank for the other years.
Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
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.
- Removed: zeros that stand for missing data in the source: government debt of Republic of the Congo in 1989–1999.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)