Democratic Republic of Congo: Economic Outline

Economic Indicators

The economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is still marked by the two decades of political conflict which shook the country. In spite of a relaunch of the Congolese economy since the transition, sustained by the massive support of financial aid sponsors, a clear slowdown was observed in 2009 due to the international financial crisis and the drop in raw material prices. The global revival, the increase in prices, the international financial aid and the reforms adopted by the government have allowed an economic recovery in 2010. After having dropped to 2.8% in 2009, the growth increased to 5.4% in 2010 and it should continue to strengthen.

The government has negotiated with the IMF a new program of extended credit facility (FEC) and engaged itself to establish a series of structural measures aiming to promote a strong growth, to control inflation and to improve the business climate. Some factors, such as the low quality of infrastructures, corruption, lack of transparency in government's policies and an uncertain legal framework continue to slowdown the country's growth; in addition, the humanitarian crisis and the domestic conflicts undermine the country's development. Moreover, a large proportion of the economic activity is done in the informal sector and it is not reflected in the official GDP data.

Main Indicators	2009	2010	2011	2012 (e)	2013 (e)
GDP (billions USD)	11.11e	13.10e	15.31e	16.49	17.95
GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change)	2.8	7.2e	6.5	6.0	8.0
GDP per Capita (USD)	162	186e	211	221	233
General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP)	124.3	33.8e	46.6	50.5	44.3
Inflation Rate (%)	46.2	23.5e	14.8	12.5	8.8
Current Account (billions USD)	-1.17	-0.90	-0.88	-0.78	-0.36
Current Account (in % of GDP)	-10.5	-6.9	-5.8e	-2.0	-

Source: IMF - World Economic Outlook Database - Last Available Data.

Note: (e) Estimated Data

Monetary Indicators	2008	2009	2010
Foreign Debt (million USD)	12,196	12,183	-
Congolese Franc (CDF) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 USD	559.29	809.79	905.91

Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.

Find out all the exchange rates daily on our service Currency converter.

Main Sectors of Industry

Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector	Agriculture	Industry	Services
Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment)	-	-	-
Value Added (in % of GDP)	42.9	24.0	33.0
Value Added (Annual % Change)	3.0	-4.2	5.9