Republic of the Congo

GDP/capita CAGR

2.2%

Unemployment (2025)

19.9%

Gini index (2011)

48.9

CO2/capita (2024)

1.3 t

Republic of the Congo: steady but modest growth, 1980–2024

Oil accounts for the bulk of the Republic of the Congo's exports and government revenue, so its growth tracks crude prices, and a debt crisis after the 2014 oil-price collapse forced it to seek IMF support. Between 1980 and 2024, Republic of the Congo's GDP per capita grew from $933 to $2,482 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 2.2% — steady but modest growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 3.1% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 6.4 points, reflecting considerable volatility and periodic crises. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 11.7% to 9.4% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 41.7% to 45.0% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 56.8 to 66.0 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 4.2% to 10.4%, while the urban population share grew from 46.8% to 63.9%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 1.00 to 1.34 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) widened from 47.3 to 48.9; the poverty headcount ratio fell from 54.5% to 39.2%.

What it trades

Top exported and imported products, approximate share of total trade value.

Top exports

Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral ...85.9%

Ships, boats and floating structures8.7%

Wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal2.5%

Copper and articles thereof0.8%

Salt; sulphur; earths and stone; plastering materials, lime and cement0.4%

Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof0.4%

Plastics and articles thereof0.4%

Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical ...0.1%

Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television ...0.1%

Aircraft, spacecraft, and parts thereof0.1%

Top imports

Ships, boats and floating structures16.7%

Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof14.2%

Articles of iron or steel8.4%

Meat and edible meat offal8.2%

Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television ...5.3%

Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral ...5.2%

Miscellaneous chemical products4.2%

Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof3.9%

Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates3.0%

Animal, vegetable or microbial fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; ...2.6%

Events shaping this economy

Central bank perspective

Why the charts below look the way they do, drawing on the country’s own central bank and monetary authority.

Leading companies in Republic of the Congo

SNPC · Energy MTN Congo · Telecom Airtel Congo · Telecom Énergie Électrique du Congo · Utilities Port Autonome de Pointe-Noire · Transportation