Democratic Republic of the Congo2021 Economic Complexity Trade : -1.81, Rank 128 of 131
2021 Economic Complexity Research : -1.14, Rank 124 of 140
2021 Product Exports | Imports: $16.7B | $9.36B, 78 of 226 | 112 of 226
2021 Per Capita Product Exports | Imports: $174 | $97.7, 129 of 220 | 211 of 220
Overview In 2021, Democratic Republic of the Congo was the number 86 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 78 in total exports, the number 112 in total imports, the number 197 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 128 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .
Exports The top exports of Democratic Republic of the Congo are Refined Copper ($8.95B), Cobalt ($4.44B), Raw Copper ($779M), Copper Ore ($618M), and Crude Petroleum ($582M), exporting mostly to China ($11.3B), United Arab Emirates ($1.13B), South Korea ($822M), Saudi Arabia ($583M), and Italy ($486M).
In 2021, Democratic Republic of the Congo was the world's biggest exporter of Cobalt ($4.44B), Tin Ores ($282M), Copper Alloys ($98M), and Cobalt Ore ($92M)
Imports The top imports of Democratic Republic of the Congo are Refined Petroleum ($406M), Delivery Trucks ($255M), Packaged Medicaments ($254M), Poultry Meat ($215M), and Stone Processing Machines ($170M), importing mostly from China ($2.76B), Zambia ($1.11B), South Africa ($1.07B), Rwanda ($587M), and India ($575M).
Location Democratic Republic of the Congo borders Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia by land.
The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.
*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.
The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.
*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.
Top Export (2021): Refined Copper, $8.95B
Top Destination (2021): China, $11.3B
In 2021, Democratic Republic of the Congo exported a total of $16.7B, making it the number 78 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Democratic Republic of the Congo have changed by $9.43B from $7.29B in 2016 to $16.7B in 2021.
The most recent exports are led by Refined Copper ($8.95B), Cobalt ($4.44B), Raw Copper ($779M), Copper Ore ($618M), and Crude Petroleum ($582M). The most common destination for the exports of Democratic Republic of the Congo are China ($11.3B), United Arab Emirates ($1.13B), South Korea ($822M), Saudi Arabia ($583M), and Italy ($486M).
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2020 - 2021)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2020 - 2021)
Democratic Republic of the Congo Exports Services (2020): $153M
Democratic Republic of the Congo Imports Services (2020): $2.69B
In 2020, Democratic Republic of the Congo exported $153M worth of services. The top services exported by Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2020 were Business travel ($80.8M), Government services, n.i.e. ($28.4M), Transportation ($23.5M), Other personal, cultural, and recreational services ($8.97M), and Merchanting and other trade-related services ($4.41M).
The top services imported by Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2020 were Transportation ($1.08B), Merchanting and other trade-related services ($551M), Insurance services ($476M), Business travel ($204M), and Government services, n.i.e. ($195M).
Democratic Republic of the Congo has a high level of specialization in Cobalt (725), Tin Ores (293), Refined Copper (123), Cobalt Oxides and Hydroxides (107), and Raw Copper (60.8). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Democratic Republic of the Congo observed and expected exports in each product.
The highest complexity exports of Democratic Republic of the Congo according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Zinc; dust, powders and flakes (-0.53), Limestone flux; limestone and other calcareous stone, of a kind used for... (-0.84), Other woven fabrics of cotton, n.e.c. in chapter 52 (-1.01), Copper mattes; cement copper (precipitated copper) (-1.33), and Diamonds, whether or not worked, but not mounted or set (-1.35). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.
The top export opportunities for Democratic Republic of the Congo according to the relatedness index, were Manganese Ore (0.048), Uranium and Thorium Ore (0.04), Gold (0.035), Nickel Ore (0.034), and Other Ores (0.032). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Democratic Republic of the Congo is not specialized in.
The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.
The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.
During the last 20 years Democratic Republic of the Congo's economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the nullth to the 128th position in the ECI rank.
These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.
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