thumb|170px|[[Cassava is an important food crop in the Republic of Congo.]]
The Republic of the Congo has a developing economy. It is a mixture of subsistence hunting and agriculture, an industrial sector based largely on petroleum extraction and support services. Government spending is characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Petroleum has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports.
In recent years, the Republic's economic growth has slowed because of the 2014–2016 fall in oil prices.
Petroleum
The Congo's growing petroleum sector is by far the country's major revenue earner. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. However, the government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings, contributing to the government's shortage of revenues. The Congolese oil sector is dominated by the French parastatal oil company Total, which accounts for 70% of the country's annual oil production. In second position is the Italian oil firm Εni. Chevron, independent CMS Nomeco, and ExxonMobil are among the American companies active in petroleum exploration or production. Following recent discoveries and oil fields currently under development, Congo's oil production is expected to continue to rise significantly in the next few years.
Congo plans to use the auction to grow its small oil industry, which only produces about 25,000 barrels a day from a project in the west of the country run by France's Perenco SA. The process has drawn criticism from environmental groups for offering blocks that overlap with Congo's peatlands, which are among the world's most important carbon sinks. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-19/oil-blocks-in-gorilla-sanctuary-added-to-expanded-congo-auction]
Statistics
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2024. Inflation below 5% is in green.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|- style="font-weight:bold;"
! Year
! GDP<br />(in bil. US$ PPP)
! GDP per capita<br />(in US$ PPP)
!GDP<br />(in bil. US$ nominal)
! GDP growth<br />(real)
! Inflation<br />(in Percent)
! Government debt<br />(Percentage of GDP)
|-
|1980
|2.8
|1,623
|2.2
|12.7%
|7.3%
|n/a
|-
|1985
|4.0
|2,029
|1.3
|2.4%
|3.5%
|n/a
|-
|1990
|7.4
|3,084
|2.9
|1.0%
|0.3%
|0%
|-
|1995
|9.3
|3,388
|2.5
|4.0%
|6.3%
|0%
|-
|2000
|12.1
|3,870
|3.6
|11.8%
|0.5%
|145%
|-
|2005
|14.3
|3,897
|6.7
|9.2%
|2.5%
|100%
|-
|2006
|15.9
|4,178
|8.1
|8.0%
|4.7%
|95%
|-
|2007
|15.3
|3,863
|8.8
| −6.6%
|2.6%
|94%
|-
|2008
|16.6
|4,049
|11.6
|6.3%
|6.0%
|70%
|-
|2009
|18.6
|4,369
|9.7
|11.6%
|4.3%
|84%
|-
|2010
|20.7
|4,664
|13.2
|9.9%
|0.4%
|43%
|-
|2011
|21.6
|4,710
|15.7
|2.2%
|1.8%
|34%
|-
|2012
|24.2
|5,130
|17.7
|9.9%
|5.0%
|30%
|-
|2013
|24.4
|5,057
|18.0
| −0.7%
|4.6%
|34%
|-
|2014
|26.5
|5,361
|17.9
|6.7%
|0.9%
|42%
|-
|2015
|25.8
|5,095
|11.9
| −3.6%
|3.2%
|74%
|-
|2016
|24.8
|4,772
|10.9
| −5.0%
|3.2%
|85%
|-
|2017
|23.8
|4,477
|11.8
| −5.6%
|0.4%
|88%
|-
|2018
|30.7
|5,636
|14.8
| −2.3%
|1.2%
|71%
|-
|2019
|32.1
|5,767
|14.0
|1.1%
|0.4%
|78%
|-
|2020
|27.4
|4,813
|11.5
| −6.3%
|1.4%
|103%
|-
|2021
|33.3
|5,707
|13.4
|1.1%
|2.0%
|98%
|-
|2022
|36.3
|6,084
|14.0
|1.8%
|3.0%
|92%
|-
|2023
|38.4
|6,252
|14.2
|2.0%
|4.3%
|99%
|-
|2024
|40.4
|6,404
|15.0
|2.8%
|4.0%
|93%
|}
thumb|GDP per capita development in the Republic of Congo, 1950 to 2018
GDP:
purchasing power parity – $18.48 billion (2011 est.)
GDP – real growth rate:
4.5% (2011 est.)
GDP – per capita:
purchasing power parity – $4,600 (2011 est.)
GDP – composition by sector:
<br>agriculture:
4.2% (2011 est.)
<br>industry:
70.7% (2011 est.)
<br>services:
25.1% (2011 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
<br>lowest 10%:
2.1% (2005)
<br>highest 10%:
37.1% (2005)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6% (2011 est.)
Labor force:
1.514 million (2007)
Ease of Doing Business Rank:
181st
Budget:
<br>revenues:
$6.938 billion (2011 est.)
<br>expenditures:
$3.535 billion (2011 est.)
Industries:
petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes
Industrial production growth rate:
12% (2010 est.)
Electricity – production:
452 million kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity – consumption:
534 million kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity – exports:
0 kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity – imports:
436 million kWh (2008 est.)
Agriculture – products:
cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, maize, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa, forest products
Exports:
$12.38 billion (2011 est.)
Exports – commodities:
petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, Cocoa bean, coffee, diamonds
Exports – partners:
China 37.9%, United States 20%, Australia 6.2%, France 6.0%, Spain 4.8%, Italy 4.3%, Netherlands 4.3% (2011)
Imports:
$4.917 billion (2011 est.)
Imports – commodities:
capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs
Imports – partners:
France 17.3%, China 12.6%, India 9.5%, Italy 7.5%, Brazil 7.3%, United States 5.8% (2011)
Debt – external:
$4.955 billion (2011 est.)
Currency:
1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Public debt as percentage of GDP:
61.2% (2017)
See also
- Republic of the Congo
- Mining in the Republic of Congo
- Transport in the Republic of the Congo
- List of companies based in the Republic of the Congo
- United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
References
External links
- Congo latest trade data on ITC Trade Map