DR Congo’s fuel exports rose to 1.8% of merchandise exports in 2024.

Neither way is good in itself. A higher share means more of the country's export earnings depend on fuel prices and volumes. A lower share means earnings rest on other goods. Which is preferable depends on what else the country sells and on how stable those markets are. The latest figure, for 2024, is 1.8% of merchandise exports, up 1.8 percentage points from 0% of merchandise exports a year earlier. Since 2015 the share has ranged from a low of 0% of merchandise exports in 2023 to a high of 3.9% of merchandise exports in 2016, so the current reading sits in the lower half of that range.

Why it matters. At 1.8% of merchandise exports, fuel is a small part of what DR Congo earns from selling goods abroad. Swings in global oil and gas prices therefore have little direct effect on the country's export income or on the foreign currency the state and firms receive. The return from zero in 2023 shows that fuel shipments have started to register in the trade figures again.