Central African Republic’s imports of goods and services rose to 33.6% of GDP in 2025.

Neither way is good in itself. A higher share can mean an economy that buys the machinery and inputs it needs to grow, or one that depends heavily on foreign supply. A lower share can mean more is made at home, or that people and firms can afford less from abroad. For that reason the direction carries no verdict by itself. The latest figure, for 2025, is 33.6% of GDP, up from 31.4% a year earlier, a rise of 2.1 percentage points. Since 2016 the range runs from a low of 29% of GDP in 2023 to a high of 39.9% in 2017, so the current level sits a little below the middle of that span.

Why it matters. Imports worth 33.6% of GDP mean that about a third of the economy's size is spent on goods and services from abroad. Households feel this in the prices of fuel, food and building materials, and firms feel it in the cost of equipment and inputs. The state also depends on these flows, since imports are a base for customs revenue. The rise since 2024 shows demand for foreign goods recovering from the 2023 low.