Economy · Imports of goods and services · DR Congo
DR Congo’s imports of goods and services fell to 43.9% of GDP in 2025.
43.9% of GDP
2025
Down 4.6 pp from 2024.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
43.9% of GDP
What it is. This measure adds up everything the country buys from abroad, goods and services alike, and divides the total by GDP. It covers purchases by households, firms and government, including fuel, equipment and transport services. The single ratio hides what is bought and how it is paid for, so a rise can come from higher prices as well as from larger volumes.
Neither way is good in itself. A high share can reflect heavy reliance on foreign supply, or an economy that brings in the inputs it needs to produce and export. A low share can reflect more home production, or limited spending power. Which of these applies depends on what is being imported. The latest figure, for 2025, is 43.9% of GDP, down from 48.6% of GDP a year earlier. Since 2016 the series has ranged from 31.2% of GDP in 2020 to 48.6% of GDP in 2024, so the latest reading sits in the upper part of that range and just below its peak.
Why it matters. At 43.9% of GDP, imports are large relative to the economy, so households and firms in DR Congo depend heavily on foreign supply for fuel, equipment and many consumer goods. Changes in the exchange rate and in world prices therefore reach shop prices and business costs quickly. For the state, a share this size means customs duties on imports form a sizeable base for revenue, and any drop in the share over the coming years is worth checking against trade and customs data for 2025.
| Period | Imports of goods and services · DR Congo |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 36.9% of GDP |
| 2017 | 34.8% of GDP |
| 2018 | 38.1% of GDP |
| 2019 | 32.4% of GDP |
| 2020 | 31.2% of GDP |
| 2021 | 37.6% of GDP |
| 2022 | 45% of GDP |
| 2023 | 44.7% of GDP |
| 2024 | 48.6% of GDP |
| 2025 | 43.9% of GDP |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
How to read this number
- Source
- Who published the figure
- Published
- When they released it
- Verified
- When we last checked it against the source
Every change is logged in Corrections. How the figure is made: Methodology.
Cite this number
Show text
Strata-AF™ Data, Imports of goods and services, DR Congo, 2025; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/imports/dr-congo
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
What this means
Working this out from the published figures…
Strata AI commentary is coming — reviewed, dated, and generated only from the figures on this page.
Methodology
Imports of goods and services as a share of GDP. Unit: % of GDP.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series NE.IMP.GNFS.ZS), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.