Congo - Kinshasa profile

Demography and Health

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) is home to a very large and young population. As of 2024, the total population stands at about 109.28 million, placing the country around the 15th most populous globally. A high birth rate of 41.3 births per 1,000 people indicates rapid natural population growth, which compounds the need for expanding and densifying health and social services, education, and jobs. The crude death rate of 8.53 per 1,000, coupled with a life expectancy of 61.9 years in 2023, reveals ongoing health challenges and relatively limited overall longevity compared with higher-income peers. The burden of child mortality is stark: under-5 mortality is 73.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023, underscoring gaps in maternal and child health, vaccination coverage, nutrition, and access to quality care. Nutritional security is also a critical issue, with the prevalence of undernourishment at 37.0% of the population in 2022, indicating that a large share of people faces chronic energy and nutrient deficits even before broader health shocks. The health system appears underfunded by international standards: current health expenditure is 3.79% of GDP in 2022, and domestic general government health expenditure per capita (PPP) is 9.16 international dollars in 2022. The availability of health workers is limited, with physicians at 0.187 per 1,000 people in 2022, constraining access to care and timely medical attention. Net migration in 2024 shows a modest outflow (-26,968), suggesting some movement of people seeking opportunities abroad or fleeing regional pressures, but relative to a population over 100 million, it is not a dominating demographic trend. Taken together, these indicators point to a country with vast human potential but substantial pressures on health systems, nutrition, and child welfare. Addressing these challenges will require sustained investment in health infrastructure, nutrition programs, and workforce development, alongside policies that bolster birth outcomes, child survival, and access to essential medicines and vaccines. The high population footprint also elevates the urgency of efficient service delivery, universal health coverage ambitions, and targeted interventions for women, mothers, and children.

Economy

The Congo-Kinshasa economy is characterized by very low per-capita income and a large population base, which together create significant development needs but substantial growth potential if resource wealth is managed for broad-based benefits. GDP per capita stands at about 647 current US dollars in 2024, with a GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP) of roughly 1,710 international dollars in the same year, signaling a substantial gap between local living standards and higher-income countries. The economy shows a notable openness to trade, with exports of goods and services accounting for 46.6% of GDP in 2024 and imports making up 50.9% of GDP, indicating a large but not overwhelming reliance on external inputs to sustain consumption and production. The fact that imports exceed exports by a modest margin suggests vulnerability to external shocks, currency volatility, and terms-of-trade movements, especially given a current account deficit of -5.79% of GDP in 2023. The country’s export profile includes a measurable share of high-technology exports, but at roughly 9.9 million US dollars (2023) and a rank of 112, this remains a relatively small component of the economy, reflecting a predominance of commodity extraction and less value-added manufacturing. Foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows amount to about 3.54% of GDP in 2023, signaling some investor confidence but also highlighting the need for improved governance, security, and infrastructure to attract larger and more stable investment inflows. The low GDP per capita combined with sizeable trade volumes underscores a growth model that benefits from scale effects and resource extraction but must overcome constraints in governance, skills, and infrastructure to translate activity into widespread prosperity. In terms of energy and emissions, the economy shows a favorable landscape for renewable energy use, with renewable energy consumption comprising about 96.3% of total final energy consumption in 2021. This high share hints at a low-carbon energy base at the aggregate level, likely driven by abundant hydropower and limited reliance on fossil fuels. The country’s total greenhouse gas emissions per capita are low at around 0.53 tCO2e per person in 2023, consistent with a developing economy with limited heavy industrial activity. However, a broader growth strategy must still confront the challenge of translating natural resource wealth into inclusive growth, improving productivity, and expanding employment opportunities, particularly for the youth and rural populations. The overall picture is one of vast potential tied to structural reforms: diversifying the economy beyond extractive sectors, boosting human capital, expanding digital and financial inclusion, and strengthening the institutions that enable private sector growth to be more productive and equitable.

Trade and Investment

Trade openness in Congo-Kinshasa is evident in the sizable shares of exports and imports relative to GDP, with exports of goods and services making up 46.6% of GDP in 2024 and imports at 50.9% of GDP. This pattern reflects an economy that is deeply integrated into global value chains for consumption and production inputs, yet also exposed to external price shocks and supply disruptions. The current account balance recorded a deficit of -5.79% of GDP in 2023, indicating that the country relies on capital flows or reserve buffers to finance persistent trade gaps, a status common among economies with substantial import needs and volatile commodity exports. FDI net inflows stand at 3.54% of GDP in 2023, signaling a modest level of foreign investor interest but not a transformative surge. The relatively restrained FDI may reflect governance challenges, security concerns, and infrastructure gaps that reduce the attractiveness of larger, longer-term investments. High-technology exports are small in absolute value (about 9.86 million US$ in 2023) and rank 112, underscoring the limited scope of advanced manufacturing and technology-driven export activity. This suggests substantial untapped potential for upgrading value chains, promoting skills development, and incentivizing technology-intensive sectors. The logistics environment, as captured by the Logistics Performance Index (quality of trade and transport-related infrastructure) at 2.3 in 2022 (on a 1–5 scale), indicates notable bottlenecks in the movement of goods and people, which can raise costs for exporters and deter efficient cross-border operations. The combination of high import dependence, modest FDI, and constrained logistics points to an investment climate where reforms to trade facilitation, customs efficiency, and regulatory predictability could yield meaningful gains in competitiveness and private sector growth. Improving digital connectivity, strengthening property rights, and tackling corruption would also support more dynamic investment and trade performance over time.

Governance and Institutions

Governance indicators for Congo-Kinshasa reveal broad challenges across stability, quality of governance, and the rule of law. Political stability and absence of violence/terrorism score -2.04 in 2023, with a rank of 188, signaling persistent risks to social order and policy continuity. Regulatory quality is also weak at -1.41 (rank 184), while rule of law sits at -1.67 (rank 192), and control of corruption at -1.48 (rank 187). Government effectiveness stands at -1.69 (rank 190). Taken together, these numbers portray a governance environment marked by fragility, weak institutions, and elevated governance risks that can affect policy implementation, contract enforcement, and the business climate. These governance constraints help explain the modest level of foreign direct investment and the difficulties in delivering public services efficiently. The low governance quality interacts with infrastructure and human capital gaps to constrain competitiveness and inclusive growth. The logistics constraint indicated by the LPI of 2.3 further underscores how governance and institutional weaknesses translate into practical frictions in trade and service delivery. While the data reflect a difficult starting point, they also point to a clear policy path: advance governance reforms that strengthen property rights and contract enforcement, reduce corruption, improve public financial management, and modernize customs and trade procedures. Doing so would raise investor confidence, improve the effectiveness of public spending—especially in health, education, and infrastructure—and support more reliable delivery of essential services to citizens.

Infrastructure and Technology

Infrastructure and technology in Congo-Kinshasa show a mix of heavy needs and some favorable energy characteristics. The Logistics Performance Index, measuring quality of trade and transport infrastructure, stands at 2.3 out of 5 in 2022, signaling substantial room for improvement in roads, ports, rail, and border procedures that are critical for a functioning economy and competitive exports. Internet adoption is modest, with 30.5% of the population using the Internet in 2023, implying room to scale digital services, e-government, and online commerce that could spur productivity gains across sectors. The health workforce remains sparse, with physicians at 0.187 per 1,000 people in 2022, highlighting a bottleneck for primary and specialized care that can hinder human development and labor market outcomes. On the energy front, renewable energy share is strikingly high: renewable energy consumption accounts for 96.3% of total final energy consumption in 2021, reflecting the predominance of hydropower and limited fossil fuel use. This profile offers a significant climate-friendly advantage and a natural platform for expanding electricity access if reform and investment expand generation capacity, grid reliability, and distribution, especially in rural areas. High-technology exports total just under 10 million US$ in 2023, ranking 112, indicating that most technology-intensive production remains limited. The combination of a large hydropower base and low per-capita emissions (0.53 tCO2e) suggests a relatively favorable environmental footprint, yet it also emphasizes the importance of safeguarding water resources and environmental standards as demand grows. The water stress indicator, with a freshwater withdrawal-to-resource ratio of 0.227 in 2021, points to existing pressures on water availability that could tighten with population growth and industrial expansion. Overall, infrastructure and technology in Congo-Kinshasa show a country with abundant renewable energy potential and nascent digital connectivity, but with critical gaps in transport, logistics, health infrastructure, and digital adoption that need targeted investments and institutional reform to unlock sustainable growth and broad-based inclusion.

Environment and Sustainability

Environmental indicators for Congo-Kinshasa reveal a country with very low per-capita emissions but significant development pressures that intersect with natural resource management. Total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per capita are 0.53 tCO2e in 2023, aligning with its relatively modest industrial base and energy mix dominated by renewables. The Renewable Energy share—96.3% of total final energy consumption in 2021—reflects an energy system largely powered by hydro and other renewables. This positions the country well in terms of climate-friendly energy use, but it also makes the energy sector susceptible to hydrological variability, climate change impacts, and transmission losses if generation cannot be reliably delivered to demand centers. Water stress indicators show freshwater withdrawal as a share of available freshwater resources at 0.227 in 2021, indicating some level of pressure on water resources though not at the extreme end of global stress. This underscores the need for water resource management, dam safety, and ecosystem protection as population and economic activity expand. Social sustainability concerns are underscored by the notable prevalence of undernourishment at 37% in 2022 and a life expectancy of about 62 years, pointing to the broader human development challenges that intersect with environmental stewardship. The country’s environmental trajectory will depend on balancing hydroelectric growth with ecological and social safeguards, curbing deforestation, and ensuring that energy, water, and land use planning keep pace with demographic and economic expansion. In sum, Congo-Kinshasa possesses a strong renewable energy base and a low-emissions profile, but achieving durable environmental sustainability will require integrated policy approaches that address water resources, climate resilience, and the social determinants of health and nutrition.