That dollar amount results from a 113.1% acceleration from $13.4 billion 5 years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, the value of Congolese exports declined by -2.9% compared to $29.4 billion starting from 2022.
The 5 biggest exports from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are refined copper and unwrought alloys, cobalt oxides and hyroxides, copper ores or concentrates, unrefined copper then unwrought gold. Combined, that quintet of leading exports represents 96.3% of the country’s total exports by value. Such a high percentage indicates an intensely concentrated portfolio of products exported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 98.5% of products exported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo was bought by importers in: mainland China (57.6% of the African country’s total), South Africa (8.6%), Hong Kong (8.4%), Mozambique (5.7%), Singapore (4.9%), Tanzania (4.3%), United Arab Emirates (3.7%), Switzerland (2.1%), Vietnam (1.4%), Zambia (1.2%), Belgium (0.3%) and Congo (0.2%).
From a continental perspective, 76.7% of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 20.6% was sold to importers in fellow African countries. The Democratic Republic of the Congo shipped another 2.6% worth of goods to nations in Europe.
Tinier percentages went to North America (0.02%), Latin America (0.005%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean then Oceania’s Australia and New Zealand only (0.001%).
Given Democratic Republic of the Congo’s population of 99.9 million people, its total $28.5 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $290 for every resident in the Central African country. That dollar metric lags the average $300 per capita one year earlier during 2022.
Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Congolese global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from the Congo.
- Copper: US$19 billion (66.5% of total exports)
- Inorganic chemicals: $4.9 billion (17.2%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $2.6 billion (9%)
- Gems, precious metals: $1.4 billion (5.1%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $172.6 million (0.6%)
- Cocoa: $148.7 million (0.5%)
- Other base metals: $55.7 million (0.2%)
- Wood: $51.5 million (0.2%)
- Zinc: $32.2 million (0.1%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $19.5 million (0.1%)
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s top 10 exports accounted for 99.6% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Mineral fuels including oil was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 8,663% from 2022 to 2023. That product category was propelled by greater revenues from exports of processed petroleum oils.
In second place for improving export sales was gems and precious metals via a 69.6% advance, led by gold.
Democratic Republic of the Congo’s shipments of cocoa posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 66.2%.
The leading decliner among Democratic Republic of the Congo’s top 10 export categories was the miscellaneous base metal category, thanks to a -64.8% year-over-year drop.
From the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, refined copper and unwrought alloys represent the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s most valuable exported product representing 61% of the country’s total export sales by value. In second place was cobalt oxides and hyrdroxides (17.2%) trailed by copper ores and concentrates (7.8%), unrefined copper (5.1%), unwrought gold (4.8%), tin ores and concentrates (0.7%), processed petroleum oils (0.6%), cocoa beans (0.5%), miscellaneous ores and concentrates (1.5%), then unmounted and unset diamonds (0.3%).
Products Generating Congo’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The Democratic Republic of the Congo posted a US$2.84 billion trade surplus in 2023, up by 13.3% from its $2.51 billion in black ink one year earlier.
The following types of Congolese product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Copper: US$19 billion (Up by 13.4% since 2022)
- Inorganic chemicals: $4.4 billion (Down by -38%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $2.6 billion (Down by -17.8%)
- Gems, precious metals: $1.4 billion (Up by 69.7%)
- Cocoa: $146.1 million (Up by 67.5%)
- Other base metals: $55.1 million (Down by -65%)
- Wood: $35.4 million (Down by -25.7%)
- Zinc: $31.4 million (Down by -9.8%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $16.7 million (Down by -40.6%)
- Oil seeds: $9.3 million (Down by -21.8%)
The Democratic Republic of the Congo generated highly positive net exports in the international trade of copper. These cashflows indicate strong Congolese competitive advantages under the copper and related product categories.
Products Causing Congo’s Worst Trade Deficits
Below are exports from Democratic Republic of the Congo that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Congo’s goods trail Congolese importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US-$9.2 billion (Down by -20.5% since 2022)
- Machinery including computers: -$4 billion (Up by 26.6%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: -$2.2 billion (Up by 14.5%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$1.53 billion (Up by 53.6%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1.49 billion (Up by 19.6%)
- Vehicles: -$1.43 billion (Down by -2.2%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$563.3 million (Down by -10.4%)
- Iron, steel: -$430.4 million (Up by 4.2%)
- Miscellaneous textiles, worn clothing: -$332.4 million (Down by -15.1%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$301 million (Down by -26%)
The Democratic Republic of the Congo incurred highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels-related product category. Biggest product deficits are for refined petroleum oils, coal and petroleum coke.
Congolese Export Companies
Not one Congolese corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists exporters from Democratic Republic of the Congo. Selected examples are shown below.
- Cohydro (hydrocarbons derived from crude oil)
- Congotex (textiles, clothing)
- Feronia Inc (beans, rice, oil seeds, palm oil)
- Sodefor (timber, other forestry products)
In macroeconomic terms, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s total exported goods represent 19.1% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($149.4 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 19.1% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 22.1% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Democratic Republic of the country’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. The Congolese unemployment rate averaged 21.7% for 2023, down from an average 21.8% during 2022 according to Trading Economics metrics.
Kinshasa serves as the capital city for Democratic Republic of the Congo.
See also Copper Ore Exports by Country Plus Average Prices, Kenya’s Top 10 Imports, Uganda’s Top 10 Exports and Coffee Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Democratic Republic of the Congo. Accessed on October 11, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 11, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 11, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 11, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 11, 2024
Wikipedia, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Accessed on October 11, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 11, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Democratic Republic of the Congo. Accessed on October 11, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on October 11, 2024