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Country import demand

Democratic Republic of the Congo
import demand

A reported view of Democratic Republic of the Congo's import scale, sector demand, supplier breadth, economy, and trade history.

Explore import sectors Open country workspace
COD1995-2024 coverage270 active partner marketsMacro trend resilient
Latest imports$19.8B2024 reported
Import growth-12.5%Year on year
Population109.3MReported population
GDP per capita$649.4Current-dollar GDP
Trade openness0%Exports + imports / GDP

The country import read

What does Democratic Republic of the Congo import?

In 2024, Democratic Republic of the Congo recorded $19.8B in reported imports. Imports changed -12.5% year on year and +31% annualized over three years. Copper was the largest displayed import sector.

Import history

A long view of demand

Latest twelve years from the reported country series.

Reported imports by year

2013
$6.3B
2014
$6.5B
2015
$6.8B
2016
$5.1B
2017
$5.0B
2018
$7.0B
2019
$7.8B
2020
$7.0B
2021
$8.8B
2022
$13.9B
2023
$22.7B
2024
$19.8B

Demand drivers

The economy behind import demand

Macro and structural indicators add context to reported imports.

GDP$71.0B2024 macro context
GDP growth8.7%Five-year CAGR
Population growth3.3%Five-year CAGR
Investment rate0%National rate
Savings rate0%National rate
Trade openness0%Exports + imports / GDP

Import portfolio

The sectors shaping demand

All returned HS2 sectors ranked by latest import value.

Import demand by HS2All returned · 2024
Leading import sectors for Democratic Republic of the Congo
RankSectorImportsShareImport partnersActive HS6
1CopperHS2 74$13.3M0.1%6049
2Inorganic chemicalsHS2 28$470.7M2.4%90163
3Ores, slag and ashHS2 26$3.6M0%1528
4Other base metalsHS2 81$709.7K0%2527
5Precious stones and metalsHS2 71$13.0M0.1%3641
6Mineral fuelsHS2 27$4.5B22.6%10842
7Cocoa and cocoa preparationsHS2 18$11.2M0.1%5611
8Wood and wood articlesHS2 44$24.2M0.1%7497
9Coffee, tea and spicesHS2 09$6.7M0%5539
10Food industry residuesHS2 23$9.4M0%4220

Import values are reported observations. Full rows remain in the downloads.

Supply diversification

Where import exposure is spread

Partner breadth, concentration, access, and distance add supplier context.

Supplier markets270Reported partner count
Partner concentration3,010.8Partner HHI
Top 3 partner share67.1%Reported concentration
FTA partner markets0Reported count
Average distance7,486 kmCalculated average
Macro resilienceMacro trend resilientCountry context
Complete country valuesOpen the full import evidenceFull profile, history, and HS2 sector fields remain available here and in the downloads.

Profile fields

Year2,024
Country Iso3COD
Exports Usd$37.3B
Imports Usd$19.8B
Trade Balance Usd$17.4B
Yoy Exports Growth Pct22.9%
Yoy Imports Growth Pct-12.5%
Exports Cagr 3y Pct16.1%
Imports Cagr 3y Pct31%
Export Partner Hhi3,010.8
Export Product Hhi3,446
Momentum Score20.8
Risk Score32.3
Gdp Million Usd70,962.2 million USD
Gdp Per Capita Usd$649.4
Population109,276,265
Labor ForceNot reported
Investment Rate PctNot reported
Savings Rate PctNot reported
Secondary Education PctNot reported
Tertiary Education PctNot reported
Total Factor ProductivityNot reported
Trade Openness PctNot reported
Exports Gdp PctNot reported
Num Active Partners270
Num Fta Partners0
Num Wto Partners169
Num Eu Partners28
Num Shared Border Partners9%
Num Shared Language Partners41%
Avg Partner Distance Km7,486 km
Avg Partner Gdp Million Usd533,678,518.3 million USD
Avg Partner Gdp Per Capita Usd$15.8
Avg Buyer Biz Entry DaysNot reported
Avg Buyer Biz Entry Cost PctNot reported
Pct Partners With Fta0
Pct Partners Shared Language15.2%
Pct Partners Shared Border3.3%
Avg Applied Tariff PctNot reported
Avg Mfn Tariff PctNot reported
Avg Preferential Tariff PctNot reported
Tariff Advantage PpNot reported
Avg Distance All Partners KmNot reported
Num Border PartnersNot reported
Num Colonial PartnersNot reported
Avg Substitution Elasticity-8.5
Pct Products High Elasticity68.5
Pct Products Low Elasticity3.4
Real Market PotentialNot reported
Foreign Market PotentialNot reported

Supplier context

Country Iso3COD
All History Lane Count1,507
Current Lane Count351
Critical Lane Count17
High Attention Lane Count99
High Volatility Lane Count177
Unrecovered Drawdown Lane Count155
Declining Demand Lane Count2
Concentrated Market Lane Count192
Access Friction Lane Count0
Buyer Macro Weakness Lane Count61
Monitored Exports Current Usd$36.9B
Attention Exports Usd$19.9B
Critical Exports Usd$3.8B
High Volatility Exports Usd$24.1B
Unrecovered Drawdown Exports Usd$4.5B
Non Fta Exports Usd$0.0
Monitored Attention Share Pct54.1%
Monitored Critical Share Pct10.3%
Fta Covered Exports Share Pct0%
Export Weighted Volatility Cv1.2
Export Weighted Below Peak Pct17.1%
Export Weighted Distance KmNot reported
Export Weighted Tariff PctNot reported
Latest Data Year2,024
First Data Year1,995
Country Years Count30
Total Exports Latest Usd$37.3B
Total Imports Latest Usd$19.8B
Trade Balance Latest Usd$17.4B
Exports Yoy Latest Pct22.9%
Exports Cagr 3y Latest Pct16.1%
Gdp Latest Million Usd70,962.2 million USD
Gdp Per Capita Latest Usd$649.4
Population Latest109,276,265
Investment Rate Latest PctNot reported
Savings Rate Latest PctNot reported
Trade Openness Latest PctNot reported
Exports Gdp Latest PctNot reported
Active Partners Latest270
Fta Partners Latest0
Foreign Market Potential LatestNot reported
Gdp 5y Cagr Pct8.7%
Gdp Per Capita 5y Cagr Pct5.2%
Population 5y Cagr Pct3.3%
Partner Hhi Latest3,010.8
Partner Top1 Share Latest Pct53.2%
Partner Top3 Share Latest Pct67.1%
Partner Hhi All Avg2,644.7
Partner Hhi All Max5,119.9
Product Hhi Latest3,446
Product Top1 Share Latest Pct55.7%
Product Top3 Share Latest Pct77.6%
Product Hhi All Avg2,247.1
Product Hhi All Max4,433.5
Total Exports Attention Share Pct53.5%
Total Exports Critical Share Pct10.2%
Attention LevelHigh attention
Primary Risk DriverHigh trade volatility
Macro Resilience LabelMacro trend resilient

Annual import history

YearImportsExportsBalanceImports YoY
1995$816.0M$691.3M-$124.8M+0%
1996$737.2M$772.7M$35.5M-9.7%
1997$532.7M$600.4M$67.8M-27.7%
1998$458.0M$429.4M-$28.6M-14%
1999$387.6M$1.2B$797.1M-15.4%
2000$626.3M$1.2B$570.1M+61.6%
2001$559.9M$1.1B$545.5M-10.6%
2002$765.3M$1.4B$680.2M+36.7%
2003$989.6M$1.1B$96.6M+29.3%
2004$1.4B$1.2B-$163.9M+38.7%
2005$1.7B$1.4B-$248.0M+21.3%
2006$3.0B$1.5B-$1.5B+81.2%
2007$2.9B$2.1B-$818.2M-4.7%
2008$4.0B$3.5B-$420.9M+37.5%
2009$2.5B$2.3B-$198.6M-36.1%
2010$4.2B$6.6B$2.4B+64.4%
2011$5.3B$10.6B$5.3B+28.7%
2012$5.8B$10.4B$4.6B+8.9%
2013$6.3B$10.6B$4.3B+8.8%
2014$6.5B$12.2B$5.6B+3.1%
2015$6.8B$12.2B$5.4B+4.6%
2016$5.1B$9.9B$4.8B-25.3%
2017$5.0B$13.9B$8.9B-2.4%
2018$7.0B$21.6B$14.6B+40.3%
2019$7.8B$12.5B$4.8B+11.1%
2020$7.0B$14.8B$7.7B-9.3%
2021$8.8B$23.8B$15.0B+25.6%
2022$13.9B$25.7B$11.8B+57.8%
2023$22.7B$30.3B$7.6B+62.7%
2024$19.8B$37.3B$17.4B-12.5%

Import sectors

RankHS2SectorImportsShareImport partnersActive HS6
174Copper$13.3M0.1%6049
228Inorganic chemicals$470.7M2.4%90163
326Ores, slag and ash$3.6M0%1528
481Other base metals$709.7K0%2527
571Precious stones and metals$13.0M0.1%3641
627Mineral fuels$4.5B22.6%10842
718Cocoa and cocoa preparations$11.2M0.1%5611
844Wood and wood articles$24.2M0.1%7497
909Coffee, tea and spices$6.7M0%5539
1023Food industry residues$9.4M0%4220

Questions about this profile

Democratic Republic of the Congo import demand, in context

Short answers for import and supplier research.

What does the Democratic Republic of the Congo import profile measure?

It combines reported imports, annual history, HS2 sectors, supplier breadth, economy context, and calculated indicators for Democratic Republic of the Congo.

What is the latest reported import value for Democratic Republic of the Congo?

Democratic Republic of the Congo recorded $19.8B in reported imports in 2024.

Which sectors lead Democratic Republic of the Congo's imports?

Copper leads by reported import value at $13.3M.

How many years of Democratic Republic of the Congo import history are available?

This profile contains 30 annual rows covering 1995 through 2024.

What drives import demand?

GDP, population, investment, savings, and trade openness provide demand context.

Are the growth and concentration values forecasts?

No. They are calculated or classified from reported observations, not forecasts or guarantees.

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Data source

OECD trade statistics with CEPII context

OECD (2025), Balanced international merchandise trade statistics (BIMTS) - HS2017-6D, OECD Data Explorer (accessed on 2026-08-29). OECD BIMTS is the primary trade series for this view. Supporting bilateral trade context uses CEPII BACI bilateral trade flows (202601) under Etalab 2.0 Open Licence. Yugalinks presents derived views of reported observations and calculated indicators. Data terms: OECD Terms & Conditions.