Development pathways for the DRC to 2050

The DR Congo faces exceptionally high levels of extreme and multidimensional poverty, with forecasts suggesting it will fail to meet 2030 Sustainable Development Goals on its current path. Despite modest declines in extreme poverty between 2005 and 2018, the country remains one of the world's poorest, with significant regional variations and a growing urban poverty phenomenon.

• The Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the highest concentrations of extreme poverty globally. In 2018, the World Bank estimated the extreme poverty rate at 73%, and the country is home to approximately 60 million people living in extreme poverty, the second highest number in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria.
• Poverty in the DR Congo is multidimensional, extending beyond income to include lack of education, health services, electricity, and clean water. The global Multidimensional Poverty Index indicates that 64.5% of the population is multidimensionally poor, with 36.8% experiencing severe multidimensional poverty.
• Current development forecasts indicate the DR Congo will not achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals for eradicating extreme poverty. On the 'Current Path', extreme poverty is projected to affect 69% of the population (approximately 86 million people) by 2030, and 34.5% (nearly 72 million people) by 2050.
• Poverty trends vary by geography and urban-rural divide. Between 2005 and 2012, extreme poverty declined in Equateur, Kivu, and former Orientale provinces (-16% to -21%) but increased in Maniema and Kasaï provinces (+8.6% to +23.3%). Additionally, poverty has become more of an urban phenomenon, as rural poverty rates declined faster than urban rates between 2005 and 2012.
• Income inequality in the DR Congo is relatively high, with a Gini index of 42.1 in 2012 and a forecast of 42.4 in 2019. Root causes of poverty include poor governance, infrastructure shortages, high fertility rates, low schooling, and armed conflicts.

APA

Yeboua, K. (2023). Development pathways for the DRC to 2050. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/drc&topic=05-poverty-and-inequality

Chicago

Yeboua, Kouassi. Development pathways for the DRC to 2050. Institute for Security Studies, 2023. https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/drc&topic=05-poverty-and-inequality.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Yeboua |first1=Kouassi |title=Development pathways for the DRC to 2050 |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=15 May 2023 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/drc&topic=05-poverty-and-inequality |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yeboua2023development, author = {Yeboua, Kouassi}, title = {{Development pathways for the DRC to 2050}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/drc&topic=05-poverty-and-inequality}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }