RD Congo

The report analyzes the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) socio-economic status, highlighting a stark contrast between its vast natural resources—including 50% of global cobalt reserves—and its high levels of extreme poverty. It projects that under a 'base scenario' of current policies, the DRC will remain one of the world's poorest countries by 2043. However, the report simulates an 'Agenda 2063' combined scenario where strategic interventions in agriculture, industrialization, governance, and infrastructure could significantly increase GDP, reduce extreme poverty from 26.1% to 6.6%, and diversify the economy away from raw material exports.

• The DRC possesses immense natural wealth, including the world's second-largest tropical rainforest and approximately 50% of global cobalt reserves, yet it remains one of the poorest nations globally.
• Extreme poverty is pervasive; in 2022, 71.8 million people (72.3% of the population) lived on less than $2.15 per day. On the current trajectory, 48.1 million people (26.1% of the population) will still live in extreme poverty by 2043.
• The economy is heavily dependent on raw material exports, specifically oil, copper, cobalt, tin, tungsten, and tantalum, making it vulnerable to global price shocks and the green energy transition.
• The DRC has the largest untapped agricultural potential in Africa, with 80 million hectares of arable land, but only about 10% is currently cultivated.
• Energy access is among the lowest in the world; as of 2022, only 21.2% of the population had access to electricity, despite a massive hydroelectric potential estimated at 100 GW.
• The informal sector is a major constraint to growth, representing approximately 41.8% of the GDP in 2022 and dominating employment at 88.6% of the total.
• A combined 'Agenda 2063' scenario, integrating all eight sectoral improvements, could increase the GDP to 449.8 billion USD by 2043, compared to 259.8 billion USD on the current trajectory.
• Under the Agenda 2063 scenario, the poverty rate would drop to 6.6% (11.2 million people) by 2043, demonstrating the potential of concerted policy action across sectors.
• The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA/ZLECAf) could turn the DRC's structurally deficit trade balance positive between 2029 and 2035.
• Governance remains a critical barrier, with the DRC's governance efficiency index being 28.5% below the average for low-income African countries in 2022.

APA

Chipanda, B., & Yeboua, K. (2024). RD Congo. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/country/drc-french/

Chicago

Chipanda, Blessing, and Kouassi Yeboua. RD Congo. Institute for Security Studies, 2024. https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/country/drc-french/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chipanda |first1=Blessing |last2=Yeboua |first2=Kouassi |title=RD Congo |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=16 May 2024 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/country/drc-french/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chipanda2024congo, author = {Chipanda, Blessing and Yeboua, Kouassi}, title = {{RD Congo}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/country/drc-french/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }