Congo, Dem. Rep.: Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Congo, Dem. Rep.'s net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) fell 2.65 trillion on 2021 (from -272.66 billion to -2.92 trillion).

Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2021), the average change was +504.87 million and a typical year strayed about 271.57 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 9.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 766.39 billion in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.65 trillion in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is downward, about 187.38 billion a year. A straight line explains 43% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to Congo, Dem. Rep. in the 2022 ranking

• Ecuador — 4th of 8: -7.22 million
• Australia — 5th of 8: -31.49 billion
• Serbia — 6th of 8: -228.05 billion
• India — 8th of 8: -13.74 trillion

What this measures

Net lending (+) / net borrowing (–) equals government revenue minus expense, minus net investment in nonfinancial assets. It is also equal to the net result of transactions in financial assets and liabilities. Net lending/net borrowing is a summary measure indicating the extent to which government is either putting financial resources at the disposal of other sectors in the economy or abroad, or utilizing the financial resources generated by other sectors in the economy or from abroad. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

All 32 values

Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Angola — -1.35 trillion (2024)
• Botswana — -11.15 billion (2023)
• Burkina Faso — -758.19 billion (2024)
• Burundi — -47.83 billion (2021)
• Cabo Verde — -16.52 billion (2020)
• Cameroon — -686.91 billion (2021)
• Central African Republic — -56.35 billion (2021)
• Congo, Rep. — 107.42 billion (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — -2.65 trillion (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea

More public sector data for Congo, Dem. Rep.

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 1.23 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 3.32 trillion (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 44 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.38% (2025)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 8.54 trillion (2022)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 6.04% (2022)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -2.07% (2022)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 8.14 trillion (2022)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 35.08% (2022)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Congo, Dem. Rep.'s net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU)?

-2.92 trillion in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 230.83 trillion% from -1.27 in 1990. The highest value was 453.81 billion in 2010 and the lowest -2.92 trillion in 2022.

Is the latest change in net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) unusual for Congo, Dem. Rep.?

In 2022, Congo, Dem. Rep.'s net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) fell 2.65 trillion on 2021 (from -272.66 billion to -2.92 trillion). Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2021), the average change was +504.87 million and a typical year strayed about 271.57 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 9.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.NLD.TOTL.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.