Congo, Rep.: Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Congo, Rep.'s net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) rose 6.99 percentage points on 2020 (from -5.69% to 1.31%).

Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2020), the average change was −0.26 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 12.7 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 29.01 percentage points in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 20.48 percentage points in 2009. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Congo, Rep. in the 2021 ranking

• Burundi — 2nd of 8: -0.59%
• Cameroon — 3rd of 8: -2.75%
• Bangladesh — 4th of 8: -2.82%

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 as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

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).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 21 values

Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — -1.3% (2024)
• Botswana — -4.22% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — -5.4% (2024)
• Burundi — -0.59% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — -9.37% (2020)
• Cameroon — -2.75% (2021)
• Central African Republic — -4.04% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — -2.07% (2022)
• Côte d'Ivoire — -5.41% (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea — 11.47% (2022)

More public sector data for Congo, Rep.

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 9 million (2024)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 204.92 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 119.16 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.31% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 12,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.55% (2020)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 5.98% (2025)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 252.6 billion (2021)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 3.07% (2021)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Congo, Rep.'s net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP)?

1.31% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2001?

It is up 2.07 percentage points from -0.77% in 2001. The highest value was 36.41% in 2010 and the lowest -8.7% in 2015.

Is the latest change in net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) unusual for Congo, Rep.?

In 2021, Congo, Rep.'s net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) rose 6.99 percentage points on 2020 (from -5.69% to 1.31%). Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2020), the average change was −0.26 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 12.7 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.NLD.TOTL.GD.ZS, 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.

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