Merchandise trade (% of GDP) in Congo
Congo: Merchandise trade was 94.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Congo, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, merchandise trade in Congo stood at 94.4%.
The figure is up 13.5% on the previous year and down 38.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Congo peaked at 175.4% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 32.7%, in 1970.
That places Congo 32nd out of 204 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Congo, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 66.8% | — |
| 1961 | 65.3% | -2.3% |
| 1962 | 66.7% | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 61.5% | -7.7% |
| 1964 | 61.4% | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 57.5% | -6.4% |
| 1966 | 52.1% | -9.3% |
| 1967 | 55.6% | +6.7% |
| 1968 | 53.7% | -3.4% |
| 1969 | 46.8% | -12.9% |
| 1970 | 32.7% | -30.0% |
| 1971 | 37.9% | +15.7% |
| 1972 | 39.9% | +5.4% |
| 1973 | 40.0% | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 60.8% | +51.9% |
| 1975 | 45.4% | -25.4% |
| 1976 | 52.1% | +14.8% |
| 1977 | 62.1% | +19.2% |
| 1978 | 64.5% | +3.9% |
| 1979 | 65.7% | +1.8% |
| 1980 | 87.4% | +33.1% |
| 1981 | 63.1% | -27.9% |
| 1982 | 81.5% | +29.2% |
| 1983 | 61.4% | -24.6% |
| 1984 | 82.1% | +33.7% |
| 1985 | 78.0% | -5.0% |
| 1986 | 74.3% | -4.7% |
| 1987 | 65.4% | -12.0% |
| 1988 | 67.8% | +3.8% |
| 1989 | 73.9% | +8.9% |
| 1990 | 57.2% | -22.5% |
| 1991 | 59.6% | +4.1% |
| 1992 | 55.7% | -6.5% |
| 1993 | 61.4% | +10.3% |
| 1994 | 89.9% | +46.3% |
| 1995 | 87.1% | -3.1% |
| 1996 | 114.0% | +30.9% |
| 1997 | 111.7% | -2.0% |
| 1998 | 104.9% | -6.1% |
| 1999 | 101.1% | -3.6% |
| 2000 | 91.5% | -9.5% |
| 2001 | 97.9% | +6.9% |
| 2002 | 97.4% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 100.1% | +2.8% |
| 2004 | 94.5% | -5.6% |
| 2005 | 91.0% | -3.8% |
| 2006 | 100.2% | +10.2% |
| 2007 | 116.4% | +16.1% |
| 2008 | 109.1% | -6.3% |
| 2009 | 130.1% | +19.2% |
| 2010 | 85.8% | -34.0% |
| 2011 | 133.1% | +55.0% |
| 2012 | 83.6% | -37.2% |
| 2013 | 104.8% | +25.4% |
| 2014 | 104.8% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 154.2% | +47.2% |
| 2016 | 175.4% | +13.7% |
| 2017 | 108.3% | -38.3% |
| 2018 | 99.1% | -8.5% |
| 2019 | 55.9% | -43.6% |
| 2020 | 59.3% | +6.0% |
| 2021 | 66.5% | +12.2% |
| 2022 | 79.0% | +18.8% |
| 2023 | 92.4% | +17.0% |
| 2024 | 83.2% | -10.0% |
| 2025 | 94.4% | +13.5% |
Congo compared with similar countries
- Congo's 94.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 52.4%, 1.8× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Congo's 94.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 44.5%, 2.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 58.7% | 46.8% | 66.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 50.1% | 32.7% | 65.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 73.5% | 61.4% | 87.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 84.3% | 55.7% | 114.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 102.8% | 91.0% | 130.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 110.5% | 55.9% | 175.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 79.2% | 59.3% | 94.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Congo
More private sector data for Congo
- Food imports 21.2% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 71.4% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 7.90 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 0.2% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 10.3% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 7.50 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,157 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.4599 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -4.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 1,218 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Congo?
- Merchandise trade in Congo was 94.4% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 175.4% in 2016.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 32.7% in 1970.
- How does Congo rank for merchandise trade?
- Congo ranks 32nd out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 38.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Congo data come from?
- The figures come from World Trade Organization (WTO), published as part of Merchandise trade (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
General merchandise trade includes goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. 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.