Courtesy of Pixabay

Located in Central Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo shipped US$40.4 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2025.

That calculated dollar amount results from an 81% expansion from $22.3 billion 5 years earlier in 2021.

Year over year, the value of Congolese exports increased by 8.1% compared to $37.4 billion starting from 2024.

The 5 biggest exports from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are refined copper and unwrought alloys, unwrought gold, copper ores or concentrates, unrefined copper, then crude oil. Combined, that quintet of leading exports represents 92% of the country’s total exports by value. Such a high percentage indicates an intensely concentrated portfolio of products exported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The latest available country-specific data shows that 95.0% of products exported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo was bought by importers in: mainland China (57.6% of the exporter’s total), South Africa (9.9%), Hong Kong (5.7%), Tanzania (4.6%), Singapore (4.4%), United Arab Emirates (3.6%), Mozambique (2.42%), Vietnam (also 2.42%), Indonesia (1.7%), Switzerland (1.4%), Angola (0.63%) and Namibia (0.55%).

From a continental perspective, 76.5% of Democratic Republic of the Congo’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 20.2% was sold to importers in fellow African countries.

Democratic Republic of the Congo shipped another 2.9% worth of goods to nations in Europe.

Tinier percentages went to buyers in North America (0.2%), Latin America (0.17%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.001%) mostly Australia and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

Given the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s population of 106.6 million people, its total US$40.4 billion in 2025 exports translates to roughly $380 for every resident in the Central African country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $285 per capita one year earlier during 2024.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s top 10 exports accounted for 99.6% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Tin represents the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 385.6% from 2024 to 2025.

In second place for improving export sales was the salt, sulphur, stone and cement group via a 113.9% advance.

Democratic Republic of the Congo’s shipments of mineral fuels including oil posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 109.3%.

The lone decliner among Democratic Republic of the Congo’s top 10 export categories were inorganic chemicals, thanks to a -81.7% year-over-year drop.

From the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, refined copper and unwrought alloys represent the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s most valuable exported product representing over two-thirds (70.2%) of the country’s total export sales by value. In second place was unwrought gold (7.2%) trailed by copper ores and concentrates (7%), unrefined copper (4.2%), cobalt oxides and hydroxides (2.5%), cocoa beans (1.7%), tin ores and concentrates (1.1%), zinc ores and concentrates (also 1.1%) then miscellaneous ores and concentrates (0.3%).

The Democratic Republic of the Congo posted a US$26.5 billion trade surplus in 2025, growing 11.4% from its $23.8 billion in black ink one year earlier for 2024.

The following types of Congolese product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

Not one Congolese corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.

Wikipedia lists exporters from Democratic Republic of the Congo. Selected examples are shown below.

 
In macroeconomic terms, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s total exported goods represent 20.1% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2025 ($200.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 20.1% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2025 compares to 15.7% for 2024. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Democratic Republic of the country’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. The Congolese unemployment rate averaged 19.6% for 2025, down from an average 19.8% during 2024 according to Trading Economics statistics.

Kinshasa serves as the capital city for Democratic Republic of the Congo.

See also Copper Ore Exports by Country Plus Average Prices, Kenya’s Top 10 Imports, Uganda’s Top 10 Exports and Coffee Exports by Country

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Democratic Republic of the Congo. Accessed on September 4, 2026

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 4, 2026

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 4, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 4, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 4, 2026

Wikipedia, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Accessed on September 4, 2026

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on September 4, 2026

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Democratic Republic of the Congo. Accessed on September 4, 2026

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on September 4, 2026