Congo (Dem Republic)

In 1996, Dem. Rep. Congo paid out $0.38 in debt service for every $1 received in aid grants

• Background
• The Stats
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Background

The troubled recent history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the former Zaire, has left it with a large debt and a seriously damaged economy. It is currently in a state of civil war.

The total debt of the Democratic Republic of Congo was $12.8 billion in 1996, including nearly $7 billion of arrears, and the country exceeds the World Bank's measures of debt sustainability by a massive amount. The debt to exports ratio is over three times higher than the level considered sustainable by the international financial institutions.

The country has been in severe economic decline for over a decade, and GNP in 1996 was less than half that of 1980. GNP per capita has fallen even more dramatically, four times less than the 1980 level. The government has been unable to service any long-term debt since 1994.

As well as being unable to service virtually any of its debt, DRC is spending just 0.8% of GNP on health.

The majority of the debt is owed to bilateral creditors.

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a HIPC and has been assessed as needing debt relief. It has not, however, made any progress in the Initiative, and is not expected to reach a decision point until 2001 or later.

The stats

Key indicators       Total debt 1996 (EDT) ($ million) 12,826 Total debt service 1996 (TDS) ($ million) 48     Debt per person 1996 ($) 283 Debt service per person 1996 ($) 1 GNP per person 1996 ($) 133     Debt to exports ratio 1996 (EDT/XGS) 638 Present value debt to exports ratio 94-96(PV/XGS) 693 Debt to GNP ratio 1996 (EDT/GNP) 212 Debt service to exports ratio 1996 (TDS/XGS) 2

Top five bilateral creditors	Main export commodities	Main export markets
USA	Copper	Belgium
France	Diamonds	USA
Italy	Cobalt	Germany
Belgium	Crude petroleum	Italy
Germany	Coffee

 

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This profile is part of our country of the week section. Each week we will be featuring the background statistics and campaign information of the one of the most indebted poor countries.