- The economy remains resilient, with economic growth projected to exceed 5 percent both in 2025 and 2026, while inflation eased to 2.5 percent year-on-year in October 2025.
- Despite diplomatic gains, the conflict in the eastern part of the country persists, deepening the humanitarian crisis and weighing significantly on the budget.
- Sustained fiscal discipline, stronger coordination between fiscal and monetary policies, and accelerated structural reforms are critical to safeguard macroeconomic stability, enhance economic resilience, and lay the foundations for more inclusive and sustainable growth.
Washington, DC: A staff team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Calixte Ahokpossi, IMF Mission Chief for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), visited Kinshasa and the Haut-Katanga province during October 22 - November 5, to hold discussions on the second review of the DRC's economic and financial program supported by the IMF's Extended Credit Facility (ECF), and the first review of the climate-focused program supported by the IMF's Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
At the end of the visit, Mr. Ahokpossi issued the following statement:
"The DRC authorities and the IMF staff team have reached a staff-level agreement on the second review of the DRC's three-year program supported by the IMF under the ECF and the first review of the DRC's three-year program supported by the IMF under the RSF. The agreement is subject to approval by IMF management and the Executive Board, with Board consideration tentatively scheduled for December 2025.
"Economic activity remained resilient, with real GDP growth projected to exceed 5 percent in both 2025 and 2026, driven by continued dynamism in the extractive sector. External stability has strengthened, underpinned by continued international reserves accumulation and a narrowing current account deficit—though reserves remain below the recommended adequacy level for import coverage. Against the backdrop of declining inflation and rising real interest rate, the Central Bank of the Congo (BCC)'s Monetary Policy Committee reduced the policy rate to 17.5 percent in early October, down from 25 percent since August 2023. Year-on-year inflation fell further to 2.5 percent in October 2025, below BCC's 7 percent target. This sharp decline in inflation was largely due to a significant appreciation of the Congolese Franc following corrective prudential measures applied to reserve requirements on banks' foreign-currency deposits. In this context, the mission urged the authorities to strengthen transparency and communication on foreign exchange (FX) market operations, and renew coordination between fiscal and monetary policies to preserve price stability.
"The ongoing conflict in Eastern DRC continued to exert significant pressures on public finances, with exceptional security spending overruns persisting through the third quarter of 2025. These pressures were partially offset by savings from reduced government operating expenses and the reprioritization of investment spending, consistent with the contingency plan annexed to the 2025 supplementary budget. Combined with strong revenue collection, including the streamlining of fuel subsidies in the mining sector, these measures enabled the authorities to contain the domestic fiscal deficit below the programmed ceiling at end-June 2025. Looking ahead, continued fiscal prudence will be essential to create space for priority spending, including those related to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Kasai region.
"To safeguard fiscal sustainability while protecting priority social and investment spending, the draft 2026 Budget builds on continued efforts to streamline non-priority current spending, partially offsetting the anticipated need for significant security-related spending. These spending measures will be complemented by revenue-enhancing initiatives, including the rollout of the standardized VAT invoicing system, the phased elimination of fuel subsidies in the mining sector, and the non-renewal of VAT and customs duties exemption on basic food imports—supported by the backdrop of moderating inflation.
"Progress on the structural reform agenda remains encouraging, particularly in modernizing public financial management. The authorities have advanced toward operationalizing the Treasury, gradually decentralizing spending authorization to line ministries, and establishing a Treasury Single Account. However, additional efforts are needed to fully complete these reforms. Adherence to the expenditure chain has strengthened following the revamping of the related legal framework, yet the recourse to emergency procedures remains high because of higher-than-expected security spending linked to the persistence of the conflict. The mission encourages the authorities to intensify efforts in the area of domestic revenue mobilization, public investment management, payroll controls, governance, and transparency—especially in the extractive sector—to combat illicit enrichment and corruption and improve the business climate.
"The IMF staff team welcomed the timely completion of the RSF reform measure (RM), on preparing a quantitative analysis of fiscal costs associated with climate shocks, which has been annexed to the draft 2026 Budget Law. Staff team also welcomed the ahead-of-schedule completion of the RM focused on elaborating a national disaster risk management policy. Looking ahead, the authorities are urged to maintain momentum and continue laying the groundwork for the timely implementation of RMs due in subsequent reviews.
"The IMF staff team thanks the authorities, senior officials, technical staff, and various stakeholders—including representatives of the civil society and the private sector in Kinshasa and Haut-Katanga— and with development partners—for their hospitality, support, and constructive engagement throughout the mission."
