Congo flag (Pixabay)

Located on the western coast of Central Africa, the Republic of the Congo shipped US$7.95 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2025.

That calculated dollar amount results from a 236.6% acceleration from $2.36 billion 5 years earlier in 2021.

Year over year, the overall value of goods exported from the Republic of the Congo expanded by 8% compared to $7.36 billion in 2024.

Alternatively called Congo-Brazzaville referring to the nation’s capital, the Congo Republic, the Congo or simply Congo, the Republic of the Congo borders the Central African Republic to its northeast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to its southeast, Angola’s enclave Cabinda to its south, Gabon to its west, Cameroon to its northwest.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2025, the Congo’s official currency is the Central African CFA franc. Congo’s adopted currency strengthened by 4.4% against the US dollar since 2021 but weakened by -4.5% from 2024 to 2025. Consequently, the Republic of the Congo’s weaker local currency after 2024 makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers starting from American currency.

The 5 biggest exports from the Republic of the Congo in 2025 were crude oil, refined copper plus unwrought alloys, petroleum gases, processed petroleum oils then sawn wood. Combined, that quintet of leading exported product groupings represents 92.9% of the country’s total exports by value. That percentage and relatively limited range of goods indicates Congo’s highly concentrated portfolio of export products.

Given the Republic of the Congo’s population of 6.5 million people, its total US$7.95 billion in 2025 exports translates to roughly $1,225 for every resident in the Central African country. That per-capita export amount lags the average $1,350 one year earlier in 2024.

Congo’s top 10 exported product categories accounted for 99.3% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Ores, slag and ash represents the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 4,929,825% from 2024 to 2025.

In second place for improving export sales were miscellaneous base metals via a 409,220% advance led by cobalt mattes.

Congo ‘s shipments of coffee, tea and spices posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 130,522%.

The lone decliner among Congo ‘s top 10 export categories was mineral fuels including oil, pulled down by a -4.7% year-over-year drop.

From the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, crude oil represents the Republic of the Congo’s most valuable exported product equaling 77.3% of the country’s total by value during 2025. In second place were refined copper plus unwrought alloys (8.8%) trailed by petroleum gases (2.6%), processed petroleum oils (2.2%), sawn wood (2%), tin ores and concentrates (1.6%), rough wood (1.3%), cocoa beans (0.7%), copper waste and scrap (0.3%) then niobium or zirconium ores and concentrates (0.3%).

The latest available country-specific data shows that 96.7% of products exported from the Congo were bought by importers in: mainland China (53.6% of Congo’s total), Netherlands (10.7%), Singapore (7%), Italy (6.1%), India (5.2%), Malaysia (3.9%), Thailand (3.1%), Togo (2.2%), Romania (2%), Israel (1%), Ireland (0.9%) and Democratic Republic Congo (0.9%).

From a continental perspective, 74.2% of Congo ‘s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 20.9% was sold to importers in Europe.

Congo shipped another 4.6% worth of goods to nations in fellow African countries.

Tinier percentages went to customers in North America (0.2%), Latin America (0.02%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania’s New Zealand and Australia (0.01%).

The Republic of the Congo posted an estimated $665.7 million trade surplus in 2025, reducing by -28.7% from its $933.3 million in black ink one year earlier.

The following types of product shipments from the Congo 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 companies that directly or indirectly support international trade with the Republic of the Congo. Shown below are selected examples of companies headquartered in the Congo’s capital city Brazzaville.

In macroeconomic terms, the Republic of the Congo’s total exported goods represent 18.6% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2025 ($42.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That percentage represents a decrease from 21.2% for the prior year. The percentage also provides a benchmark for how much the Republic of the Congo relies on products sold on international markets for its total economic performance.

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

Brazzaville serves as the capital city for the Republic of the Congo.

See also Top African Export Countries, South Africa’s Top 10 Exports, Nigeria’s Top 10 Exports and Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Top 10 Exports

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: the Republic of the Congo . Accessed on September 27, 2026

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 27, 2026

International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on September 27, 2026

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity)