Congo, Democratic Republic of the (DROC) - Balance of payments



Substantial illegal exports, imports, and transfers of capital and profits abroad are unrecorded; indeed, the central bank does not include adjustments for fraud of close to 100% for Congo's primary exports. In August 1991, the government permitted the zaire, the national currency, to float because the central bank had exhausted its foreign exchange reserves. By statute, the government no longer controls the import or export of capital or the foreign exchange markets. Congo has no external credit, almost no central bank reserves, and external financial operations are largely carried out by private entities. Large external payments arrears have not been cleared. In 2000, the external debt was estimated at $12.9 billion.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2001 the purchasing power parity of Congo's exports was $750 million while imports totaled $1.02 billion resulting in a trade deficit of $274 million.

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