Chinese overseas lending / COD
Democratic Republic of the Congo: debt owed to China
In 2021, Democratic Republic of the Congo is estimated to have owed China $5.23bn, equal to 9.5% of its GDP, which ranks it 26 of 126 borrowers in the panel by dollars owed. The estimated stock peaked at $6.11bn in 2018.
The estimated stock, 2000 to 2021
The largest single-year move in the estimated stock is 2016, when it rose by $1.39bn.
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending. Selection: estimated stock owed to China by Democratic Republic of the Congo, by year and instrument, 2000 to 2021. Zeros are estimated zeros (no known loans outstanding), not missing values. Methodology
Against what Democratic Republic of the Congo reports owing to all creditors
Democratic Republic of the Congo reported $10.48bn of total external debt to all creditors in 2021, of which $6.87bn is public and publicly guaranteed. The China estimate is 49.9% of the reported external total and 28.2% of the reported public and guaranteed stock. These are ratios of two different measurements, one estimated and one borrower-reported, and they are not a share of a single consistent total.
| Measure, 2021 | Estimated, owed China | Reported, all creditors | Ratio, % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total external debt | $5.23bn | $10.48bn | 49.9% |
| Public and publicly guaranteed | $1.94bn | $6.87bn | 28.2% |
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending (estimated stocks), and World Bank International Debt Statistics, borrower-reported via the Debtor Reporting System (all-creditor stocks). Selection: estimated external and PPG stock owed to China in 2021 against Democratic Republic of the Congo's reported DT.DOD.DECT.CD and DT.DOD.DPPG.CD for the same year. Drawn swap balances are excluded from the estimated column: they are a central-bank liability the Debtor Reporting System's long-term-debt concepts do not carry. Methodology