International Monetary Fund staff concluded the 2026 Article IV mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo and reached a staff-level agreement with the authorities on the third review of the country’s Extended Credit Facility arrangement and the second review of its Resilience and Sustainability Facility arrangement. The staff’s preliminary assessment is that economic activity remains resilient despite the armed conflict in eastern DRC and spillovers from the war in the Middle East, but it stresses that accelerated reforms, prudent monetary policy and transparent, efficient use of public resources, including Eurobond proceeds, are needed to preserve macroeconomic stability and support growth. Real GDP growth was reported at more than 5.5 percent in both 2025 and 2026, with construction, services and agriculture offsetting a mild slowdown in the extractive sector. International reserves reached USD 8.8 billion at end-March 2026, still slightly below the conventional adequacy benchmark of three months of imports, while year-on-year inflation stayed at 2.5 percent or below since October 2025, below the Central Bank of the Congo’s 7 percent target. Against that backdrop, IMF staff urged caution after policy rate cuts from 17.5 percent to 15 percent in January 2026 and 13.5 percent in April 2026. On the fiscal side, the domestic fiscal deficit ceiling for end-December 2025 was missed by 0.6 percentage points of GDP because of conflict-related pressures. Corrective measures are to underpin a supplementary 2026 budget, alongside investment financed by the country’s inaugural Eurobond and measures to cushion external spillovers. The mission also called for stronger public financial management, limits on emergency spending procedures, better oversight of special funds and public entities, stronger social spending and labor market reforms, and further action on governance, corruption and money laundering. Under the RSF, staff noted the early adoption of an ex-ante climate impact assessment methodology for investment projects and pointed to delays in revising the Forest Code. The staff-level agreement remains subject to approval by IMF management and the Executive Board. Consideration of the Article IV consultation and the program reviews is tentatively scheduled for June 2026.
International Monetary Fund 2026-05-06
International Monetary Fund staff reaches staff level agreement with Democratic Republic of Congo on third ECF review and second RSF review and completes 2026 Article IV consultation
IMF staff concluded the 2026 Article IV mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo and reached a staff-level agreement on the third review of its Extended Credit Facility and second review of its Resilience and Sustainability Facility, noting resilient growth but stressing the need for faster reforms, prudent monetary policy and more transparent, efficient use of public resources, including Eurobond proceeds. Staff projected real GDP growth above 5.5 percent in 2025–26, inflation at or below 2.5 percent, reserves of USD 8.8 billion still below adequacy benchmarks, and missed fiscal targets due to conflict pressures, and called for stronger public financial management, governance and climate-related reforms. The agreement is subject to approval by IMF management and the Executive Board.