Country explorer: Congo

Congo has experienced significant economic changes, with notable fluctuations in GDP per capita indicating a volatile economic environment, a challenging journey with unemployment and inflation rates marking its distinctive struggle within the realm of lower-middle-income countries.

Congo has experienced a steady population growth, significant urban migration, a gradual decrease in fertility rate aligning with regional trends, and an improvement in life expectancy, reflective of broader health and societal improvements common to lower-middle-income countries.

Congo has demonstrated a steady improvement in access to clean cooking fuels, electricity, and safely managed drinking water, reflecting its gradual progress in meeting basic needs compared to lower-middle-income countries, despite lacking data on sanitation facilities.

Congo has shown gradual improvement in human development as demonstrated by increases in the Human Development Index, reductions in child mortality, growth in literacy rates, and improved education quality, aligning its trajectory more closely with that of lower-middle-income countries.

Congo has experienced a gradual decline in its forest area, a significant per capita renewable water resource, and a transition towards cleaner energy sources, highlighting a complex environmental landscape that contrasts with more aggressive deforestation and resource depletion trends seen in some of its peers.

Congo has seen a gradual but consistent increase in internet usage, a significant proliferation of mobile phone subscriptions, and a fluctuating but generally positive trend in scientific and technical journal publications, mirroring patterns observed in many lower-middle-income countries.

Congo has experienced significant demographic shifts characterized by a higher share of the population born in another country compared to its peers, improving self-reported life satisfaction, modest improvements in gender equality, and a steady age dependency ratio, reflecting underlying transformations in its cultural and social fabric towards diversity and moderate socioeconomic progress.

Congo has faced notable governance challenges, characterized by volatility in the rule of law, persistently high perceptions of corruption, slight improvements in political and civil liberties, and marginally better press freedom, positioning it in a complex stance of both commonalities and distinctions within the spectrum of lower-middle-income countries.