DRC’s Copper Boom Outpaces Manufacturing Growth
DRC Manufacturing Share Falls to 9.8% Despite Strong Economic Growth
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has recorded strong economic growth driven by its expanding mining sector, particularly copper production, but manufacturing has struggled to keep pace, raising concerns about the country’s progress towards economic diversification.
According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), manufacturing’s share of the DRC’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell from 13.9% in 2017 to 9.8% in 2025, a decline of 4.1 percentage points.
This came despite average annual economic growth of 7.2% between 2021 and 2025, among the highest rates in Central Africa.
The figures were presented in an ECA report prepared for the 42nd session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts for Central Africa, held from 13 to 15 October 2026 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
The report examined progress towards economic diversification since the adoption of the Douala Consensus in 2017.
Manufacturing value added per capita also declined, falling from US$66 in 2017 to US$57 in 2025 in constant 2020 dollars, according to United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) data cited by the ECA. This represented a decrease of approximately 14%.
Although the figures indicate a declining contribution from manufacturing relative to the wider economy, they do not necessarily mean that total manufacturing output contracted.
Rather, they highlight the challenge of developing domestic industries at a pace comparable to the expansion of the extractive sector.
Mining Expansion Highlights Industrialisation Gap
Speaking at a news conference ahead of the ECA meeting, Jean-Luc Mastaki, Director of the ECA’s Subregional Office for Central Africa, pointed to the rapid growth of mineral exports, particularly copper, as evidence of the region’s continued dependence on extractive industries.
“We are operating within an extractive model,” Mastaki said, highlighting how the expansion of mining for export had reduced manufacturing’s relative contribution to GDP.
The DRC has substantial copper and cobalt resources, alongside established metallurgical capacity. However, opportunities to capture greater economic value remain limited by insufficient domestic processing and the continued export of mineral concentrates without further transformation.
In a briefing note on the country’s battery special economic zone, the ECA identified the need to increase local mineral processing and move towards higher-value products.
For the DRC, this means developing industries that extend beyond mineral extraction and basic processing into more advanced manufacturing, including battery materials and other mineral-based products.
Manufacturing Trends Across Central Africa
The DRC’s declining manufacturing share contrasts with improvements recorded in some other Central African economies between 2017 and 2025.
According to the ECA, manufacturing’s contribution to GDP increased from 5.9% to 7% in Angola and from 7.6% to 9.2% in Gabon. Cameroon’s share remained relatively stable, rising slightly from 13.5% to 13.6%.
Despite the decline, manufacturing continued to account for a larger proportion of GDP in the DRC than in Angola and Gabon.
However, the country remained behind more industrialised economies such as Malaysia and Thailand, where manufacturing represented 22.5% and 24% of GDP, respectively, in 2025, according to UNIDO data cited by the ECA.
The figures underscore the difficulties facing Central African countries as they seek to diversify their economies, generate employment and reduce their dependence on raw material exports.
Special Economic Zones Offer a Path to Diversification
The ECA identified several constraints limiting industrial development in the DRC, including electricity shortages, inadequate transport and logistics infrastructure, limited access to finance, skills gaps and a challenging business environment.
Special economic zones (SEZs) are among the mechanisms being pursued to attract investment, expand local processing and support industrial development.
One such initiative is the planned Musompo SEZ in Lualaba Province, which forms part of a joint DRC-Zambia effort to develop a regional electric battery value chain.
However, a study published in October 2026 by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) cautioned that abundant mineral resources alone do not guarantee industrial competitiveness.
The study identified reliable energy supplies and access to financing as major challenges for the initiative.
The researchers recommended a phased approach to industrialisation, beginning with existing processing and refining capabilities before progressing towards battery materials and more complex manufacturing activities.
As the DRC advances through its 2021–2030 Decade of Economic Diversification, the central challenge remains translating mining-driven growth into a broader industrial base capable of creating jobs, expanding domestic production and retaining more value from the country’s mineral resources.
SOURCE:bankable.africa
