Congo - Kinshasa vs Iran
Congo - Kinshasa vs Iran: Government debt
Government debt: 17.2% of GDP in Congo - Kinshasa in 2023 and 31.2% of GDP in Iran in 2024, by IMF estimates. In 2023 the value was higher in Iran, by 12.5 percentage points, or 1.72 times that in Congo - Kinshasa.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Iran has been higher since 2011, when it overtook Congo - Kinshasa.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Congo - Kinshasa at 32.6% of GDP and Iran at 43.4% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Congo - Kinshasa | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 17.3 | 31.2 |
| 2023 | 17.2 | 29.6 |
| 2022 | 16.6 | 34.5 |
| 2021 | 15.6 | 39.9 |
| 2020 | 12.8 | 47.1 |
| 2019 | 9.7 | 44.6 |
| 2018 | 9.2 | 41.6 |
| 2017 | 8.4 | 43.2 |
| 2016 | 10.6 | 46 |
| 2015 | 10.2 | 32.1 |
| 2014 | 8.7 | 10.9 |
| 2013 | 8.3 | 10.2 |
| 2012 | 7.6 | 11.8 |
| 2011 | 7.8 | 10.6 |
| 2010 | 31.8 | 12.8 |
| 2009 | 91.6 | 11.5 |
| 2008 | 80.3 | 10.6 |
| 2007 | 85.1 | 13.5 |
| 2006 | 107.5 | 15.2 |
| 2005 | 112 | 18.3 |
| 2004 | 164.1 | 21.1 |
| 2003 | 114.5 | 22 |
| 2002 | 136 | 23.4 |
| 2001 | 185.4 | 21 |
| 2000 | 135 | 18.2 |
| 1999 | – | 22.2 |
| 1998 | – | 29.6 |
| 1997 | – | 30.9 |
| 1996 | – | 29.3 |
- 12.3Projected
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2025–2031
| Year | Congo - Kinshasa | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 20.4 | 35.6 |
| 2026 | 23.7 | 39.1 |
| 2027 | 26.9 | 40.2 |
| 2028 | 28.4 | 40.8 |
| 2029 | 30 | 41.7 |
| 2030 | 31.5 | 42.7 |
| 2031 | 32.6 | 43.4 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Congo - Kinshasa vs Iran
Health
- Life expectancyCongo - Kinshasa: 61.9 years in 2023Iran: 77.7 years in 2023
- Child mortalityCongo - Kinshasa: 9 per 100 live births in 2024Iran: 1.1 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityCongo - Kinshasa: 49.3 per 1,000 live births in 2023Iran: 9.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterCongo - Kinshasa: 11.6% in 2022Iran: 94.2% in 2022
- DepressionCongo - Kinshasa: 3.96% in 2017Iran: 5.12% in 2017
- Suicide rateCongo - Kinshasa: 11.6 per 100,000 people in 2017Iran: 5.4 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationCongo - Kinshasa: 106 million people in 2023Iran: 90.6 million people in 2023
- Population growthCongo - Kinshasa: 3.26% a year in 2023Iran: 1.12% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateCongo - Kinshasa: 6.05 births per woman in 2023Iran: 1.7 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationCongo - Kinshasa: 45.1% in 2025Iran: 77.4% in 2025
- Median ageCongo - Kinshasa: 15.8 years in 2023Iran: 32.9 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overCongo - Kinshasa: 3.1% in 2023Iran: 7.9% in 2023
- Net migration rateCongo - Kinshasa: -0.1 per 1,000 people in 2023Iran: 2.9 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingCongo - Kinshasa: 1.38% of GDP in 2025Iran: 2.09% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsCongo - Kinshasa: $1.08B in 2025Iran: $7.45B in 2025
- Military spending per personCongo - Kinshasa: $11 in 2025Iran: $80 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingCongo - Kinshasa: 8.1% of government spending in 2025Iran: 11.2% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelCongo - Kinshasa: 134,000 people in 2020Iran: 650,000 people in 2020
- National powerCongo - Kinshasa: 0.59% of world capability in 2022Iran: 1.64% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersCongo - Kinshasa: 0.41% of the labour force in 2020Iran: 2.35% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsCongo - Kinshasa: 44 million TIV in 2025Iran: 42 million TIV in 2024
- Arms exportsCongo - Kinshasa: 22 million TIV in 1997Iran: 80 million TIV in 2025