Congo - Kinshasa vs United Arab Emirates

Congo - Kinshasa vs United Arab Emirates: Government debt

Government debt: 17.2% of GDP in Congo - Kinshasa in 2023 and 33.9% of GDP in United Arab Emirates in 2025, by IMF estimates. In 2023 the value was higher in United Arab Emirates, by 14.7 percentage points, or 1.86 times that in Congo - Kinshasa.

Watch it change on the map

% of GDP · IMF

Congo - KinshasaUnited Arab EmiratesIMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026)

What the numbers say

United Arab Emirates 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 United Arab Emirates at 26.1% of GDP in 2031.

Every year

% of GDP · IMF

Year	Congo - Kinshasa	United Arab Emirates
2025	20.4	33.9
2024	17.3	33.2
2023	17.2	31.9
2022	16.6	31.5
2021	15.6	35.7
2020	12.8	30.1
2019	9.7	25.8
2018	9.2	20.7
2017	8.4	21.2
2016	10.6	18.6
2015	10.2	15.6
2014	8.7	13.5
2013	8.3	15.3
2012	7.6	20.2
2011	7.8	20.4
2010	31.8	18.3
2009	91.6	21.1
2008	80.3	8.9
2007	85.1	8.9
2006	107.5	5.1
2005	112	4.5
2004	164.1	4.1
2003	114.5	3.3
2002	136	3.4
2001	185.4	2.7
2000	135	3.1
1999	–	4.7

12.3Projected

IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031

Year	Congo - Kinshasa	United Arab Emirates
2026	23.7	32.8
2027	26.9	30.8
2028	28.4	29
2029	30	27.4
2030	31.5	27
2031	32.6	26.1

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.
Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time