COD · snapshot 2026-08-09
Congo, Dem. Rep.
Very HighOverride appliedOverall risk score
75.5
Percentile of scored universe
94th
Data coverage
85%
vs Australia (16.1)
+59.4
Rated Very High on its own indicators; a gate condition is also flagged.
The Very High rating stands on the computed score of 75.5 (Very High). The flagged condition — UNSC sanctions framework (Democratic Republic of the Congo); DFAT advice: Do not travel (Level 4) — would floor the band at High even on weaker data.
Sanctions & banking access
Where sanctions make Congo, Dem. Rep. hard to operate in — under Australian law, under US/EU extraterritorial reach, and in practice at the bank. Comprehensive frameworks force Very High; severe secondary exposure or severed banking floors the band at High; the rest is disclosure.
Australian sanctions
DFAT frameworks that legally restrict Australian companies
UNSC sanctions framework (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
US/EU secondary sanctions
Extraterritorial programs that bind you regardless of Australian law
No framework, program, or de-risking pattern identified.
Banking access
Will correspondent banks actually move your money out
No framework, program, or de-risking pattern identified.
Category breakdown
Political Stability & Governance
Very High6 indicators · 100% coverage
Economic Resilience
High6 indicators · 80% coverage
Financial & Currency Risk
Very High4 indicators · 73% coverage
Business Environment
Very High3 indicators · 75% coverage
Security & Crime
Very High3 indicators · 80% coverage
Climate & Social Compliance
Very High4 indicators · 100% coverage
Technology & Digital
Very High4 indicators · 100% coverage
Cultural Distance
Insufficient dataInsufficient data · not in overall score
Key risks and considerations
Congo, Dem. Rep. rates Very High for market entry — an overall risk score of 75.5, riskier than 94% of rated economies and 59 points riskier than Australia.
An override floors the band at High: UNSC sanctions framework (Democratic Republic of the Congo); DFAT advice: Do not travel (Level 4).
The main risk drivers are no double-tax agreement with Australia, no investment-treaty protection with Australia, high natural-disaster risk, conditions that enable modern slavery and political instability.
Relative strengths: GDP growth and government net debt both rate Low, the least-risky rating band.
Possible mitigations
- Duty of care for people. DFAT advises against non-essential travel. Review duty-of-care obligations, prefer remote engagement, and use in-country agents rather than travelling staff where possible.
- Political violence. Consider political-violence and political-risk insurance, keep asset footprints light, and maintain an exit/continuity plan with defined triggers.
- Organised crime. Expect extortion, counterfeiting, and cargo-theft exposure: harden supply-chain security, vet logistics partners and distributors carefully, and avoid cash-heavy channels.
- Corruption and legal recourse. Run a strong anti-bribery program (Australian foreign-bribery law follows you abroad), conduct third-party due diligence, and seat dispute resolution offshore — arbitration clauses (e.g. SIAC or HKIAC) beat local courts.
- Getting money out. Confirm profit-repatriation channels before committing capital: seek central-bank pre-approvals where required, consider an export-first model over an in-country entity, and structure via clear remittance jurisdictions.
- Payment security. Elevated sovereign/transfer risk: prefer confirmed letters of credit or export credit insurance over open account terms, and watch for import-payment restrictions.
Generated automatically from this snapshot’s indicator data — a starting point for analysis, not advice.
Indicators
| Indicator | Value | Risk score | Rating | Australia | Data source year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political Stability & Governance | ||||||
| Voice & accountability (WGI) | 35.6 | 80.7 | Very High | |||
| Government effectiveness (WGI) | 18.4 | 96.8 | Very High | |||
| Regulatory quality (WGI) | 34.6 | 92.0 | Very High | |||
| Rule of law (WGI) | 29.0 | 94.4 | Very High | |||
| Control of corruption (WGI) | 17.2 | 94.9 | Very High | |||
| Political stability & absence of violence/terrorism (WGI PV) | 29.7 | 97.3 | Very High | |||
| Economic Resilience | ||||||
| GDP growth (3-yr average, %) | 6.8% (3-yr avg) | 15.0 | Low | |||
| Growth volatility (10-yr std dev, pp) | ±3.3 pp | 45.9 | Medium | |||
| Government net debt (% of GDP) | 20.2 | 15.0 | Low | |||
| Inflation (CPI %, vs income-group target) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Current account (3-yr average, % of GDP) | -4.5% (3-yr avg) | 40.0 | Medium | |||
| FX reserves (months of import cover) | 1.7 months | 80.0 | Very High | |||
| GDP per capita (PPP, current intl $) | $1,920 | 97.2 | Very High | |||
| Financial & Currency Risk | ||||||
| Capital-account openness (Chinn-Ito KAOPEN) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Currency stability (regime-aware classification) | Floating — normal volatility (8–13%) | 30.0 | Medium | |||
| Sovereign credit risk (OECD country risk classification) | Category 7 / 7 | 92.0 | Very High | |||
| FATF listing (grey / black list status) | Grey list | 45.0 | Medium | |||
| Double-tax agreement with Australia | None in force | 100.0 | Very High | |||
| Business Environment | ||||||
| FDI regulatory restrictiveness (OECD FDIRRI) | 0.21 | 63.8 | High | |||
| Logistics performance (World Bank LPI) | 2.5 | 75.4 | Very High | |||
| Business readiness (World Bank B-READY pillar average) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Investment protection with Australia in force (BIT or FTA investment chapter) | None in force | 100.0 | Very High | |||
| Security & Crime | ||||||
| Armed-conflict intensity (battle deaths per 100k, 5-yr) | 5.1 | 92.9 | Very High | |||
| Intentional homicide rate (per 100k) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Organised crime pervasiveness (GI-TOC criminality score) | 7.5 | 97.1 | Very High | |||
| DFAT Smartraveller advisory level | Level 4 — Do not travel | 95.0 | Very High | |||
| Climate & Social Compliance | ||||||
| Physical climate vulnerability (ND-GAIN vulnerability) | 0.571 | 88.7 | Very High | |||
| Disaster risk (INFORM Risk Index) | 8.1 | 97.9 | Very High | |||
| Modern-slavery prevalence (per 1,000) | 4.5 | 39.7 | Medium | |||
| Modern-slavery vulnerability score | 94.0 | 97.8 | Very High | |||
| Technology & Digital | ||||||
| E-government development (UN EGDI) | 0.3 | 92.5 | Very High | |||
| Internet users (% of population) | 19.7 | 94.4 | Very High | |||
| Cybercrime origination (World Cybercrime Index) | 0.0 | 10.0 | Low | |||
| Secure internet servers (per million people) | 9.7 | 96.5 | Very High | |||
Per-indicator ratings are quartile bands of the 0–100 risk score. The Australia column shows the same indicator’s raw value for the Australian baseline in this snapshot.
Cultural distance
GLOBE 2004 societal practices · rated on distance from Australia · not in the overall score
Context — not scored
Unemployment
4.4%
Displayed, never scored: ambiguous for an entrant and unreliable where informal employment dominates. (2025, ILO modelled)
Trade agreement
No Australian FTA in force
Market access is decision-relevant but a benefit, not a risk — kept out of the rating.
Regional advisories
No higher regional advisory levels
DFAT Smartraveller sub-national advice where it exceeds the overall level.
Compare with
A score means little on its own. These economies scored closest to Congo, Dem. Rep. in this snapshot, which is the fastest way to see whether the rating is telling you something specific or something regional.