17 percent of DRC official exports originating there. This pattern is particularly pronounced for Kinshasa, which accounts for over 21 percent of the nation’s GDP but a mere 0.8 percent of its exports. While the explanation surely lies in the dominance of primary products in DRC’s exports and Kinshasa’s specialization in services, these numbers point toward untapped trade potential in the western DRC.

To sum up, the demographic and economic potential of Kinshasa and Brazzaville themselves, and their role as gateways for their economic hinterlands, demonstrate the importance of facilitating economic integration between the two capitals by removing constraints on exchanges between those cities.<sup>7</sup> _Table 1: The Economic Weight of Western DRC, 2008_

|**Region**|**Popul**|**ation**|**GD**|**P**|**Exp**|**orts**|**Im**|**ports**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||mn people|_% of DRC_|USD bn|_% of DRC_|USD bn|_% of DRC_|USD bn|_% of DRC_|
|**Kinshasa**|6.6|_10.8_|4.1|_21.3_|0.06|_0.8_|5.29|_47.7_|
|**Bas-Congo**|3.5|_5.8_|1.8|_9.4_|0.95|_13.7_|0.49|_4.4_|
|**Bandundu**|6.9|_11.3_|1.3|_6.5_|0.20|_2.9_|0.40|_3.6_|
|**Western 3**|17.0|_27.9_|7.2|_37.2_|1.21|_17.4_|6.17|_55.7_|
|**_DRC_**|_61.0_|_100.0_|_19.2_|_100.0_|_6.94_|_100.0_|_11.08_|_100.0_|

Source: World Bank (2009a). Formally declared trade flows only.

# **2.2 Trade in Goods and Services: DRC and RC**

**Quantifying trade flows in the region is challenging** , as both Congos have not submitted official trade statistics in many years. The DRC has not produced official trade statistics since 1978, while the RC has not submitted data to COMTRADE since 1995. Moreover, much (by some accounts, most) cross-border trade occurs informally; and erratic customs procedures, especially with respect to the estimation of shipment values, complicate the interpretation of those data that are available. However, upon inspection of the available data, we believe that they are nonetheless informative. Formally declared trade, even if representing only a fraction of total trade, is important to the industrialized layer of the regional economy, and it represents one of the most important tax bases.

**The main gateway for overseas trade to and from the Western DRC is the port of Matadi,** which accounts for some two thirds of imports in value terms and more than four fifths in terms of weight (see Table 2).<sup>8</sup> Certain shipments are sealed in Matadi to pass customs formalities in Kinshasa. Matadi therefore accounts for a considerably larger share of physical entry into the DRC than reported in Table 2. Kinshasa airport is also a significant entry point, accounting for some 10 percent of import values.

> 7 Recent research in economic geography indeed suggests that urbanization is a key engine of growth in developing countries, and that limits to the formation of urban agglomerations can constitute a severe obstacle to economic development (Deichmann _et al_ ., 2008; Brülhart and Sbergami, 2009).

> 8 We use data for 2007, as these statistics are more complete than those we received for 2008 and 2009. Table 2 most likely underreports the share of the ports of Boma and Banana/Kinlau. According to tonnage data for 2008 obtained from the logistics company SDV-Agetraf, the volume of imports entering through Boma and Banana/Kinlau amounted to 9 percent and 13 percent respectively of the volume of imports entering through Matadi.

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