Integrated SDG Insights
Republic of Congo
UNDP’s Integrated SDG Insights explore how to achieve the SDGs by 2030. So that no one is left behind.
How To Read This Report
‘SDG Insights’ playbooks transcend development “as usual,” and leverages data innovation, AI and systems analysis to chart credible pathways that help countries meet the 2030 Agenda.
SDG Moment — This section provides an overview of a country's economic growth trajectory, with new insights on sustainability and inclusiveness of growth pathways.
SDG Trends & Priorities — This section builds from the foundation of national SDG progress and uses machine learning to analyse national development ambition with an SDG lens.
SDG Interlinkages — Combined, these insights are mapped against SDG interlinkages to define policy choices the accelerate SDG progress, tailored to national context.
Finance & Stimulus — These policy choices are made against fiscal constraints and opportunities for stimulus mapped in this section to ensure choices translate to development impact and leave no one behind.
1. SDG Moment
While economic growth is a key element in achieving the SDGs, many countries are intent on moving beyond growth as a yardstick for progress. In the short run, growth enables the SDGs; but in the long run, the SDGs aim to transform the pattern of growth itself.
GDP Growth Pathways
People
Poverty: Percentage of the population under each threshold (PPP$ a day).
Data not available.
Planet
Carbon Intensity: CO2 emissions intensity of GDP (tCO2 per PPP $1,000).
The Republic of Congo's growth trajectory over the 2023-2025 cycle is accelerating and is expected to be 38% higher than the global average, and well above the country's growth trajectory projected before the pandemic.
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Although this rapid pace of growth has a positive impact on reducing the incidence of poverty to $2.15 per day, there remain significant challenges to accelerate poverty reduction from the prevailing high levels. currently (50% according to the World Bank 2020). Accordingly, the Republic of Congo's commitments to achieving the SDGs are focused on building an economy for all. On the other hand, the country's economic expansion comes at the expense of the environment, as the carbon emissions intensity of GDP is expected to increase at an annual rate of 31% due to the use of fossil fuels, and by 10% if we also take into account the change in land use.
2. SDG Trends & Priorities
Trends
Understanding how
Republic of Congo
performs against the SDG targets provides a baseline landscape against which to build integrated SDG pathways. SDG progress tracking follows UN Stats standards and methodology, and is aligned with country profiles.
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Priorities
Republic of Congo
’s national priorities are analysed using machine learning to reveal the most prominent SDGs referenced in national policy documents. This analysis uses a custom-built model for SDG classification. It considers 100k+ terms, including phrases and expressions.
3. SDG Interlinkages
Maps synergies and trade-offs of national priorities to the most relevant SDG targets to chart policy pathways with most potential to accelerate progress.
8.5: Full employment and decent work with equal pay
The National Development Plan indicates that "there is no doubt that the dynamism and interaction of the six strategic pillars that make up the core of the National Development Plan (NDP) will create jobs in all sectors of the economy”– this statement in the NDP 2022-2026 signifies the approach the Congo is taking to create jobs.
It is multisectoral one, which is in line with the positive interlinkages (green) resulting from SDG8.5 and where taking action is possible to create jobs. The Congo is also being pragmatic in its approach – using analysis to focus on economic activities that are within reach as a basis for value addition and job creation.
9.2: Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization
For the Republic of the Congo, industrial development is one of the three pillars of the NDP 2022-2026. The others are development of agriculture and of special economic zones.
The focus is to enable the Congo to fully participate in the global value chains. The country has identified the following constraints which have to be addressed, notably energy, skills, finance, value addition and business. Significant resource mobilization is required to address and overcome these obstacles.
The Congo may consider a similar approach to that adopted on jobs, which is to leverage analysis and build upon existing industries while creating room for new ones. In that case, the country will be able to address challenges with feasible solutions.
It is important to also explore what actions are needed to make sure that, as the Congo pursues industrialization, it does so without negatively impacting the environment. That seems to be the case at moment, which is an opportunity to turn things around.
11.2: Affordable and sustainable transport systems
Satisfaction with public transport is about 53.2 percent. This notwithstanding, the development of public services for the Congo is important for jobs and for facilitating value addition. For instance, due to COVID-19, the prices of public transport has increased.
In addition, the transport of goods across the country is important for value addition. In many countries the cost of transport is usually a sizable component of trade.
Many countries across the continent are exploring ways to strengthen the governance of its transport system as a quick win. In doing so they are developing a transport master plan for the country that includes air, road, rail and water. The Master Plan also looks both at the travel time and the cost. The Congo may consider a possibility of prioritizing this as a post-SDG Summit action.
15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainableuse of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services.
By prioritizing Target 15.1 in its 2021-2025 National Development Plan, Ecuadorreaffirmed the significance of protecting and preserving terrestrial ecosystems andtheir biodiversity. This includes recognizing that the investment projects intendedto fulfil Target 15.1 will not only contribute to achieving the SDGs 13, 14 and 15, butwill also help restore ecosystems that underpin the availability and comprehensivemanagement of water resources (SDG 6) and promote their sustainable use (Target12.2). Additionally, it will also foster the generation of new energy from renewablesources (Target 7.2).
To this end, Ecuador seeks to strengthen the management of the National Systemof Protected Areas through its 2022-2032 Strategic Plan and the implementationof the National Forest Restoration Plan 2019-2030. These instruments serve as thetechnical, legal and financial foundation for executing local forest restorationprocesses with a landscape vision, with an overall goal of covering 30,000hectares through its projects. Considering that the proportion of national territoryunder conservation or environmental management, as of 2022, stands at 22.1%, itis necessary to mobilize additional financial resources from various sources andestablish robust governance (Target 17.3) to intensify the care of protected areas.This ensures the conservation of natural and cultural resources, genetic flows, theprovision of environmental services for the benefit of the population and thealignment of policies on the ground.
Futures Scenarios
SDG Push is a futures scenario based on 48 integrated accelerators in the areas of Governance, Social Protection, Green Economy and Digital Disruption. It uses national data to explore the impact on human development by 2030 and 2050 across key SDG indicators. It does this by using ‘International Futures,’ a systems model designed to explore interactions across development systems.
Poverty <$1.90 Per Day (Number of People)
Malnourished Children Under 5 (Number Of Children)
Malnourished Children Under 5 (Number Of Children)
4. Finance and Stimulus
Many countries are facing reduced fiscal space, high debt levels, rising interest rates and downgrades on credit ratings. Fiscal and financial constraints tend to slow or even reverse SDG progress.
The Republic of the Congo's gross government debt, projected at 96.5% of GDP in 2023, is double the low-income developing countries (LIDC) group average of 48.3%. Additional to its official debt, the Congo amassed significant hidden resource-backed debt owed to oil traders that are not recorded as public debt. The country is expected to collect 29.9% of GDP in revenue this year – double the LIDC average of 14.9% – with natural resources, mostly oil, accounting for 62.1% of that revenue.
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The Congo's public external debt servicing this year is projected to reach 18.6% of revenue compared to 14.1% for the LIDC average. The country’s credit rating is currently in the ‘extremely speculative’ category. Due to the high government and non-government debt, fiscal deficits due to deflation in refined oil prices, and prolonged unsettled external arrears, the latest World Bank and IMF DSA from February 2023 rates the Congo as ‘in debt distress’.
SDG Stimulus
The UN Secretary General’s SDG Stimulus Plan lays out a blueprint for action within the existing financial architecture. It includes:
- Providing liquidity to support recovery in the near term
- Enhance debt relief for vulnerable countries.
- Expanding development financing by MDBs
- Align financial flows with the SDGs and Paris Agreement, according to country-level priorities and needs, for example through the rollout of the UN Integrated National Financing Framework (INFFs).
Given the projected fiscal and financial constraints faced by
Republic of Congo
possible funding options for the investments derived from the identified interlinkages are as follows:
- Tax and revenue reform
- Debt for SDGs
- Climate finance
- Blended and public-private finance
- SDG-aligned business environment and investment
- Accessing financial markets and insurance
- Remittances, philanthropy and faith-based financing
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Methodology & Data Sources
Click here to view the Methodological Note for the Integrated SDG Insights.
This report is the result of a global exercise carried out using artificial intelligence to identify SDG priorities based on 10 national government documents, together with SDG progress and SDG interlinkage analysis. The implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda in Argentina should be consulted in the Country Reports and National Voluntary Reports.
SDG Moment
Methodology
Assesses challenges and opportunities in national growth trajectories with insights on environmental sustainability and inclusiveness.
Data Sources
Future trajectories to 2025 are based on IMF-WEO GDP projections, distributions of per capita income or consumption from the World Bank, and CO2 emissions from the Global Carbon Budget 2022 and EDGAR (JRC and IEA).
Trends & Priorities
Methodology
SDG trends tracks progress from 2015 to date for the 231 indicators. National priorities are analysed using machine learning to reveal the most prominent SDGs referenced in national policy documents.
Data Sources
SDG trends tracks progress from 2015 to date for the 231 indicators. National priorities are analysed using machine learning to reveal the most prominent SDGs referenced in national policy documents.
Interlinkages
Methodology
SDG trends tracks progress from 2015 to date for the 231 indicators. National priorities are analysed using machine learning to reveal the most prominent SDGs referenced in national policy documents.
Data Sources
The exercise globally considered a total of 454 documents published from 2015 to August 2022. (Miola et al., 2019 updated in 2021-2022)
Finance & Stimulus
Methodology
Provides insight into indicators of fiscal and financial stress with options (INFF) for stimulus and other means to accelerate progress.
Data Sources
Most recent resource data from UNU-WIDER GRD (between 2018 and 2021), debt and revenue from IMF WEO (between 2020 and forecasts for 2023), external debt from IDS (2023), yields from Haver Analytics (8 June 2023), credit ratings from S&P, Moodys and FITCH (2023), and DSA ratings from World Bank/IMF (31 May 2023).