Insecticide use in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Insecticide use was 446 tonnes in 2023. ▼ Falling
Insecticide use in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1990–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2023, insecticide use in Democratic Republic of Congo stood at 446 tonnes. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is up 18.6% on the previous year and up 40.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insecticide use in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 446 tonnes in 2023 and was at its lowest, 262 tonnes, in 2021.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 81st out of 211 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Insecticide use in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 400 tonnes | — |
| 1991 | 405 tonnes | +1.2% |
| 1992 | 413 tonnes | +2.0% |
| 1993 | 421 tonnes | +1.9% |
| 1994 | 426 tonnes | +1.2% |
| 1995 | 429 tonnes | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 432 tonnes | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 433 tonnes | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 431 tonnes | -0.5% |
| 1999 | 428 tonnes | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 424 tonnes | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 424 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 426 tonnes | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 429 tonnes | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 429 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 423 tonnes | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 410 tonnes | -3.1% |
| 2007 | 391 tonnes | -4.6% |
| 2008 | 371 tonnes | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 354 tonnes | -4.6% |
| 2010 | 340 tonnes | -4.0% |
| 2011 | 330 tonnes | -2.9% |
| 2012 | 323 tonnes | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 318 tonnes | -1.5% |
| 2014 | 315 tonnes | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 320 tonnes | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 312 tonnes | -2.5% |
| 2017 | 300 tonnes | -3.8% |
| 2018 | 288 tonnes | -4.0% |
| 2019 | 279 tonnes | -3.1% |
| 2020 | 265 tonnes | -5.0% |
| 2021 | 262 tonnes | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 376 tonnes | +43.5% |
| 2023 | 446 tonnes | +18.6% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 446 tonnes is above the median for low income countries, which is 290.5 tonnes, 1.5× the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 446 tonnes is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 286 tonnes, 1.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Insecticide use in Democratic Republic of Congo changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +43.5% | 262 tonnes | 376 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 421.8 tonnes | 400 tonnes | 433 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 408.1 tonnes | 354 tonnes | 429 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 312.5 tonnes | 279 tonnes | 340 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 337.25 tonnes | 262 tonnes | 446 tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric 3,057 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.66 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Burning - Crop 235.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure left on Pasture 1,764 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.82 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure Management 601.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 140.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 11.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure applied to Soils 313.43 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is insecticide use in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Insecticide use in Democratic Republic of Congo was 446 tonnes in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest insecticide use recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 446 tonnes in 2023.
- What is the lowest insecticide use recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 262 tonnes in 2021.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for insecticide use?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 81st out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
- Is insecticide use rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 40.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Insecticide use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual quantity of insecticides used in agriculture, measured as the tonnes of active ingredient per year.