Le secteur informel en milieu urbain en République Démocratique du Congo : Performances, insertion, perspectives. Principaux résultats de la phase 2 de l’enquête 1-2-3 2004-2005

Democratic Republic of Congo has known dramatic events for the last three decades. Statistical social economic data did not exist really or not available in the period. The Informal Sector survey, the second phase of the 1-2-3 survey, carried out in 2004-2005 and conducted by the National Statistic Institute provides for the first time a detailed picture of the main characteristics of the Informal Production Units in the country. This study collected by head’s enterprises (identified during the first phase of 1-2-3 survey), which presents the principal results of the survey, helps highlight the characteristics of their conditions of activities, their economic performance and how informal units are integrated into the productive system, and their prospects. By identifying their main shortcomings (precariousness of practising conditions, small enterprises, dominance of commercial activities, unskilled and non-protected labour force, few capital investment, problem of credit access, without relationship with public and registration services, etc.), the study opens up new possibilities for defining policies designed to improve the role and the insertion of informal sector into the productive system in DRC.