South Africa

Compare South Africa →

ZA · ZAF · BACI 710 · latest data 2024

Exports

$156.1B USD, nominal · 2024

= $156,057 M30.6% over 5 yrs (up)

Imports

$99.7B USD, nominal · 2024

= $99,692 M13.3% over 5 yrs (up)

Trade balancesurplus

$56.4B USD, nominal · 2024

= $56,365 M

Total trade

$255.7B USD, nominal · 2024

= $255,749 M23.2% over 5 yrs (up)

World position: #33 of 225 exporters · top 25% · #40 of 225 importers · top 25% · 2024

Trade timeline

South Africa's exports grew from $40.3B in 2000 to $156.1B in 2024; the 2024 balance was $56.4B.

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Exports, imports, trade balance and total trade of South Africa per year, USD millions.
Year	Exports ($M)	Imports ($M)	Balance ($M)	Total ($M)
2000	$40,347 M	$27,877 M	$12,471 M	$68,224 M
2001	$40,825 M	$26,109 M	$14,716 M	$66,934 M
2002	$43,453 M	$26,546 M	$16,908 M	$69,999 M
2003	$51,033 M	$34,350 M	$16,683 M	$85,383 M
2004	$62,537 M	$48,141 M	$14,396 M	$110,678 M
2005	$69,592 M	$56,548 M	$13,044 M	$126,140 M
2006	$76,234 M	$70,828 M	$5,406 M	$147,062 M
2007	$93,076 M	$82,040 M	$11,036 M	$175,116 M
2008	$111,063 M	$91,734 M	$19,328 M	$202,797 M
2009	$85,607 M	$69,854 M	$15,752 M	$155,461 M
2010	$99,983 M	$88,721 M	$11,262 M	$188,705 M
2011	$124,680 M	$111,195 M	$13,485 M	$235,875 M
2012	$113,169 M	$115,237 M	−$2,068 M	$228,406 M
2013	$113,659 M	$108,748 M	$4,911 M	$222,408 M
2014	$113,391 M	$103,127 M	$10,264 M	$216,518 M
2015	$120,159 M	$84,692 M	$35,466 M	$204,851 M
2016	$105,568 M	$76,929 M	$28,640 M	$182,497 M
2017	$117,223 M	$85,342 M	$31,881 M	$202,564 M
2018	$126,596 M	$92,509 M	$34,087 M	$219,106 M
2019	$119,512 M	$88,025 M	$31,487 M	$207,537 M
2020	$111,160 M	$69,394 M	$41,766 M	$180,554 M
2021	$153,347 M	$93,297 M	$60,050 M	$246,644 M
2022	$165,796 M	$109,979 M	$55,817 M	$275,776 M
2023	$153,601 M	$103,315 M	$50,286 M	$256,916 M
2024	$156,057 M	$99,692 M	$56,365 M	$255,749 M

25 rows

World share & rank

World export share moved from 0.6% in 2000 to 0.7% in 2024; export rank #32 → #33.

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World export and import share in percent, and world ranks, of South Africa per year.
Year	Export share (%)	Import share (%)	Export rank	Import rank
2000	0.62%	0.43%	#32	#40
2001	0.65%	0.41%	#32	#40
2002	0.66%	0.40%	#32	#40
2003	0.67%	0.45%	#35	#39
2004	0.68%	0.52%	#33	#38
2005	0.66%	0.54%	#35	#38
2006	0.63%	0.59%	#35	#34
2007	0.67%	0.59%	#33	#35
2008	0.69%	0.57%	#33	#38
2009	0.69%	0.56%	#32	#37
2010	0.67%	0.59%	#32	#32
2011	0.69%	0.62%	#33	#32
2012	0.63%	0.64%	#37	#32
2013	0.62%	0.60%	#35	#32
2014	0.62%	0.56%	#35	#32
2015	0.75%	0.53%	#32	#34
2016	0.67%	0.49%	#33	#36
2017	0.67%	0.49%	#32	#37
2018	0.66%	0.48%	#33	#38
2019	0.65%	0.48%	#32	#40
2020	0.65%	0.40%	#34	#41
2021	0.72%	0.44%	#33	#41
2022	0.69%	0.46%	#33	#39
2023	0.68%	0.46%	#33	#39
2024	0.68%	0.44%	#33	#40

25 rows

Trading partners

China was South Africa's top trading partner in 2024, at 19.9% of total trade; the top five partners covered 47.0%.

Year

Top partner share: 19.9%
Top-5 share: 47.0%
Partners: 224
Partner HHI (0–1): 0.065

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China $28.7B

United States $14.4B

United Kingdom $12.8B

India $12.1B

Germany $9.3B

Mozambique $6.5B

Japan $6.2B

Botswana $4.3B

Zimbabwe $3.8B

Namibia $3.4B

Switzerland $3.4B

Netherlands $3.1B

United Arab Emirates $2.7B

Belgium $2.6B

Italy $2.2B

View partner table

Top partners of South Africa in 2024, USD millions.
Rank	Partner	Exports to ($M)	Imports from ($M)	Total ($M)	Balance ($M)
#1	China	$28,689 M	$22,130 M	$50,819 M	$6,559 M
#2	United States	$14,376 M	$5,955 M	$20,331 M	$8,421 M
#3	India	$12,086 M	$7,344 M	$19,430 M	$4,742 M
#4	Germany	$9,266 M	$6,038 M	$15,304 M	$3,228 M
#5	United Kingdom	$12,786 M	$1,638 M	$14,424 M	$11,148 M
#6	Japan	$6,214 M	$1,944 M	$8,158 M	$4,269 M
#7	Mozambique	$6,455 M	$1,091 M	$7,546 M	$5,363 M
#8	United Arab Emirates	$2,673 M	$2,966 M	$5,639 M	−$294 M
#9	Zimbabwe	$3,755 M	$1,380 M	$5,136 M	$2,375 M
#10	Botswana	$4,330 M	$487 M	$4,817 M	$3,844 M
#11	Namibia	$3,401 M	$1,224 M	$4,625 M	$2,178 M
#12	Netherlands	$3,107 M	$1,474 M	$4,581 M	$1,632 M
#13	Italy	$2,156 M	$2,419 M	$4,575 M	−$264 M
#14	Switzerland	$3,369 M	$776 M	$4,145 M	$2,593 M
#15	Belgium	$2,624 M	$1,159 M	$3,783 M	$1,466 M

15 rows

Products & sectors

Product composition of South Africa's trade in 2024.

Year

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Concentration & risk

South Africa's export partners concentrated over 2000–2024 — HHI 0.050 → 0.067, a diversified export base across 214 partners in 2024.

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Export and import partner HHI (0–1) and partner counts of South Africa per year.
Year	Export HHI	Import HHI	Export partners	Import partners
2000	0.050	0.053	211	208
2001	0.051	0.052	211	212
2002	0.053	0.055	214	212
2003	0.052	0.052	210	211
2004	0.047	0.046	212	212
2005	0.044	0.044	213	213
2006	0.046	0.042	212	216
2007	0.043	0.041	216	219
2008	0.043	0.041	216	219
2009	0.039	0.043	211	216
2010	0.042	0.044	213	218
2011	0.044	0.044	216	218
2012	0.038	0.045	214	216
2013	0.040	0.050	216	219
2014	0.039	0.051	218	218
2015	0.078	0.059	213	219
2016	0.061	0.055	214	219
2017	0.058	0.056	216	220
2018	0.055	0.057	217	223
2019	0.057	0.057	215	223
2020	0.054	0.064	209	221
2021	0.058	0.065	211	224
2022	0.061	0.064	214	223
2023	0.067	0.068	211	222
2024	0.067	0.071	214	223

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