Merchandise exports to high-income economies in South Africa
South Africa: Merchandise exports to high-income economies was 50.1% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in South Africa, 1998–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 50.1% for merchandise exports to high-income economies in 2023.
That represents a change of down 9.4% on the previous year and up 6.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to high-income economies in South Africa peaked at 76.5% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 47.1%, in 2013.
That places South Africa 140th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 73.3% | — |
| 1999 | 71.7% | -2.2% |
| 2000 | 72.0% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 74.5% | +3.4% |
| 2002 | 73.0% | -2.1% |
| 2003 | 74.9% | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 76.5% | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 74.4% | -2.7% |
| 2006 | 74.6% | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 71.2% | -4.6% |
| 2008 | 68.1% | -4.3% |
| 2009 | 60.5% | -11.2% |
| 2010 | 52.7% | -13.0% |
| 2011 | 50.9% | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 47.6% | -6.5% |
| 2013 | 47.1% | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 48.2% | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 49.1% | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 50.2% | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 50.3% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 49.9% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 49.6% | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 52.3% | +5.5% |
| 2021 | 56.7% | +8.4% |
| 2022 | 55.3% | -2.4% |
| 2023 | 50.1% | -9.4% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 50.1% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 65.7%, 76% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 50.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 49.5%, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 72.5% | 71.7% | 73.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 72.0% | 60.5% | 76.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 49.6% | 47.1% | 52.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 53.6% | 50.1% | 56.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More private sector data for South Africa
- Merchandise trade 57.2% (2025)
- Food imports 7.2% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 62.1% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 128.08 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 12.8% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 38.3% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 116.40 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,798 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2725 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 5.74 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise exports to high-income economies in South Africa?
- Merchandise exports to high-income economies in South Africa was 50.1% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 76.5% in 2004.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 47.1% in 2013.
- How does South Africa rank for merchandise exports to high-income economies?
- South Africa ranks 140th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to high-income economies rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise exports to high-income economies are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise exports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.