Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Europe & in South Africa
South Africa: Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Europe & was 0.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Europe & in South Africa, 1998–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe & in South Africa is 0.5%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 37.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe & in South Africa peaked at 1.0% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2001.
That places South Africa 123rd out of 204 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Europe & in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 0.5% | — |
| 1999 | 0.6% | +5.0% |
| 2000 | 0.5% | -10.0% |
| 2001 | 0.1% | -80.7% |
| 2002 | 0.6% | +545.6% |
| 2003 | 0.6% | -8.0% |
| 2004 | 0.5% | -10.2% |
| 2005 | 0.6% | +19.0% |
| 2006 | 0.8% | +30.4% |
| 2007 | 0.6% | -20.7% |
| 2008 | 1.0% | +54.6% |
| 2009 | 0.7% | -31.9% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | -7.8% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | +7.1% |
| 2012 | 0.8% | +26.2% |
| 2013 | 0.8% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 0.9% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | +6.4% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | -22.5% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | -39.5% |
| 2020 | 0.7% | +48.5% |
| 2021 | 0.5% | -28.6% |
| 2022 | 0.5% | +14.6% |
| 2023 | 0.5% | -1.5% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.5% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.9%, 58% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.4%, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Europe & in South Africa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | +545.6% | 0.1% | 0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.1% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 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 low- and middle-income economies in europe & in South Africa?
- Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe & in South Africa was 0.5% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe & recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.0% in 2008.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe & recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2001.
- How does South Africa rank for merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe &?
- South Africa ranks 123rd out of 204 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe & rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 37.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Europe & Central Asia (% of total merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Europe and Central Asia are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to low- and middle-income economies in the Europe and Central Asia region according to World Bank classification of economies. Data are 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.