How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current us$), per unit?

Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 20th out of 44 groups with data for 2023.

Is merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current us$), per unit rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Over the last ten years it is down 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa

Name: Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa
Creator: Statizoid (derived)
License: Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page

Sub-Saharan Africa: Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$), per unit was 0.2209 current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

0.2209 current US$ per US$ of GDP

Change on year

up 9.7%

Rank

20th

of 44 groups

All-time high

0.2501 current US$ per US$ of GDP

in 2008

All-time low

0.0655 current US$ per US$ of GDP

in 1962

Years of data

1960–2023

Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1960–2023

Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in current US$ per US$ of GDP.

Analysis

The most recent figure for merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current us$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa is 0.2209 current US$ per US$ of GDP, measured in 2023.

The figure is up 9.7% on the previous year and down 6.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current us$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 0.2501 current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2008 and was at its lowest, 0.0655 current US$ per US$ of GDP, in 1962.

That places Sub-Saharan Africa 20th out of 44 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.

Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year

Annual values for Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$), per unit of GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1960 to 2023.
Year	current US$ per US$ of GDP	Change
1960	0.0658 current US$ per US$ of GDP	—
1961	0.0674 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+2.5%
1962	0.0655 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-2.8%
1963	0.0666 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+1.7%
1964	0.0852 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+27.8%
1965	0.0855 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+0.4%
1966	0.0798 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-6.6%
1967	0.0794 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.5%
1968	0.0799 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+0.5%
1969	0.0782 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-2.1%
1970	0.0837 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+7.1%
1971	0.0908 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+8.5%
1972	0.0885 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-2.5%
1973	0.0857 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-3.1%
1974	0.0955 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+11.4%
1975	0.1112 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+16.4%
1976	0.1111 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.0%
1977	0.1299 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+16.9%
1978	0.1295 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.3%
1979	0.1047 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-19.1%
1980	0.0663 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-36.7%
1981	0.1002 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+51.1%
1982	0.0873 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-12.8%
1983	0.0813 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-7.0%
1984	0.0746 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-8.1%
1985	0.0834 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+11.7%
1986	0.0827 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.8%
1987	0.0837 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+1.2%
1988	0.0818 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-2.3%
1989	0.0858 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+4.9%
1990	0.0923 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+7.7%
1991	0.085 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-8.0%
1992	0.1188 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+39.8%
1993	0.1037 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-12.7%
1994	0.0995 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-4.0%
1995	0.0913 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-8.2%
1996	0.0845 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-7.5%
1997	0.0824 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-2.4%
1998	0.1402 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+70.0%
1999	0.181 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+29.1%
2000	0.1781 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-1.6%
2001	0.1911 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+7.3%
2002	0.1834 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-4.1%
2003	0.201 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+9.6%
2004	0.2001 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.4%
2005	0.2098 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+4.8%
2006	0.2133 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+1.7%
2007	0.2233 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+4.7%
2008	0.2501 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+12.0%
2009	0.2222 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-11.2%
2010	0.2129 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-4.2%
2011	0.2369 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+11.2%
2012	0.2362 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.3%
2013	0.2354 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.3%
2014	0.2304 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-2.1%
2015	0.2217 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-3.8%
2016	0.2089 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-5.8%
2017	0.2069 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.9%
2018	0.2075 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+0.3%
2019	0.1805 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-13.0%
2020	0.1739 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-3.6%
2021	0.1807 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+3.9%
2022	0.2014 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+11.5%
2023	0.2209 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+9.7%

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	0.0753 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0655 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0855 current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
1970s	0.1031 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0837 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.1299 current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
1980s	0.0827 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0663 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.1002 current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
1990s	0.1079 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0824 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.181 current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2000s	0.2072 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.1781 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.2501 current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2010s	0.2177 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.1805 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.2369 current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2020s	0.1942 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.1739 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.2209 current US$ per US$ of GDP	4

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa

17 North Macedonia 0.7601 current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
18 United Arab Emirates 0.7497 current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
19 Netherlands 0.738 current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
20 Viet Nam 0.7341 current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
21 Hungary 0.7223 current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
22 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 0.6951 current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
23 Cape Verde 0.6947 current US$ per US$ of GDP compare

See the full ranking of 249 places →

More private sector data for Sub-Saharan Africa

Merchandise trade 44.5% (2025)
Food imports 12.1% (2024)
Manufactures imports 56.8% (2024)
Merchandise imports 501.15 billion current US$ (2025)
Food exports 14.7% (2024)
Manufactures exports 19.4% (2024)
Merchandise exports 486.80 billion current US$ (2025)
Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 368.33 current US$ per person (2025)
Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2201 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 11.24 % change on previous year (2025)

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current us$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa?: Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current us$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa was 0.2209 current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2023, according to Statizoid (derived).
What is the highest merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current us$), per unit recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?: The highest recorded value was 0.2501 current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2008.
What is the lowest merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current us$), per unit recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 0.0655 current US$ per US$ of GDP in 1962.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current us$), per unit?: Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 20th out of 44 groups with data for 2023.
Is merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current us$), per unit rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?: Over the last ten years it is down 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?: The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$), per unit of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page.

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Statizoid (derived). Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://private-sector.statizoid.com/stat/merchandise-imports-by-the-reporting-economy-current-us-per-unit-of-gdp/sub-saharan-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page; please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://private-sector.statizoid.com/stat/merchandise-imports-by-the-reporting-economy-current-us-per-unit-of-gdp/sub-saharan-africa/">Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa</a> — Statizoid

How this figure is calculated

Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) divided by GDP (current US$), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.

Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) ÷ GDP (current US$)

Computed from

Merchandise imports by the reporting economy Staff estimates, World Bank (WB)
GDP Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks

Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.

About this data

Indicator: Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$), per unit of GDP
Unit: current US$ per US$ of GDP
Source: Statizoid (derived)
Licence: Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page
Coverage: 249 places, 12,916 data points, 1960–2023
Last refreshed: 21 August 2026

Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) divided by GDP (current US$), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.