What is the highest merchandise imports (current us$), per unit of gdp recorded in South Africa?

The highest recorded value was 0.3428 current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2023.

What is the lowest merchandise imports (current us$), per unit of gdp recorded in South Africa?

The lowest recorded value was 0.1343 current US$ per US$ of GDP in 1992.

How does South Africa rank for merchandise imports (current us$), per unit of gdp?

South Africa ranks 114th out of 203 countries with data for 2025.

Is merchandise imports (current us$), per unit of gdp rising or falling in South Africa?

Over the last ten years it is down 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this South Africa data come from?

The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Merchandise imports (current US$), per unit of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Merchandise imports (current US$), per unit of GDP in South Africa

Name: Merchandise imports (current US$), per unit of GDP in South Africa
Creator: Statizoid (derived)
License: Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page

South Africa: Merchandise imports (current US$), per unit of GDP was 0.2998 current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)

0.2998 current US$ per US$ of GDP

Change on year

down 2.6%

World rank

114th

of 203 countries

All-time high

0.3428 current US$ per US$ of GDP

in 2023

All-time low

0.1343 current US$ per US$ of GDP

in 1992

Years of data

1960–2025

Merchandise imports (current US$), per unit of GDP in South Africa, 1960–2025

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

Analysis

In 2025, merchandise imports (current us$), per unit of gdp in South Africa stood at 0.2998 current US$ per US$ of GDP.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.6% on the previous year and down 0.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, merchandise imports (current us$), per unit of gdp in South Africa peaked at 0.3428 current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.1343 current US$ per US$ of GDP, in 1992.

That places South Africa 114th out of 203 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.

Merchandise imports (current US$), per unit of GDP in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Merchandise imports (current US$), per unit of GDP in South Africa, 1960 to 2025.
Year	current US$ per US$ of GDP	Change
1960	0.1862 current US$ per US$ of GDP	—
1961	0.1582 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-15.0%
1962	0.1504 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-5.0%
1963	0.1632 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+8.5%
1964	0.1908 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+16.9%
1965	0.1961 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+2.8%
1966	0.1685 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-14.1%
1967	0.1757 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+4.3%
1968	0.1629 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-7.3%
1969	0.1656 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+1.7%
1970	0.1811 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+9.4%
1971	0.1864 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+2.9%
1972	0.161 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-13.6%
1973	0.1552 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-3.6%
1974	0.1898 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+22.3%
1975	0.1933 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+1.8%
1976	0.177 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-8.4%
1977	0.1383 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-21.9%
1978	0.1476 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+6.7%
1979	0.1426 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-3.4%
1980	0.2192 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+53.7%
1981	0.2461 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+12.3%
1982	0.2143 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-12.9%
1983	0.1644 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-23.3%
1984	0.188 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+14.4%
1985	0.1756 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-6.6%
1986	0.1771 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+0.9%
1987	0.1583 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-10.6%
1988	0.1801 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+13.8%
1989	0.1712 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-4.9%
1990	0.146 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-14.7%
1991	0.1393 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-4.6%
1992	0.1343 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-3.6%
1993	0.1358 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+1.1%
1994	0.1522 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+12.1%
1995	0.1779 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+16.9%
1996	0.1849 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+4.0%
1997	0.1953 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+5.6%
1998	0.1911 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-2.1%
1999	0.1762 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-7.8%
2000	0.1957 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+11.1%
2001	0.2086 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+6.6%
2002	0.2267 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+8.7%
2003	0.2017 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-11.0%
2004	0.209 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+3.6%
2005	0.2157 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+3.2%
2006	0.2591 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+20.1%
2007	0.2656 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+2.5%
2008	0.3215 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+21.1%
2009	0.2246 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-30.2%
2010	0.232 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+3.3%
2011	0.2716 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+17.0%
2012	0.2927 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+7.8%
2013	0.3151 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+7.7%
2014	0.3199 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+1.5%
2015	0.3018 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-5.6%
2016	0.2834 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-6.1%
2017	0.2663 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-6.0%
2018	0.2812 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+5.6%
2019	0.2762 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-1.8%
2020	0.2487 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-10.0%
2021	0.2714 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+9.1%
2022	0.3342 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+23.1%
2023	0.3428 current US$ per US$ of GDP	+2.6%
2024	0.3078 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-10.2%
2025	0.2998 current US$ per US$ of GDP	-2.6%

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	0.1718 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.1504 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.1961 current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
1970s	0.1672 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.1383 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.1933 current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
1980s	0.1894 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.1583 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.2461 current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
1990s	0.1633 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.1343 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.1953 current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2000s	0.2328 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.1957 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.3215 current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2010s	0.284 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.232 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.3199 current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2020s	0.3008 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.2487 current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.3428 current US$ per US$ of GDP	6

Countries ranked near South Africa

111 Germany 0.3054 current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
112 Somalia 0.3024 current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
113 Sweden 0.3004 current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
115 Macao 0.2985 current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
116 Uganda 0.2968 current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
117 Denmark 0.2945 current US$ per US$ of GDP compare

See the full ranking of 250 places →

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)

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is merchandise imports (current us$), per unit of gdp in South Africa?: Merchandise imports (current us$), per unit of gdp in South Africa was 0.2998 current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2025, according to Statizoid (derived).
What is the highest merchandise imports (current us$), per unit of gdp recorded in South Africa?: The highest recorded value was 0.3428 current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2023.
What is the lowest merchandise imports (current us$), per unit of gdp recorded in South Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 0.1343 current US$ per US$ of GDP in 1992.
How does South Africa rank for merchandise imports (current us$), per unit of gdp?: South Africa ranks 114th out of 203 countries with data for 2025.
Is merchandise imports (current us$), per unit of gdp rising or falling in South Africa?: Over the last ten years it is down 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?: The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Merchandise imports (current US$), per unit of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Merchandise imports (current US$), per unit of GDP in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Statizoid (derived). Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://private-sector.statizoid.com/stat/merchandise-imports-current-us-per-unit-of-gdp/south-africa/

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How this figure is calculated

Merchandise imports (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 (current US$) ÷ GDP (current US$)

Computed from

Merchandise imports World Trade Organization (WTO)
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 (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: 250 places, 13,931 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed: 18 August 2026

Merchandise imports (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.