Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World in South Africa
South Africa: Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World was 11.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World in South Africa, 1998–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 11.6% for merchandise imports from economies in the arab world in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.8% on the previous year and up 18.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from economies in the arab world in South Africa peaked at 12.4% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 2005.
South Africa ranks 40th of 206 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 6.2% | — |
| 1999 | 5.8% | -6.0% |
| 2000 | 8.8% | +51.2% |
| 2001 | 8.3% | -5.5% |
| 2002 | 6.2% | -26.2% |
| 2003 | 6.6% | +7.8% |
| 2004 | 6.5% | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 1.7% | -73.3% |
| 2006 | 9.5% | +447.3% |
| 2007 | 6.2% | -34.4% |
| 2008 | 9.8% | +57.5% |
| 2009 | 7.0% | -29.0% |
| 2010 | 6.1% | -12.8% |
| 2011 | 7.1% | +17.1% |
| 2012 | 9.8% | +38.1% |
| 2013 | 9.8% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 10.4% | +6.4% |
| 2015 | 6.4% | -39.0% |
| 2016 | 6.9% | +7.7% |
| 2017 | 7.8% | +13.2% |
| 2018 | 9.7% | +24.4% |
| 2019 | 8.6% | -10.6% |
| 2020 | 7.4% | -14.3% |
| 2021 | 9.6% | +29.1% |
| 2022 | 12.4% | +29.9% |
| 2023 | 11.6% | -6.8% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 11.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.1%, 10.7× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 11.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 10.2%, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +447.3% | 1.7% | 9.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.0% | 5.8% | 6.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 7.1% | 1.7% | 9.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.3% | 6.1% | 10.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.2% | 7.4% | 12.4% | 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 imports from economies in the arab world in South Africa?
- Merchandise imports from economies in the arab world in South Africa was 11.6% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from economies in the arab world recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 12.4% in 2022.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from economies in the arab world recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2005.
- How does South Africa rank for merchandise imports from economies in the arab world?
- South Africa ranks 40th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from economies in the arab world rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.0%. 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 imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports). 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 imports from economies in the Arab World are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from economies in the Arab World. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise imports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.