Merchandise imports from high-income economies in South Africa
South Africa: Merchandise imports from high-income economies was 53.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in South Africa, 1998–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 53.3% for merchandise imports from high-income economies in 2023.
That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and down 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from high-income economies in South Africa peaked at 83.0% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 52.3%, in 2022.
South Africa ranks 122nd of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 82.8% | — |
| 1999 | 82.2% | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 83.0% | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 80.3% | -3.2% |
| 2002 | 79.1% | -1.5% |
| 2003 | 77.8% | -1.5% |
| 2004 | 73.4% | -5.7% |
| 2005 | 72.1% | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 69.4% | -3.7% |
| 2007 | 67.3% | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 62.0% | -7.9% |
| 2009 | 58.6% | -5.4% |
| 2010 | 59.3% | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 59.4% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 58.4% | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 57.4% | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 56.9% | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 55.2% | -2.9% |
| 2016 | 55.2% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 55.7% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 54.8% | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 54.7% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 52.6% | -3.9% |
| 2021 | 53.1% | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 52.3% | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 53.3% | +1.9% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 53.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 56.4%, 95% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 53.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 42.2%, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 82.5% | 82.2% | 82.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 72.3% | 58.6% | 83.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 56.7% | 54.7% | 59.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 52.8% | 52.3% | 53.3% | 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 high-income economies in South Africa?
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies in South Africa was 53.3% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 83.0% in 2000.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 52.3% in 2022.
- How does South Africa rank for merchandise imports from high-income economies?
- South Africa ranks 122nd out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from high-income economies rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.1%. 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 imports from high-income economies (% 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 high-income economies are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. 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.