Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Europe & in South Africa
South Africa: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Europe & was 1.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Europe & in South Africa, 1998–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe & in South Africa is 1.0%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 42.3% on the previous year and up 23.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe & in South Africa peaked at 1.8% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 1999.
That places South Africa 128th out of 206 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 imports from low- and middle-income economies in Europe & in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 0.3% | — |
| 1999 | 0.3% | -6.8% |
| 2000 | 0.3% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.3% | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | +60.5% |
| 2003 | 0.5% | +7.6% |
| 2004 | 0.5% | +13.9% |
| 2005 | 0.7% | +25.6% |
| 2006 | 0.7% | +11.5% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | +14.6% |
| 2008 | 0.9% | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 0.6% | -33.3% |
| 2010 | 0.4% | -27.4% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | +64.4% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 0.8% | +23.4% |
| 2014 | 0.8% | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 0.8% | -2.3% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | -12.7% |
| 2017 | 0.8% | +19.9% |
| 2018 | 0.8% | -4.6% |
| 2019 | 0.9% | +9.7% |
| 2020 | 0.9% | +6.6% |
| 2021 | 1.2% | +22.4% |
| 2022 | 1.8% | +55.5% |
| 2023 | 1.0% | -42.3% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 1.0% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.5%, 69% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 1.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.8%, 59% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.8% | 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 low- and middle-income economies in europe & in South Africa?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe & in South Africa was 1.0% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe & recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 1.8% in 2022.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe & recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 1999.
- How does South Africa rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe &?
- South Africa ranks 128th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe & rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.2%. 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 imports from low- and middle-income economies in Europe & Central Asia (% 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 low- and middle-income economies in Europe and Central Asia are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from low- and middle-income economies in the Europe and Central Asia region 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.