Merchandise trade in South Africa
South Africa: Merchandise trade was 57.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in South Africa, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, merchandise trade in South Africa stood at 57.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.7% on the previous year and up 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in South Africa peaked at 63.6% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 29.4%, in 1992.
That places South Africa 92nd out of 204 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 trade in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 41.3% | — |
| 1961 | 39.0% | -5.6% |
| 1962 | 37.7% | -3.5% |
| 1963 | 38.0% | +1.1% |
| 1964 | 39.8% | +4.6% |
| 1965 | 39.1% | -1.8% |
| 1966 | 36.1% | -7.6% |
| 1967 | 36.6% | +1.3% |
| 1968 | 35.0% | -4.4% |
| 1969 | 34.0% | -2.9% |
| 1970 | 33.9% | -0.4% |
| 1971 | 33.5% | -1.0% |
| 1972 | 32.9% | -2.0% |
| 1973 | 33.8% | +2.7% |
| 1974 | 40.0% | +18.4% |
| 1975 | 39.8% | -0.4% |
| 1976 | 36.8% | -7.6% |
| 1977 | 35.7% | -3.0% |
| 1978 | 39.5% | +10.7% |
| 1979 | 43.2% | +9.4% |
| 1980 | 50.5% | +16.8% |
| 1981 | 46.8% | -7.3% |
| 1982 | 42.0% | -10.2% |
| 1983 | 35.7% | -15.1% |
| 1984 | 39.0% | +9.4% |
| 1985 | 42.8% | +9.8% |
| 1986 | 42.8% | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 37.8% | -11.6% |
| 1988 | 39.0% | +3.3% |
| 1989 | 37.7% | -3.5% |
| 1990 | 33.3% | -11.6% |
| 1991 | 31.1% | -6.4% |
| 1992 | 29.4% | -5.7% |
| 1993 | 30.0% | +2.2% |
| 1994 | 31.7% | +5.6% |
| 1995 | 34.0% | +7.3% |
| 1996 | 36.4% | +7.0% |
| 1997 | 37.9% | +4.1% |
| 1998 | 36.3% | -4.1% |
| 1999 | 35.2% | -3.0% |
| 2000 | 39.3% | +11.6% |
| 2001 | 42.5% | +8.0% |
| 2002 | 45.7% | +7.6% |
| 2003 | 38.7% | -15.3% |
| 2004 | 38.9% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 39.4% | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 45.1% | +14.2% |
| 2007 | 47.5% | +5.5% |
| 2008 | 57.7% | +21.5% |
| 2009 | 41.2% | -28.7% |
| 2010 | 45.1% | +9.5% |
| 2011 | 50.9% | +12.9% |
| 2012 | 52.2% | +2.5% |
| 2013 | 55.5% | +6.3% |
| 2014 | 56.4% | +1.6% |
| 2015 | 53.5% | -5.1% |
| 2016 | 51.9% | -3.1% |
| 2017 | 49.9% | -3.7% |
| 2018 | 51.3% | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 50.7% | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 50.3% | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 56.6% | +12.5% |
| 2022 | 63.6% | +12.4% |
| 2023 | 63.3% | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 58.2% | -8.1% |
| 2025 | 57.2% | -1.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 37.7% | 34.0% | 41.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 36.9% | 32.9% | 43.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 41.4% | 35.7% | 50.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 33.5% | 29.4% | 37.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 43.6% | 38.7% | 57.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 51.8% | 45.1% | 56.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 58.2% | 50.3% | 63.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More private sector data for South Africa
- 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$), annual growth rate 5.74 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 1,978 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in South Africa?
- Merchandise trade in South Africa was 57.2% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 63.6% in 2022.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.4% in 1992.
- How does South Africa rank for merchandise trade?
- South Africa ranks 92nd out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from World Trade Organization (WTO), published as part of Merchandise trade (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
General merchandise trade includes goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.