Sud-àfrica: Visió econòmica i política
South Africa is very open to international trade, which represents 56% of the country’s GDP (World Bank). The country mainly exports platinum (12.6%), gold (7.9%), iron ores (7.2%), motor vehicles (5.4%), and coal and similar solid fuels (4.6%). The main imports are petroleum oils (12.6%), transmission apparatus for radio-telephony (3.6%), motor vehicles (3.1), medicaments (2.6%) and automatic data processing machines units (2.1% - Comtrade).
South Africa's top exporting countries are China, the United States, Germany, the UK, Japan and the Netherlands. One-fifth of imports come from China, followed by Germany, the U.S. and India. South Africa is the EU's largest trading partner in Africa: exports to the EU have been growing and becoming more diverse, with the country moving from mainly commodity-based products to a more diversified export profile that includes manufactured goods. In 2019, the African Union launched the operational phase of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), establishing a single market for goods and services across 54 countries - making it the world's largest free trade area by number of countries.
According to the latest available data from WTO, in 2020, South Africa exported products for USD 85.8 billion, while it imported USD 84 billion of goods. The country imported services for a total value of USD 7.2 billion, whereas its exports of services in the same year reached USD 9.5 billion. South Africa recorded a trade surplus of almost USD 17.5 billion in 2020, its highest in the last 30 years (4.9% of GDP – World Bank).
Foreign Trade Indicators | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 53.5 | 54.6 | 54.1 | 50.8 | 56.2 |
Trade Balance (million USD) | 4,417 | 1,847 | 2,650 | 17,753 | 30,552 |
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) | 4,349 | 1,935 | 2,068 | 15,102 | 26,079 |
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 1.5 | 3.2 | 0.4 | -17.4 | 9.5 |
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | -0.3 | 2.7 | -3.4 | -11.9 | 10.0 |
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 26.2 | 27.1 | 26.8 | 23.2 | 25.0 |
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 27.3 | 27.6 | 27.3 | 27.6 | 31.2 |
Source: World Bank ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Forecasts | 2022 | 2023 (e) | 2024 (e) | 2025 (e) | 2026 (e) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 5.5 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 11.4 | 5.2 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.6 |
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2020 |
China | 11.5% |
United States | 8.4% |
Germany | 7.5% |
United Kingdom | 5.0% |
Japan | 4.5% |
Netherlands | 3.9% |
Botswana | 3.8% |
India | 3.8% |
Mozambique | 3.6% |
Namibia | 3.1% |
Belgium | 2.8% |
Zimbabwe | 2.6% |
Zambia | 2.0% |
United Arab Emirates | 1.8% |
Hong Kong SAR, China | 1.8% |
South Korea | 1.6% |
Eswatini | 1.4% |
Lesotho | 1.2% |
Spain | 1.1% |
Switzerland | 1.0% |
See More Countries | 63.2% |
Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2020 |
China | 20.8% |
Germany | 9.1% |
United States | 6.4% |
India | 5.2% |
Saudi Arabia | 3.9% |
Nigeria | 3.1% |
Thailand | 3.1% |
Japan | 2.8% |
Italy | 2.6% |
United Kingdom | 2.5% |
France | 2.3% |
Spain | 2.2% |
United Arab Emirates | 1.7% |
Eswatini | 1.6% |
Brazil | 1.5% |
Netherlands | 1.4% |
Switzerland | 1.4% |
Belgium | 1.3% |
Vietnam | 1.3% |
Poland | 1.2% |
See More Countries | 54.6% |
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
To go further, check out our service Import Export Flows.
14.5 bn USD of services exported in 2018 | |
61.00% | |
15.05% | |
14.50% | |
4.29% | |
2.53% | |
1.69% | |
0.82% | |
0.12% |
15.6 bn USD of services imported in 2018 | |
43.11% | |
21.47% | |
13.31% | |
11.45% | |
7.95% | |
2.46% | |
0.22% | |
0.03% |
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
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Actualitzacions: January 2023
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