Botswana: Exports of goods and services (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Botswana's exports of goods and services (% of GDP) rose 4.96 percentage points on 2024 (from 27.08% to 32.03%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.69 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 6.71 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 13.26 percentage points in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 11.69 percentage points in 2017. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is downward, about 2.07 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 58% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, Botswana had the 79th highest value of the 137 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Botswana in the 2025 ranking

• Senegal — 76th of 137: 32.49%
• Italy — 77th of 137: 32.23%
• El Salvador — 78th of 137: 32.05%
• Moldova — 80th of 137: 31.75%
• Ecuador — 81st of 137: 31.44%
• South Africa — 82nd of 137: 31.41%

What this measures

Exports of goods includes changes in the economic ownership of goods from residents of the compiling economy to non-residents, irrespective of physical movement of goods across national borders. Exports of services includes services provided by residents to non-residents. 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.

Limitations: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 66 values

Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 22.98% (2025)
• Benin — 17.05% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 34.99% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 41.98% (2025)
• Cameroon — 13.09% (2025)
• Central African Republic — 19.34% (2025)
• Chad — 29.41% (2025)
• Comoros — 9.3% (2025)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 43.42% (2025)
• Congo, Rep. — 48.02% (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Botswana

• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$6.27 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 84.72 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 31.48% (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$9.12 billion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 123.17 billion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 45.77% (2025)
• Final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$15.4 billion (2025)
• Final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 207.88 billion (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Botswana's exports of goods and services (% of GDP)?

32.03% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 5.76 percentage points from 26.28% in 1960. The highest value was 75.13% in 1987 and the lowest 22.77% in 1969.

How does Botswana rank?

79th highest of 137 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in exports of goods and services (% of GDP) unusual for Botswana?

In 2025, Botswana's exports of goods and services (% of GDP) rose 4.96 percentage points on 2024 (from 27.08% to 32.03%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.69 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 6.71 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.EXP.GNFS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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