Botswana: Trade (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Botswana's trade (% of GDP) rose 0.1 percentage points on 2024 (from 69.45% to 69.54%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.62 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.85 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 17.65 percentage points in 1997 and the biggest yearly fall was 18.54 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 2.62 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 61% 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 82nd 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

• Costa Rica — 78th of 137: 71.49%
• Senegal — 79th of 137: 71.07%
• Samoa — 80th of 137: 70.63%
• Spain — 82nd of 137: 69.45%
• France — 83rd of 137: 67.19%
• Philippines — 84th of 137: 66.79%

What this measures

Trade is the sum of exports and imports of goods and services. 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.

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

All 66 values

Trade (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 34.65% (2025)
• Benin — 37.12% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 65% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 95.33% (2025)
• Cameroon — 33.38% (2025)
• Central African Republic — 52.91% (2025)
• Chad — 46.13% (2025)
• Comoros — 40.89% (2025)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 87.33% (2025)
• Congo, Rep. — 91.67% (2025)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 54.56% (2025)
• Equatorial Guinea — 74.93% (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 trade (% of GDP)?

69.54% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 3.63 percentage points from 65.92% in 1960. The highest value was 125.78% in 2013 and the lowest 65.92% in 1960.

How does Botswana rank?

82nd highest of 137 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in trade (% of GDP) unusual for Botswana?

In 2025, Botswana's trade (% of GDP) rose 0.1 percentage points on 2024 (from 69.45% to 69.54%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.62 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.85 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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.TRD.GNFS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); 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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