South Africa's merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports) was 28.31% in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 1.79 percentage points from 30.1% in 2013.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 28.31% | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 27.9% | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 30.1% | 2013 |
| Highest | 31.6% | 2014 |
| Lowest | 13.79% | 2006 |
| Average since 2014 | 27.65% | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 18.04% | 1998 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, South Africa's merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports) rose 3.27 percentage points on 2022 (from 25.04% to 28.31%).
Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1999 to 2022), the average change was +0.29 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.54 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 8.93 percentage points in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.85 percentage points in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.69 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 56% 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 2023, South Africa had the 59th highest value of the 201 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 28.31% | 2023 |
| World | 12.75% | 2023 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 20.67% | 2023 |
| Upper middle income | 16.2% | 2023 |
Closest to South Africa in the 2023 ranking
What this measures
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to other low- and middle-income economies in the same World Bank region as a percentage of total merchandise exports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data. No figures are shown for high-income economies, because they are a separate category in the World Bank classification of economies.
Limitations: Data on exports and imports are from the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Direction of Trade database and should be broadly consistent with data from other sources, such as the United Nations Statistics Division's Commodity Trade (Comtrade) database. All high-income economies and major low- and middle-income economies report trade data to the IMF on a timely basis, covering about 85 percent of trade for recent years. Trade data for less timely reporters and for countries that do not report are estimated using reports of trading partner countries. Therefore, data on trade between developing and high-income economies should be generally complete.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 26 values
| Year | Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 28.31 |
| 2022 | 25.04 |
| 2021 | 22.42 |
| 2020 | 25.1 |
| 2019 | 27.94 |
| 2018 | 27.9 |
| 2017 | 27.79 |
| 2016 | 29.72 |
| 2015 | 30.68 |
| 2014 | 31.6 |
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports) in nearby economies
- Angola — 5.45% (2023)
- Benin — 16.4% (2023)
- Botswana — 15.53% (2023)
- Burkina Faso — 14.86% (2023)
- Burundi — 42.58% (2023)
- Cabo Verde — 9.23% (2023)
- Cameroon — 12.43% (2023)
More private sector & trade data for South Africa
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 57.23% (2025)
- Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports) — 5.66% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$128.08 billion (2025)
- Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service imports) — 44.21% (2025)
- Commercial service imports (current US$) — US$21.49 billion (2025)
- Transport services (% of commercial service imports) — 36.96% (2025)
- Travel services (% of commercial service imports) — 13.18% (2025)
- Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports) — 9.81% (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is South Africa's merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports)?
- 28.31% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1998?
- It is up 10.27 percentage points from 18.04% in 1998. The highest value was 31.6% in 2014 and the lowest 13.79% in 2006.
- How does South Africa rank?
- 59th highest of 201 economies with data for 2023.
- Is the latest change in merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports) unusual for South Africa?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TX.VAL.MRCH.WR.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB); Direction of Trade database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
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