Zimbabwe's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) was -5.39% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 7.42 percentage points from -12.81% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | -5.39% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | -0.45% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | -12.81% | 2014 |
| Highest | 3.89% | 1999 |
| Lowest | -26.59% | 2008 |
| Average since 2015 | -6.11% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | -1.67% | 1975 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Zimbabwe's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) rose 0.67 percentage points on 2023 (from -6.06% to -5.39%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.15 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 9.16 percentage points in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 17.99 percentage points in 2008. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 26% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Zimbabwe had the 21st highest value of the 33 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Zimbabwe | -5.39% | 2024 |
| World | 0.98% | 2025 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | -0.02% | 2025 |
| Lower middle income | -3.05% | 2025 |
Closest to Zimbabwe in the 2024 ranking
- United States — 17th of 33: -3.07%
- Bahamas, The — 18th of 33: -3.68%
- Bolivia — 19th of 33: -4.11%
- Fiji — 21st of 33: -10.15%
- Bhutan — 22nd of 33: -16.37%
- New Caledonia — 23rd of 33: -16.98%
What this measures
The balance of international trade in goods and services is the difference between the 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 50 values
| Year | External balance on goods and services (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | -5.39 |
| 2023 | -6.06 |
| 2022 | -6.07 |
| 2021 | -3.64 |
| 2020 | -1.83 |
| 2019 | -0.4501 |
| 2018 | -2.22 |
| 2017 | -5.71 |
| 2016 | -11.33 |
| 2015 | -18.43 |
| 2014 |
External balance on goods and services (% of GDP) in nearby economies
- Angola — 11.31% (2025)
- Benin — -3.01% (2025)
- Botswana — -5.48% (2025)
- Burkina Faso — 4.98% (2025)
- Cabo Verde — -11.38% (2025)
- Cameroon — -7.21% (2025)
- Central African Republic — -14.22% (2025)
- Chad — 12.7% (2025)
- Comoros — -22.29% (2025)
- Congo, Dem. Rep.
More economic policy & debt data for Zimbabwe
- Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current US$) — US$48.51 billion (2025)
- Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current LCU) — 1.54 trillion (2025)
- GDP (current US$) — US$51.22 billion (2025)
- GDP (current LCU) — 1.63 trillion (2025)
- GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$25.48 billion (2025)
- GDP (constant LCU) — 74.26 billion (2025)
- GDP per capita (current US$) — US$3,021 (2025)
- GDP per capita (current LCU) — 96,071 (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$1,503 (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 4,381 (2025)
- GNI (current US$)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Zimbabwe's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP)?
- -5.39% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1975?
- It is down 3.72 percentage points from -1.67% in 1975. The highest value was 3.89% in 1999 and the lowest -26.59% in 2008.
- How does Zimbabwe rank?
- 21st highest of 33 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) unusual for Zimbabwe?
- In 2024, Zimbabwe's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) rose 0.67 percentage points on 2023 (from -6.06% to -5.39%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.15 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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.RSB.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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