Summary
- Exports
- $507million
- Imports
- $1.1billion
- Trade balance
- -$619million
Products
What it exports
Crude petroleum (78.3%) and refined petroleum (13.8%) together make up 92.1% of its exports.
What it imports
Cement (5.2%) and other food preparations (4.3%) together make up 9.5% of its imports.
By Harmonized System chapter (93)
| Chapter | Exports | Imports |
|---|---|---|
| 27 · Oil, gas and coal | $467 million | $18 million |
| 72 · Iron and steel | $22 million | $52 million |
| 03 · Fish and seafood | $4 million | $622 thousand |
| 74 · Copper | $3 million | $744 thousand |
| 44 · Wood | $3 million | $4 million |
| 13 · Gums and plant extracts | $2 million | $3 thousand |
| 39 · Plastics | $2 million | $35 million |
| 84 · Mechanical machinery | $939 thousand | $73 million |
| 11 · Milling products and malt | $568 thousand | $90 million |
| 97 · Art and antiques | $507 thousand | $7 thousand |
| 73 · Iron and steel products | $362 thousand | $46 million |
| 01 · Live animals | $237 thousand | $2 million |
| 85 · Electrical and electronic equipment | $235 thousand | $65 million |
| 70 · Glass | $179 thousand | $1 million |
| 33 · Perfumes and cosmetics | $136 thousand | $4 million |
| 87 · Vehicles | $114 thousand | $82 million |
| 38 · Miscellaneous chemicals | $108 thousand | $7 million |
| 78 · Lead | $92 thousand | $3 thousand |
| 90 · Precision and medical instruments | $74 thousand | $8 million |
| 56 · Felt, nonwovens and rope | $61 thousand | $1 million |
| 10 · Cereals | $56 thousand | $44 million |
| 64 · Footwear | $48 thousand | $3 million |
| 49 · Books and printed matter | $47 thousand | $14 million |
| 12 · Oilseeds and grains | $45 thousand | $2 million |
| 48 · Paper and paperboard | $42 thousand | $12 million |
| 94 · Furniture and lighting | $40 thousand | $27 million |
| 63 · Home textiles and used clothing | $36 thousand | $8 million |
| 82 · Tools and cutlery | $32 thousand | $3 million |
| 17 · Sugar and sweets | $26 thousand | $55 million |
| 95 · Toys and sports gear | $25 thousand | $2 million |
| 88 · Aircraft and spacecraft | $24 thousand | $371 thousand |
| 41 · Hides and leather | $23 thousand | $700 |
| 02 · Meat and offal | $23 thousand | $8 million |
| 40 · Rubber | $21 thousand | $8 million |
| 04 · Dairy, eggs and honey | $20 thousand | $11 million |
| 68 · Stone, plaster and cement articles | $18 thousand | $2 million |
| 09 · Coffee, tea and spices | $18 thousand | $13 million |
| 21 · Food preparations | $17 thousand | $55 million |
| 25 · Salt, stone and cement | $16 thousand | $63 million |
| 24 · Tobacco | $14 thousand | $27 million |
| 07 · Vegetables | $13 thousand | $33 million |
| 22 · Beverages and spirits | $13 thousand | $56 million |
| 20 · Preserved fruit and vegetables | $12 thousand | $8 million |
| 05 · Other animal products | $12 thousand | $3 thousand |
| 89 · Ships and boats | $11 thousand | $306 thousand |
| 71 · Gems and precious metals | $9 thousand | $415 thousand |
| 76 · Aluminum | $8 thousand | $3 million |
| 47 · Wood pulp | $7 thousand | $30 |
| 15 · Fats and oils | $7 thousand | $46 million |
| 08 · Fruit and nuts | $5 thousand | $2 million |
| 96 · Other manufactured goods | $5 thousand | $1 million |
| 83 · Miscellaneous metal goods | $4 thousand | $1 million |
| 79 · Zinc | $3 thousand | $38 thousand |
| 58 · Special fabrics and lace | $3 thousand | $79 thousand |
| 19 · Baked goods and cereal products | $2 thousand | $20 million |
| 61 · Knitted clothing | $1 thousand | $3 million |
| 16 · Prepared meat and fish | $1 thousand | $1 million |
| 29 · Organic chemicals | $587 | $308 thousand |
| 30 · Pharmaceuticals | $563 | $37 million |
| 69 · Ceramics | $550 | $16 million |
| 28 · Inorganic chemicals | $508 | $1 million |
| 34 · Soap and cleaning products | $424 | $27 million |
| 42 · Leather goods and bags | $405 | $909 thousand |
| 67 · Feathers and artificial flowers | $300 | $266 thousand |
| 46 · Wicker and basketware | $300 | $142 thousand |
| 81 · Other base metals | $247 | $113 thousand |
| 57 · Carpets and rugs | $228 | $558 thousand |
| 32 · Dyes, paints and tanning agents | $180 | $9 million |
| 18 · Cocoa and chocolate | $177 | $222 thousand |
| 62 · Woven clothing | $124 | $2 million |
| 55 · Synthetic staple fibers | $110 | $699 thousand |
| 92 · Musical instruments | $97 | $38 thousand |
| 50 · Silk | $95 | $2 thousand |
| 54 · Synthetic filaments | $42 | $1 million |
| 52 · Cotton | $10 | $42 thousand |
| 59 · Coated and technical textiles | $2 | $213 thousand |
| 31 · Fertilizers | $0 | $1 million |
| 86 · Railway equipment | $0 | $917 thousand |
| 23 · Animal feed and food waste | $0 | $627 thousand |
| 35 · Glues, starches and enzymes | $0 | $590 thousand |
| 36 · Explosives and matches | $0 | $471 thousand |
| 65 · Hats | $0 | $329 thousand |
| 93 · Weapons and ammunition | $0 | $163 thousand |
| 91 · Watches and clocks | $0 | $130 thousand |
| 06 · Live plants and flowers | $0 | $122 thousand |
| 66 · Umbrellas and canes | $0 | $95 thousand |
| 37 · Photographic goods | $0 | $19 thousand |
| 60 · Knitted fabric | $0 | $13 thousand |
| 53 · Other plant fibers | $0 | $7 thousand |
| 43 · Fur and fur goods | $0 | $6 thousand |
| 75 · Nickel | $0 | $5 thousand |
| 51 · Wool | $0 | $290 |
| 45 · Cork | $0 | $284 |
Trading partners
Its main destination is China (59.2% of exports) and its main source is Uganda (43.5% of imports).
Who it sells to
| Partner | Value (USD millions) | Share | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 300 | 59.2% | Sea |
| Singapore | 158 | 31.1% | Sea |
| Uganda | 34.7 | 6.8% | Land |
| Japan | 9.1 | 1.8% | Sea |
| France | 1.3 | 0.26% | Sea |
| India | 0.84 | 0.17% | — |
| United States | 0.8 | 0.16% | — |
| Ukraine | 0.8 | 0.16% | — |
| Switzerland | 0.43 | 0.09% | — |
| Germany | 0.3 | 0.06% | — |
Overview 1995–2024
In 2024, South Sudan accounted for 0% of world exports, compared with 0% in 2012.
Exports and imports
Exports fell 22% since 2012
USD billions (current). Bars: trade balance (green surplus, red deficit).
- Exports 0.5
- Imports 1.1
- Balance -0.6
Source: CEPII BACI
Show the numbers
| Year | Exports | Imports | Trade balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 1996 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 1997 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 1998 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 1999 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2000 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2001 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2002 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2003 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2004 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2005 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2006 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2007 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2008 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2009 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2010 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2011 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| 2012 | $646 million | $123 million | $523 million |
| 2013 | $2.5 billion | $416 million | $2.1 billion |
| 2014 | $4.4 billion | $545 million | $3.9 billion |
| 2015 | $2.3 billion | $760 million | $1.6 billion |
| 2016 | $1.5 billion | $530 million | $949 million |
| 2017 | $1.3 billion | $548 million | $799 million |
| 2018 | $1.7 billion | $830 million | $903 million |
| 2019 | $1.7 billion | $1 billion | $726 million |
| 2020 | $857 million | $1.1 billion | -$260 million |
| 2021 | $572 million | $1.4 billion | -$799 million |
| 2022 | $562 million | $1.6 billion | -$1 billion |
| 2023 | $672 million | $1.6 billion | -$955 million |
| 2024 | $507 million | $1.1 billion | -$619 million |
World rank
South Sudan rose from 169th to 167th among the world's exporters
Rank among 222 countries by export value (1st at the top).
- 169th in 2012
- 167th in 2024
Source: CEPII BACI
Show the numbers
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 1995 | — |
| 1996 | — |
| 1997 | — |
| 1998 | — |
| 1999 | — |
| 2000 | — |
| 2001 | — |
| 2002 | — |
| 2003 | — |
| 2004 | — |
| 2005 | — |
| 2006 | — |
| 2007 | — |
| 2008 | — |
| 2009 | — |
| 2010 | — |
| 2011 | — |
| 2012 | 169th |
| 2013 | 141st |
| 2014 | 123rd |
| 2015 | 135th |
| 2016 | 144th |
| 2017 | 153rd |
| 2018 | 141st |
| 2019 | 143rd |
| 2020 | 162nd |
| 2021 | 167th |
| 2022 | 170th |
| 2023 | 167th |
| 2024 | 167th |
What it sells
Its top export group is still oil, gas and coal: 92% in 2024
% of exports by Harmonized System chapter.
- Other 1%
- Mechanical machinery 0%
- Plastics 0%
- Gums and plant extracts 0%
- Wood 1%
- Copper 1%
- Fish and seafood 1%
- Iron and steel 4%
- Oil, gas and coal 92%
Source: CEPII BACI
Show the numbers
| Chapter | 1995 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Oil, gas and coal | 0% | 92.1% |
| Iron and steel | 0% | 4.3% |
| Fish and seafood | 0% | 0.83% |
| Copper | 0% | 0.55% |
| Wood | 0% | 0.5% |
| Gums and plant extracts | 0% | 0.49% |
| Plastics | 0% | 0.31% |
| Mechanical machinery | 0% | 0.19% |
| Other | 0% | 0.65% |
Who it trades with
China went from 69% to 29% of South Sudan's trade
% of total trade (exports + imports) with each partner.
- Uganda 32%
- China 29%
- Kenya 13%
- Singapore 10%
- United States 4%
Source: CEPII BACI
Show the numbers
| Partner | 1995 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Uganda | 0% | 32.1% |
| China | 0% | 28.5% |
| Kenya | 0% | 13.5% |
| Singapore | 0% | 9.8% |
| United States | 0% | 3.6% |
Production hubs
Largest economic production hubs (gridded GDP, 2024)
No hubs above the globe threshold.
View on the globeSources and methodology
Sources and licenses
- CEPII BACI · Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0
- Climate TRACE · CC BY 4.0 (emissions by asset; the 3 largest per country are shown)
- Kummu et al., gridded GDP · CC BY 4.0 (hubs aggregated by this site)
- Natural Earth · Public domain
Methodology
Goods trade from CEPII BACI (BACI_HS92_V202601), in current US dollars, with exports and imports reconciled between countries. The transport mode is our own estimate based on value per kilo and geography. Ranks are computed among the countries with data each year. Services are not included. Data up to 2024.