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How dependent is Botswana on South Africa?

In 2024, South Africa sold $4.3 billion to Botswana, 67% of its imports, ranking 1st among its suppliers. Its share was 55.3% in 2019 and 0% in 1995. In 352 products it sells more than 50% of what Botswana buys of them (in 294, more than 75%); what Botswana buys from South Africa in those products (dominated value) adds up to $4 billion, 61.3% of its imports.

Summary

Share of its imports
67%
Value imported
$4.3billion
Rank among its suppliers
1st
Products where it sells over 50%
352
Products where it sells over 75%
294
Dominated value
$4billion
Share of total imports
61.3%

Trend

Trend in shares

South Africa went from 0% to 67% of what Botswana buys

Share (%)

  • South Africa 67%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearValue (USD millions)ShareRank
199500%—
199600%—
199700%—
199800%—
199900%—
20001,50670.8%1
20011,38075.6%1
20022,65679.8%1
20033,35086%1
20042,65881.7%1
20052,63382.2%1
20062,59382.7%1
20073,30880.7%1
20083,99773.3%1
20093,56570%1
20103,41648.5%1
20115,66167.9%1
20124,86351.6%1
20134,21557.3%1
20146,08165.4%1
20155,31064.6%1
20163,93363.6%1
20173,79565.9%1
20184,07761.2%1
20193,82855.3%1
20203,85357.5%1
20214,62558.9%1
20225,03763%1
20234,29864.9%1
20244,33067%1

Products where South Africa sells more than half

ProductSupplierShareSecondValue
Refined petroleumSouth Africa75.2%over 75%Namibia · 24.7%$666 million
TrucksSouth Africa95.1%over 75%Japan · 2.4%$126 million
ElectricitySouth Africa52.8%Zambia · 39.6%$103 million
CornSouth Africa98.2%over 75%Zambia · 1.8%$79 million
Airplanes and helicoptersSouth Africa88.2%over 75%Switzerland · 9%$60 million
CarsSouth Africa75.8%over 75%Namibia · 10.2%$58 million
Medicines in measured doses or retail packsSouth Africa58.6%India · 24.3%$53 million
Auto partsSouth Africa88.5%over 75%China · 8.2%$52 million
CementSouth Africa81.5%over 75%Namibia · 18.6%$52 million
Cables and wireSouth Africa66%Germany · 25.5%$52 million
Detergents and surfactantsSouth Africa99.5%over 75%China · 0.2%$51 million
Parts for cranes and excavatorsSouth Africa89.5%over 75%China · 3.2%$49 million
RiceSouth Africa98.7%over 75%India · 1%$46 million
WheatSouth Africa99.9%over 75%Zimbabwe · 0.07%$42 million
Cider and other fermented drinksSouth Africa100%over 75%Germany · 0.01%$38 million
TractorsSouth Africa80.2%over 75%India · 7.2%$38 million
Fruit and vegetable juicesSouth Africa96.1%over 75%Zimbabwe · 3.4%$38 million
Sauces and condimentsSouth Africa99.3%over 75%Namibia · 0.46%$37 million
Toilet paper and tissuesSouth Africa98.2%over 75%China · 0.88%$36 million
Makeup and skin careSouth Africa98.9%over 75%Tanzania · 0.61%$36 million
Soft drinksSouth Africa97.2%over 75%Zambia · 1.1%$35 million
Bulldozers and excavatorsSouth Africa73.8%China · 11.3%$35 million
Cameras and broadcast equipmentSouth Africa57%China · 19.7%$34 million
Sunflower, safflower and cottonseed oilSouth Africa97.9%over 75%Turkey · 2.1%$33 million
Cane and beet sugarSouth Africa71.7%Zimbabwe · 24.7%$33 million
Steel structuresSouth Africa86.9%over 75%China · 8.6%$32 million
Sorting and crushing machinesSouth Africa84%over 75%Namibia · 4.3%$30 million
ComputersSouth Africa81.6%over 75%China · 7.8%$29 million
Liquid pumpsSouth Africa83.6%over 75%China · 9.3%$28 million
Other food preparationsSouth Africa98.2%over 75%Namibia · 0.84%$25 million

and 322 more

A product has a dominant supplier when a single country sells more than 50% of what is bought of it; we flag it separately above 75%.

Are there other suppliers in the world?

Exports from the rest of the world already have buyers; the figure shows scale, not availability.

Seen from South Africa

Botswana is South Africa’s 8th-largest customer, with 2.8% of its exports.

Sources and method

Sources and licenses

Methodology

The data come from CEPII BACI (Etalab 2.0 licence), which reconciles what the exporting and the importing country report, in current USD, FOB. Data up to 2024.

Dependence is the share of a country’s imports (or exports) that each partner accounts for. It does not measure whether a product has a substitute or how much it would cost to change supplier.

The concentration index (HHI) adds up the square of each partner’s share, in percent: it runs from 0 to 10,000. Its equivalent is 10,000 ÷ HHI, the number of partners of the same size that would give that value.

Products are HS4 headings of the 1992 nomenclature (some combine different goods), with a floor of $1 million per product and country.

The EU is the 27 current members in every year; the United Kingdom is outside the EU throughout the series.

Re-exports: countries that act as redistribution hubs carry their notice and the figures are not corrected.