Summary
- Share of its imports
- 24.9%
- Value imported
- $3billion
- Rank among its suppliers
- 1st
- Products where it sells over 50%
- 147
- Products where it sells over 75%
- 67
- Dominated value
- $891million
- Share of total imports
- 7.5%
Trend
Trend in shares
South Africa went from 30.6% to 24.9% of what Zambia buys
Share (%)
- South Africa 24.9%
Source: CEPII BACI
Show the numbers
| Year | Value (USD millions) | Share | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 292 | 30.6% | 1 |
| 1996 | 318 | 32.1% | 1 |
| 1997 | 430 | 34.7% | 1 |
| 1998 | 458 | 37.2% | 1 |
| 1999 | 394 | 40.6% | 1 |
| 2000 | 590 | 53.3% | 1 |
| 2001 | 639 | 51.6% | 1 |
| 2002 | 794 | 53.4% | 1 |
| 2003 | 793 | 46.4% | 1 |
| 2004 | 1,028 | 48.4% | 1 |
| 2005 | 1,116 | 45.7% | 1 |
| 2006 | 1,421 | 43.3% | 1 |
| 2007 | 1,722 | 43.3% | 1 |
| 2008 | 2,057 | 40.6% | 1 |
| 2009 | 1,514 | 37.9% | 1 |
| 2010 | 1,834 | 33% | 1 |
| 2011 | 2,572 | 34% | 1 |
| 2012 | 2,858 | 32.1% | 1 |
| 2013 | 3,034 | 28% | 1 |
| 2014 | 3,050 | 30% | 1 |
| 2015 | 2,552 | 31.1% | 1 |
| 2016 | 2,413 | 31.4% | 1 |
| 2017 | 2,447 | 30% | 1 |
| 2018 | 2,745 | 27.1% | 1 |
| 2019 | 2,277 | 28.2% | 1 |
| 2020 | 1,810 | 30.7% | 1 |
| 2021 | 2,242 | 30.4% | 1 |
| 2022 | 2,715 | 28.9% | 1 |
| 2023 | 2,675 | 24.2% | 1 |
| 2024 | 2,950 | 24.9% | 1 |
Products where South Africa sells more than half
| Product | Supplier | Share | Second | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trailers | South Africa | 54% | China · 32.3% | $55 million |
| Polypropylene | South Africa | 86.7%over 75% | China · 3.5% | $49 million |
| Hot-rolled flat steel | South Africa | 53.6% | China · 30.9% | $40 million |
| Beer | South Africa | 92.6%over 75% | Namibia · 5.1% | $39 million |
| Fragrance mixtures | South Africa | 53.2% | Eswatini · 23.7% | $31 million |
| Batteries | South Africa | 52.4% | China · 27.1% | $31 million |
| Refrigerators, freezers and heat pumps | South Africa | 53.9% | China · 30.4% | $26 million |
| Plastic pipes and hoses | South Africa | 56.5% | China · 25.6% | $23 million |
| Aluminum cans, drums and containers | South Africa | 99.8%over 75% | China · 0.16% | $22 million |
| Welded steel pipes | South Africa | 74.1% | China · 15.5% | $19 million |
| Pet and animal feed | South Africa | 76.7%over 75% | China · 4.6% | $19 million |
| Uncoated paper | South Africa | 81.2%over 75% | Zimbabwe · 7.6% | $18 million |
| Powdered and condensed milk | South Africa | 71.7% | United Arab Emirates · 9.8% | $16 million |
| Soap | South Africa | 65.2% | Kenya · 14.7% | $15 million |
| Other food preparations | South Africa | 51.4% | Zimbabwe · 12.1% | $13 million |
| Prepared explosives | South Africa | 94.8%over 75% | Mozambique · 2.5% | $13 million |
| Malt extract and food mixes | South Africa | 84.9%over 75% | Denmark · 4.1% | $13 million |
| Polishes and scouring creams | South Africa | 96.3%over 75% | Kenya · 2.3% | $12 million |
| Steel wire mesh, netting and fencing | South Africa | 82%over 75% | China · 16.4% | $12 million |
| Hydrogenated fats and oils | South Africa | 71.2% | Tanzania · 27.1% | $11 million |
| PVC and other vinyl polymers | South Africa | 54.5% | China · 30.7% | $11 million |
| Iron or steel pipe fittings | South Africa | 56.8% | China · 23% | $11 million |
| Fruit and vegetable juices | South Africa | 76.5%over 75% | Eswatini · 8.7% | $10 million |
| Sauces and condiments | South Africa | 84.4%over 75% | Kenya · 10.3% | $9 million |
| Toilet paper and tissues | South Africa | 59% | Tanzania · 20.1% | $9 million |
| Prefabricated buildings | South Africa | 52.2% | China · 21% | $9 million |
| Writing and printing paper | South Africa | 75.4%over 75% | China · 12.7% | $8 million |
| Steel wire | South Africa | 80.1%over 75% | China · 13% | $8 million |
| Margarine | South Africa | 53.9% | Kenya · 37.3% | $7 million |
| Particle board and OSB | South Africa | 97.2%over 75% | China · 1.9% | $7 million |
and 117 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?
- South Africa sells 0.61% of what the world exports of trailers; next come China (20.4%), Germany (17.8%) and United States (11.5%). The rest of the world exported 595.8 times what Zambia buys from South Africa.
- South Africa sells 0.72% of what the world exports of polypropylene; next come Saudi Arabia (11%), South Korea (10.2%) and United States (9.2%). The rest of the world exported 914.4 times what Zambia buys from South Africa.
- South Africa sells 0.23% of what the world exports of hot-rolled flat steel; next come China (28.1%), Japan (13.9%) and South Korea (9%). The rest of the world exported 1,662.6 times what Zambia buys from South Africa.
- South Africa sells 0.6% of what the world exports of beer; next come Mexico (37.5%), Netherlands (10.4%) and Belgium (9.8%). The rest of the world exported 458.4 times what Zambia buys from South Africa.
- South Africa sells 0.38% of what the world exports of fragrance mixtures; next come Ireland (35.9%), France (8.2%) and United States (8.2%). The rest of the world exported 1,091.7 times what Zambia buys from South Africa.
- South Africa sells 0.1% of what the world exports of batteries; next come China (50.8%), South Korea (6.1%) and United States (5.4%). The rest of the world exported 4,910.5 times what Zambia buys from South Africa.
- South Africa sells 0.24% of what the world exports of refrigerators, freezers and heat pumps; next come China (31.5%), Mexico (11.1%) and Italy (6.9%). The rest of the world exported 2,319.3 times what Zambia buys from South Africa.
- South Africa sells 0.43% of what the world exports of plastic pipes and hoses; next come Germany (13.9%), China (13.1%) and United States (12.3%). The rest of the world exported 1,415.7 times what Zambia buys from South Africa.
- South Africa sells 0.85% of what the world exports of aluminum cans, drums and containers; next come Germany (10.7%), United States (10.1%) and Czechia (6.8%). The rest of the world exported 331 times what Zambia buys from South Africa.
- South Africa sells 0.33% of what the world exports of welded steel pipes; next come Italy (14.9%), China (14.6%) and Germany (6.5%). The rest of the world exported 1,287.6 times what Zambia buys from South Africa.
Exports from the rest of the world already have buyers; the figure shows scale, not availability.
Seen from South Africa
Zambia is South Africa’s 13th-largest customer, with 1.9% of its exports.
Links
Sources and method
Sources and licenses
- CEPII BACI · Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0
- Natural Earth · Public domain
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.