South Africa vs Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Merchandise imports, WB

South Africa
115.00 billion current US$
in 2009
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
298.08 billion current US$
in 2009
South Africa rank
1st
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank
3rd

Merchandise imports, WB over time

  • South Africa
  • Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
0100.0B200.0B300.0B196519872009

How they compare

Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) currently reports 298.08 billion current US$ against 115.00 billion current US$ in South Africa, a difference of 183.08 billion current US$.

That makes Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)'s figure about 2.6 times South Africa's.

Across all 30 years both countries report, Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) has been ahead every year.

South Africa ranks 1st and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 3rd of 51 countries.

Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Africa Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) Difference Ahead
1980s 17.99 billion current US$ 57.58 billion current US$ 39.59 billion current US$ Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
1990s 33.01 billion current US$ 80.60 billion current US$ 47.59 billion current US$ Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
2000s 60.46 billion current US$ 174.29 billion current US$ 113.84 billion current US$ Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher merchandise imports, wb, South Africa or Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), at 298.08 billion current US$ against 115.00 billion current US$ in South Africa as of 2009.
What is the difference in merchandise imports, wb between South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
183.08 billion current US$, with Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
30 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2009.
How do South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank globally for merchandise imports, wb?
South Africa ranks 1st and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 3rd of 51 countries.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank country economists, published as Merchandise imports, WB (current US$). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

South Africa vs Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Merchandise imports, WB. Statizoid, drawing on World Bank country economists. Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://trade.statizoid.com/compare/merchandise-imports-wb-current-us/south-africa/sub-saharan-africa-excluding-high-income/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://trade.statizoid.com/compare/merchandise-imports-wb-current-us/south-africa/sub-saharan-africa-excluding-high-income/">South Africa vs Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Merchandise imports, WB</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Merchandise imports, WB (current US$)
Unit
current US$
Source
World Bank country economists
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
57 places, 1,786 data points, 1965–2011
Last refreshed

Total merchandise imports, cif (includes freight and insurance costs) in current US dollars.