Merchandise imports in South Africa
South Africa: Merchandise imports was 26.58 billion constant US$ in 2009. β² Rising
Merchandise imports in South Africa, 1965β2009
Source: World Bank country economists. Measured in constant US$.
Analysis
In 2009, merchandise imports in South Africa stood at 26.58 billion constant US$.
That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and up 25.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports in South Africa peaked at 31.51 billion constant US$ in 1993 and was at its lowest, 4.05 billion constant US$, in 1980.
That places South Africa 3rd out of 45 countries with data for 2009, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 16.12 billion constant US$ | 14.07 billion constant US$ | 19.44 billion constant US$ | 5 |
| 1970s | 11.57 billion constant US$ | 5.27 billion constant US$ | 18.64 billion constant US$ | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.53 billion constant US$ | 4.05 billion constant US$ | 12.66 billion constant US$ | 10 |
| 1990s | 23.31 billion constant US$ | 18.25 billion constant US$ | 31.51 billion constant US$ | 10 |
| 2000s | 23.49 billion constant US$ | 17.61 billion constant US$ | 26.58 billion constant US$ | 10 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More trade data for South Africa
- Commodity Net Export Price Index, Individual Commodities Weighted by 109.35 (2025)
- Commodity Net Export Price Index, Individual Commodities Weighted by 100.81 (2025)
- Commodity Export Price Index, Individual Commodites Weighted by Ratio 99.79 (2025)
- Commodity Export Price Index, Individual Commodites Weighted by Ratio 95.89 (2025)
- Commodity Import Price Index, Individual Commodites Weighted by Ratio 98.98 (2025)
- Commodity Import Price Index, Individual Commodites Weighted by Ratio 77.42 (2025)
- Imports of low carbon technology products, Percent of GDP 1.03 (2024)
- Exports of low carbon technology products, US dollar 1.75 billion (2024)
- Imports of low carbon technology products, US dollar 4.11 billion (2024)
- Trade balance in low carbon technology products, US dollar -2.36 billion (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports in South Africa?
- Merchandise imports in South Africa was 26.58 billion constant US$ in 2009, according to World Bank country economists.
- What is the highest merchandise imports recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 31.51 billion constant US$ in 1993.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.05 billion constant US$ in 1980.
- How does South Africa rank for merchandise imports?
- South Africa ranks 3rd out of 45 countries with data for 2009.
- Is merchandise imports rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank country economists, published as part of Merchandise imports (constant US$). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Total merchandise imports, cif (includes freight and insurance costs) in 1987 constant US dollars.