Ethiopia (ETH) and South Africa (ZAF) Trade | The Observatory of Economic Complexity

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Ethiopia-South Africa Trade: In 2023, Ethiopia exported $9.85M to South Africa. The main products that Ethiopia exported to South Africa were Coffee ($4.96M), Dried Legumes ($2.24M), and Glass Bottles ($1.51M). Over the past 5 years the exports of Ethiopia to South Africa have increased at an annualized rate of 3.58%, from $8.26M in 2018 to $9.85M in 2023.

In 2023, Ethiopia did not export any services to South Africa.

South Africa-Ethiopia Trade: In 2023, South Africa exported $80.9M to Ethiopia. The main products that South Africa exported to Ethiopia were Coal Briquettes ($35.2M), Cars ($11M), and Stone Processing Machines ($2.92M). Over the past 5 years the exports of South Africa to Ethiopia have decreased at an annualized rate of 18.8%, from $229M in 2018 to $80.9M in 2023.

In 2023, South Africa did not export any services to Ethiopia.

Comparison: In 2023, Ethiopia ranked 101 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI -0.84), and 137 in total exports ($3.97B). That same year, South Africa ranked 59 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI 0.07), and 34 in total exports ($154B).

Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

Depth

HS2

HS4

HS6

Value

Trade

Growth

Growth (%)

Year

In 2023, Ethiopia exported $9.85M to South Africa. The main products exported from Ethiopia to South Africa were Coffee ($4.96M), Dried Legumes ($2.24M), and Glass Bottles ($1.51M). During the last 5 years the exports of Ethiopia to South Africa have increased at an annualized rate of 3.58%, from $8.26M in 2018 to $9.85M in 2023.

In 2018, South Africa exported $80.9M to Ethiopia. The main products exported from South Africa to Ethiopia were Coal Briquettes ($35.2M), Cars ($11M), and Stone Processing Machines ($2.92M). During the last 5 years the exports of South Africa to Ethiopia have decreased at an annualized rate of 18.8%, from $229M in 2023 to $80.9M in 2018.

Exports from Ethiopia () to South Africa () (2023)

Exports from South Africa () to Ethiopia () (2023)

Latest Data

Trade between Ethiopia () and South Africa ()

Ethiopia Exports

Date

South Africa Exports

Date

Market Competitiveness

Color

Exports

Export Growth

Section

Year

Ethiopia
Top DestinationUnited States$487M

South Africa
Top DestinationChina$29.5B

This map shows whether countries import more from Ethiopia or South Africa. Each country is colored based on the difference in imports they receive from Ethiopia and South Africa or the difference in the growth in imports.

In 2023, countries that imported more from Ethiopia than South Africa included Somalia ($142M), Djibouti ($155M), and Sudan ($52.8M).

In 2023, countries that imported more from South Africa than Ethiopia included China ($29.5B), United States ($13B), and India ($10.8B).

Difference in imports from South Africa () and Ethiopia () (2023)

Comparative Advantage Ethiopia - South Africa

Flow

Section

HS2

HS4

Scale

Log

Linear

Year

This chart compares trade between Ethiopia and South Africa by product, considering products traded by both, Ethiopia and South Africa.

During 2023, Ethiopia had a large net trade with South Africa in the exports of Vegetable Products ($7.69M), Stone And Glass ($1.54M), and Machines ($275k).

During 2018, South Africa had a large net trade with Ethiopia in the exports of Mineral Products ($35.2M), Transportation ($12.1M), and Machines ($10.7M).

Potential Exports

Depth

Section

HS2

HS4

View

Top 20

Top 15

Top 10

Sort By

Highest Potential

Most Saturated

Section

Top Product Potential Ethiopia South Africa+$5.19MCoffee

Top Product Potential South Africa Ethiopia+$13.4MCars

We estimate the export potential of an economy for each product and destination using an extension of the bilateral relatedness model of Jun et al. (2019).This extended gravity model considers similarities among products and geographies and explains more than 50% of the variance in future trade flows.

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Economic Complexity

Competitive Landscape

Year

This visualization shows the product space at the HS4 level with the flags of Ethiopia and South Africa. This means that a dot/product with the flag of Ethiopia indicates it has a comparative advantage over South Africa. Similarly, a dot/product with the flag of South Africa indicates it has a comparative advantage over Ethiopia.

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Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

Exports from Ethiopia () to South Africa () (2023)

Exports from South Africa () to Ethiopia () (2023)

Latest Data

Trade between Ethiopia () and South Africa ()

Ethiopia Exports

South Africa Exports

Market Competitiveness

Difference in imports from South Africa () and Ethiopia () (2023)

Comparative Advantage Ethiopia - South Africa

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Economic Complexity

Competitive Landscape

Product Space of Ethiopia () and South Africa () (2023)

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