Ghana (GHA) and South Africa (ZAF) Trade | The Observatory of Economic Complexity

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Ghana-South Africa Trade: In 2023, Ghana exported $1.85B to South Africa. The main products that Ghana exported to South Africa were Gold ($1.66B), Crude Petroleum ($164M), and Rubber ($3.42M). Over the past 5 years the exports of Ghana to South Africa have increased at an annualized rate of 3.09%, from $1.59B in 2018 to $1.85B in 2023.

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

South Africa-Ghana Trade: In 2023, South Africa exported $394M to Ghana. The main products that South Africa exported to Ghana were Hot-Rolled Iron Bars ($63.1M), Delivery Trucks ($29.5M), and Refined Petroleum ($15.1M). Over the past 5 years the exports of South Africa to Ghana have increased at an annualized rate of 0.49%, from $384M in 2018 to $394M in 2023.

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

Comparison: In 2023, Ghana ranked 109 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI -0.97), and 71 in total exports ($27.1B). 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, Ghana exported $1.85B to South Africa. The main products exported from Ghana to South Africa were Gold ($1.66B), Crude Petroleum ($164M), and Rubber ($3.42M). During the last 5 years the exports of Ghana to South Africa have increased at an annualized rate of 3.09%, from $1.59B in 2018 to $1.85B in 2023.

In 2018, South Africa exported $394M to Ghana. The main products exported from South Africa to Ghana were Hot-Rolled Iron Bars ($63.1M), Delivery Trucks ($29.5M), and Refined Petroleum ($15.1M). During the last 5 years the exports of South Africa to Ghana have increased at an annualized rate of 0.49%, from $384M in 2023 to $394M in 2018.

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

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

Latest Data

Trade between Ghana () and South Africa ()

Ghana Exports

Date

South Africa Exports

Date

Market Competitiveness

Color

Exports

Export Growth

Section

Year

Ghana
Top DestinationSwitzerland$6.49B

South Africa
Top DestinationChina$29.5B

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

In 2023, countries that imported more from Ghana than South Africa included Switzerland ($6.49B), Burkina Faso ($574M), and United Arab Emirates ($4.93B).

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

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

Comparative Advantage Ghana - South Africa

Flow

Section

HS2

HS4

Scale

Log

Linear

Year

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

During 2023, Ghana had a large net trade with South Africa in the exports of Precious Metals ($1.67B), Mineral Products ($165M), and Foodstuffs ($4.42M).

During 2018, South Africa had a large net trade with Ghana in the exports of Metals ($115M), Machines ($74.5M), and Chemical Products ($69.1M).

Potential Exports

Depth

Section

HS2

HS4

View

Top 20

Top 15

Top 10

Sort By

Highest Potential

Most Saturated

Section

Top Product Potential Ghana South Africa+$50.1MCrude Petroleum

Top Product Potential South Africa Ghana+$8.04MDelivery Trucks

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 Ghana and South Africa. This means that a dot/product with the flag of Ghana 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 Ghana.

About

Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

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

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

Latest Data

Trade between Ghana () and South Africa ()

Ghana Exports

South Africa Exports

Market Competitiveness

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

Comparative Advantage Ghana - South Africa

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Economic Complexity

Competitive Landscape

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

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