Rwanda (RWA) and South Africa (ZAF) Trade | The Observatory of Economic Complexity

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Rwanda-South Africa Trade: In 2022, Rwanda exported $2.86M to South Africa. The main products that Rwanda exported to South Africa were Coffee ($1.95M), Aircraft Parts ($257k), and Essential Oils ($233k). Over the past 5 years the exports of Rwanda to South Africa have increased at an annualized rate of 16.1%, from $1.36M in 2017 to $2.86M in 2022.

In 2022, Rwanda did not export any services to South Africa.

South Africa-Rwanda Trade: In 2022, South Africa exported $122M to Rwanda. The main products that South Africa exported to Rwanda were Gold ($65.9M), Electric Generating Sets ($7.15M), and Cars ($5.97M). Over the past 5 years the exports of South Africa to Rwanda have increased at an annualized rate of 10.9%, from $48.1M in 2017 to $122M in 2022.

In 2022, South Africa did not export any services to Rwanda.

Comparison: In 2022, Rwanda ranked 89 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI -0.53), and 147 in total exports ($1.77B). That same year, South Africa ranked 59 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI 0.076), and 34 in total exports ($147B).

Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

Depth

HS2

HS4

HS6

Value

Trade

Growth

Growth (%)

Year

In 2022, Rwanda exported $2.86M to South Africa. The main products exported from Rwanda to South Africa were Coffee ($1.95M), Aircraft Parts ($257k), and Essential Oils ($233k). During the last 5 years the exports of Rwanda to South Africa have increased at an annualized rate of 16.1%, from $1.36M in 2017 to $2.86M in 2022.

In 2017, South Africa exported $122M to Rwanda. The main products exported from South Africa to Rwanda were Gold ($65.9M), Electric Generating Sets ($7.15M), and Cars ($5.97M). During the last 5 years the exports of South Africa to Rwanda have increased at an annualized rate of 10.9%, from $48.1M in 2022 to $122M in 2017.

Exports from Rwanda () to South Africa () (2022)

Exports from South Africa () to Rwanda () (2022)

Latest Data

Trade between Rwanda () and South Africa ()

Rwanda Exports

Date

South Africa Exports

Date

Market Competitiveness

Color

Exports

Export Growth

Section

Year

Rwanda
Top DestinationUnited Arab Emirates$568M

South Africa
Top DestinationChina$23.4B

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

In 2022, countries that imported more from Rwanda than South Africa included South Sudan ($22M) and North Korea ($436k).

In 2022, countries that imported more from South Africa than Rwanda included China ($23.4B), United States ($10.9B), and Germany ($9.96B).

Difference in imports from South Africa () and Rwanda () (2022)

Comparative Advantage Rwanda - South Africa

Flow

Section

HS2

HS4

Scale

Log

Linear

Year

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

During 2022, Rwanda had a large net trade with South Africa in the exports of Vegetable Products ($1.96M), Transportation ($272k), and Chemical Products ($234k).

During 2017, South Africa had a large net trade with Rwanda in the exports of Precious Metals ($65.9M), Machines ($15.7M), and Transportation ($8.24M).

Potential Exports

Depth

Section

HS2

HS4

View

Top 20

Top 15

Top 10

Sort By

Highest Potential

Most Saturated

Section

Top Product Potential Rwanda South Africa+$1.06MCoffee

Top Product Potential South Africa Rwanda+$470kMotor vehicles; parts and accessories (8701 to 8705)

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

About

Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

Exports from Rwanda () to South Africa () (2022)

Exports from South Africa () to Rwanda () (2022)

Latest Data

Trade between Rwanda () and South Africa ()

Rwanda Exports

South Africa Exports

Market Competitiveness

Difference in imports from South Africa () and Rwanda () (2022)

Comparative Advantage Rwanda - South Africa

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Economic Complexity

Competitive Landscape

Product Space of Rwanda () and South Africa () (2022)

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