Uganda (UGA) and South Africa (ZAF) Trade | The Observatory of Economic Complexity

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Uganda-South Africa Trade: In 2023, Uganda exported $13.3M to South Africa. The main products that Uganda exported to South Africa were Coffee ($5.2M), Packaged Medicaments ($3.09M), and Other live plants, cuttings and slips; mushroom spawn ($1.44M). Over the past 5 years the exports of Uganda to South Africa have increased at an annualized rate of 8.55%, from $8.85M in 2018 to $13.3M in 2023.

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

South Africa-Uganda Trade: In 2023, South Africa exported $300M to Uganda. The main products that South Africa exported to Uganda were Gold ($132M), Semi-Finished Iron ($13.7M), and Delivery Trucks ($12.8M). Over the past 5 years the exports of South Africa to Uganda have increased at an annualized rate of 0.43%, from $294M in 2018 to $300M in 2023.

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

Comparison: In 2023, Uganda ranked 91 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI -0.62), and 116 in total exports ($7.12B). 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, Uganda exported $13.3M to South Africa. The main products exported from Uganda to South Africa were Coffee ($5.2M), Packaged Medicaments ($3.09M), and Other live plants, cuttings and slips; mushroom spawn ($1.44M). During the last 5 years the exports of Uganda to South Africa have increased at an annualized rate of 8.55%, from $8.85M in 2018 to $13.3M in 2023.

In 2018, South Africa exported $300M to Uganda. The main products exported from South Africa to Uganda were Gold ($132M), Semi-Finished Iron ($13.7M), and Delivery Trucks ($12.8M). During the last 5 years the exports of South Africa to Uganda have increased at an annualized rate of 0.43%, from $294M in 2023 to $300M in 2018.

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

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

Latest Data

Trade between Uganda () and South Africa ()

Uganda Exports

Date

South Africa Exports

Date

Market Competitiveness

Color

Exports

Export Growth

Section

Year

Uganda
Top DestinationIndia$1.5B

South Africa
Top DestinationChina$29.5B

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

In 2023, countries that imported more from Uganda than South Africa included South Sudan ($536M), Rwanda ($280M), and Sudan ($116M).

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

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

Comparative Advantage Uganda - South Africa

Flow

Section

HS2

HS4

Scale

Log

Linear

Year

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

During 2023, Uganda had a large net trade with South Africa in the exports of Vegetable Products ($6.71M), Chemical Products ($3.2M), and Foodstuffs ($1.83M).

During 2018, South Africa had a large net trade with Uganda in the exports of Precious Metals ($132M), Machines ($36.2M), and Metals ($29.6M).

Potential Exports

Depth

Section

HS2

HS4

View

Top 20

Top 15

Top 10

Sort By

Highest Potential

Most Saturated

Section

Top Product Potential Uganda South Africa+$3.52MCoffee

Top Product Potential South Africa Uganda+$4.77MDelivery 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 Uganda and South Africa. This means that a dot/product with the flag of Uganda 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 Uganda.

About

Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

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

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

Latest Data

Trade between Uganda () and South Africa ()

Uganda Exports

South Africa Exports

Market Competitiveness

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

Comparative Advantage Uganda - South Africa

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Economic Complexity

Competitive Landscape

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

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