Zimbabwe (ZWE) and South Africa (ZAF) Trade | The Observatory of Economic Complexity

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Zimbabwe-South Africa Trade: In 2023, Zimbabwe exported $1.39B to South Africa. The main products that Zimbabwe exported to South Africa were Nickel Mattes ($989M), Coke ($112M), and Platinum ($94.1M). Over the past 5 years the exports of Zimbabwe to South Africa have increased at an annualized rate of 9.78%, from $872M in 2018 to $1.39B in 2023.

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

South Africa-Zimbabwe Trade: In 2023, South Africa exported $3.47B to Zimbabwe. The main products that South Africa exported to Zimbabwe were Refined Petroleum ($151M), Corn ($142M), and Delivery Trucks ($98.3M). Over the past 5 years the exports of South Africa to Zimbabwe have increased at an annualized rate of 6.55%, from $2.53B in 2018 to $3.47B in 2023.

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

Comparison: In 2023, Zimbabwe ranked 110 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI -0.98), and 106 in total exports ($9.05B). 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, Zimbabwe exported $1.39B to South Africa. The main products exported from Zimbabwe to South Africa were Nickel Mattes ($989M), Coke ($112M), and Platinum ($94.1M). During the last 5 years the exports of Zimbabwe to South Africa have increased at an annualized rate of 9.78%, from $872M in 2018 to $1.39B in 2023.

In 2018, South Africa exported $3.47B to Zimbabwe. The main products exported from South Africa to Zimbabwe were Refined Petroleum ($151M), Corn ($142M), and Delivery Trucks ($98.3M). During the last 5 years the exports of South Africa to Zimbabwe have increased at an annualized rate of 6.55%, from $2.53B in 2023 to $3.47B in 2018.

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

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

Latest Data

Trade between Zimbabwe () and South Africa ()

Zimbabwe Exports

Date

South Africa Exports

Date

Market Competitiveness

Color

Exports

Export Growth

Section

Year

Zimbabwe
Top DestinationUnited Arab Emirates$4.1B

South Africa
Top DestinationChina$29.5B

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

In 2023, countries that imported more from Zimbabwe than South Africa included North Korea ($129k) and Tajikistan ($42k).

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

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

Comparative Advantage Zimbabwe - South Africa

Flow

Section

HS2

HS4

Scale

Log

Linear

Year

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

During 2023, Zimbabwe had a large net trade with South Africa in the exports of Metals ($1.01B), Mineral Products ($130M), and Precious Metals ($94.7M).

During 2018, South Africa had a large net trade with Zimbabwe in the exports of Machines ($721M), Chemical Products ($528M), and Mineral Products ($374M).

Potential Exports

Depth

Section

HS2

HS4

View

Top 20

Top 15

Top 10

Sort By

Highest Potential

Most Saturated

Section

Top Product Potential Zimbabwe South Africa+$5.3MFerroalloys

Top Product Potential South Africa Zimbabwe+$11MCars

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

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Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

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

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

Latest Data

Trade between Zimbabwe () and South Africa ()

Zimbabwe Exports

South Africa Exports

Market Competitiveness

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

Comparative Advantage Zimbabwe - South Africa

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Economic Complexity

Competitive Landscape

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

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