Sign In
Pricing

2021
Economic Complexity
Trade -0.78Rank 98 of 131
2021
Economic Complexity
Research -0.57Rank 98 of 140
2021
Product
Exports | Imports $7.5B | $7.4B107 of 226 |  124 of 226
2021
Per Capita Product
Exports | Imports $469 | $462103 of 220 |  181 of 220

About

Overview In 2021, Zimbabwe was the number 104 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 107 in total exports, the number 124 in total imports, the number 168 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 98 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Zimbabwe are Gold ($3.51B), Nickel Mattes ($1.25B), Raw Tobacco ($863M), Ferroalloys ($380M), and Diamonds ($235M), exporting mostly to United Arab Emirates ($3.69B), South Africa ($1.88B), China ($537M), Mozambique ($498M), and Belgium ($174M).

Imports The top imports of Zimbabwe are Refined Petroleum ($1.08B), Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($261M), Delivery Trucks ($206M), Nitrogenous Fertilizers ($187M), and Soybean Oil ($184M), importing mostly from South Africa ($3B), China ($992M), Singapore ($963M), United Arab Emirates ($294M), and Mozambique ($266M).

Location Zimbabwe borders Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia by land.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

Flow
View
Y-AXIS SCALE

The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Zimbabwe.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

Subscribe today to OEC pro and access the latest data

Sign Up

Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

Subscribe today to OEC pro and access the latest data

Sign Up

Subscribe today to OEC pro and access the latest data

Sign Up

Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2021)Gold$3.51B
Top Destination (2021)United Arab Emirates$3.69B

In 2021, Zimbabwe exported a total of $7.5B, making it the number 107 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Zimbabwe have changed by $4.58B from $2.92B in 2016 to $7.5B in 2021.

The most recent exports are led by Gold ($3.51B), Nickel Mattes ($1.25B), Raw Tobacco ($863M), Ferroalloys ($380M), and Diamonds ($235M). The most common destination for the exports of Zimbabwe are United Arab Emirates ($3.69B), South Africa ($1.88B), China ($537M), Mozambique ($498M), and Belgium ($174M).

Explore Visualizations

Exports (2021)
[Click to Select a Product]

Destinations (2021)
[Click to Select a Country]

Market Growth

Flow
View
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2020 - 2021)
United Arab Emirates$1.74B (+ 88.6%)
South Africa$1.31B (+ 226%)
China$345M (+ 180%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2020 - 2021)
South Africa$707M (+ 30.8%)
Singapore$456M (+ 90%)
China$444M (+ 81.1%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2020 - 2021)

Service Trade

Service Trade

Zimbabwe Exports Services (2015)$387M
Zimbabwe Imports Services (2015)$1.53B

In 2015, Zimbabwe exported $387M worth of services. The top services exported by Zimbabwe in 2015 were Personal travel ($143M), Other transport ($75M), Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services ($71.6M), Government services, n.i.e. ($46M), and Business travel ($31.9M).

The top services imported by Zimbabwe in 2015 were Personal travel ($467M), Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services ($457M), Other transport ($379M), Air transport ($75.9M), and Government services, n.i.e. ($56.7M).

Service Exports (2015)

Service Imports (2015)

Economic Complexity

Overview

Economic Complexity (Trade)-0.78Rank 98 of 131
Economic Complexity (Research)-0.57Rank 98 of 140

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Zimbabwe has a high level of specialization in Nickel Mattes (391), Raw Tobacco (255), Chromium Ore (160), Granite (114), and Nickel Ore (86). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Zimbabwe observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

The highest complexity exports of Zimbabwe according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Platinum; unwrought or in semi-manufactured forms, or in powder form (0.57), Articles of goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares and parts thereof, of precious metal... (0.4), Railway or tramway coaches; passenger coaches, luggage vans, post office coaches and... (0.35), Paper and paperboard, corrugated (with or without glued flat surface sheets), creped,... (0.037), and Tar distilled from coal, from lignite, peat and other mineral tars, whether... (-0.027). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for Zimbabwe according to the relatedness index, were Manganese Ore (0.12), Tin Ores (0.11), Coal Briquettes (0.1), Insect Resins (0.093), and Dried Legumes (0.093). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Zimbabwe is not specialized in.

Product Space

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Zimbabwe. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Zimbabwe exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Diversification Frontier

Filter
Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Economic Complexity Ranking

Methodology
Scale

During the last 20 years Zimbabwe's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨66th to the 98th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

Explore Rankings

ECI (Trade) Ranking by Country

Keep Exploring

Have questions, comments, or concerns?
Send us an e-mail: [email protected]
Follow @OECtoday on
Created, Designed, and Developed by:
In collaboration with
About the OECPrivacy PolicyTerms