Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa

Exports (2022)$199B
Imports (2022)$266B
Main Exporter (2022)Egypt $53.9B
Main Importer (2022)Egypt$95.7B
Internal Trade (2022)7.02%of total trade

About

Overview COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) is a Customs Union composed by Egypt, Libya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Sudan, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mauritius, Eswatini, Rwanda, Malawi, Seychelles, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Burundi, and Comoros. In 2019, COMESA exported $199B (0.84% of global exports) and imported $266B (1.12% of global imports). Its largest exporter, Egypt exported $53.9B, which corresponds to 27.1% of the total exports. On the other hand, the largest importer, Egypt, imported $95.7B, which is 35.9% of the total imports of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.

Trade In 2022, COMESA's most exported products were Petroleum oils, oils from bituminous minerals, crude ($35.6B), Copper cathodes and sections of cathodes unwrought ($18.5B), Gold in unwrought forms non-monetary ($12.2B), Natural gas, liquefied ($9.29B), and Unrefined copper, copper anodes, electrolytic refinin ($7.98B). The same year, the most imported products were Oils petroleum, bituminous, distillates, except crude ($28B), Petroleum oils, oils from bituminous minerals, crude ($4.64B), Durum wheat ($4.49B), Wheat except durum wheat, and meslin ($4.22B), and Transmit-receive apparatus for radio, TV, etc. ($4.1B).

Partners In 2022, COMESA's exports went primarly to China ($24.9B), Italy ($17.9B), United Arab Emirates ($17.6B), France ($10.7B), and United States ($9.13B). The same year, COMESA's imported primarily from China ($50.2B), United Arab Emirates ($21.6B), India ($15.7B), Turkey ($11.9B), and South Africa ($11.6B).

Historical Data

Organization Composition

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Value

The following section shows the trade patterns over time for all the countries that comprise the organization, using historical dataset.

Yearly Exports of COMESA

Internal Trade

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Internal Trade includes all trade between the countries that comprise this organization.

In 2022, the top internal exports of COMESA were Refined Copper ($627M), Nitrogenous Fertilizers ($566M), Palm Oil ($474M), Refined Petroleum ($430M), and Cement ($382M).

The same year, the principal destinations of internal exports were Democratic Republic of the Congo ($2.33B), Libya ($1.76B), Egypt ($1.49B), Kenya ($1.16B), and Ethiopia ($1.04B).

Internal Exports (2021)
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Internal Destinations (2021)
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External Trade

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Depth

External trade includes all world trade excluding the countries that comprise this organization.

In 2022, the top external exports of COMESA were China ($24.9B), Italy ($17.9B), United Arab Emirates ($17.6B), France ($10.7B), and United States ($9.13B).

The same year, the principal destinations of external exports were Crude Petroleum ($35.6B), Refined Copper ($18.5B), Gold ($14.1B), Petroleum Gas ($12.6B), and Raw Copper ($7.98B).

External Exports (2021)
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External Destinations (2021)
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Total Trade

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Depth
Top Export (2022)Crude Petroleum$35.6B
Top Destination (2022)China$24.9B

In 2022, COMESA exported a total of $199B. During the last five reported years the exports of COMESA have changed by $70.6B from $129B in 2017 to $199B in 2022.

The most recent exports are led by Crude Petroleum ($35.6B), Refined Copper ($19.1B), Gold ($14.3B), Petroleum Gas ($12.7B), and Raw Copper ($7.98B). The most common destination for the exports of COMESA are China ($24.9B), Italy ($17.9B), United Arab Emirates ($17.6B), France ($10.7B), and United States ($9.13B).

Exports (2021)
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Destinations (2021)
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Largest Export by Country

Indicator

The following visualization shows the principal export per country, the product which has grown the most over the past 5 years or the product in which the country has a higher level of specialization, measured by the RCA Index.

Biggest export by country (2021)

Trade between organizations

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Depth

This visualization show trade between international organizations. The default selection shows the trade with the rest of the world.

Exports (2021)

Destinations (2021)

Economic Complexity

Complexity and Country Indicators

Indicator

This visualization compares the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) with different indicators about country development such as GDP per capita or Inflation. For more information about ECI, check the Methods page.

In 2022, the countries with higher complexity that belong to Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa were Tunisia (0.22), Egypt (-0.12), Kenya (-0.48), Zambia (-0.8), and Libya (-0.85).

On the other hand, the countries with higher GDP per capita were Seychelles ($15.9k), Mauritius ($10.2k), Libya ($6.72k), Egypt ($4.3k), and Eswatini ($4.04k).

Finally, the biggest exporters of COMESA were Egypt ($53.9B), Libya ($36B), Democratic Republic of the Congo ($28.5B), Tunisia ($21.6B), and Zambia ($14.8B).

GDP per capita v/s ECI for countries that comprise Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (2022)

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