Malawi (MWI) and South Africa (ZAF) Trade | The Observatory of Economic Complexity

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Malawi-South Africa Trade: In 2023, Malawi exported $48.2M to South Africa. The main products that Malawi exported to South Africa were Tea ($14.7M), Ground Nuts ($5.49M), and Other Nuts ($4.64M). Over the past 5 years the exports of Malawi to South Africa have decreased at an annualized rate of 5.12%, from $62.7M in 2018 to $48.2M in 2023.

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

South Africa-Malawi Trade: In 2023, South Africa exported $502M to Malawi. The main products that South Africa exported to Malawi were Cars ($30.3M), Documents of title (bonds etc) and unused stamps ($28.3M), and Propylene Polymers ($26.4M). Over the past 5 years the exports of South Africa to Malawi have decreased at an annualized rate of 0.58%, from $517M in 2018 to $502M in 2023.

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

Comparison In 2023, Malawi ranked 163 in total exports ($922M), and does not have data regarding Economic Complexity Index. 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, Malawi exported $48.2M to South Africa. The main products exported from Malawi to South Africa were Tea ($14.7M), Ground Nuts ($5.49M), and Other Nuts ($4.64M). During the last 5 years the exports of Malawi to South Africa have decreased at an annualized rate of 5.12%, from $62.7M in 2018 to $48.2M in 2023.

In 2018, South Africa exported $502M to Malawi. The main products exported from South Africa to Malawi were Cars ($30.3M), Documents of title (bonds etc) and unused stamps ($28.3M), and Propylene Polymers ($26.4M). During the last 5 years the exports of South Africa to Malawi have decreased at an annualized rate of 0.58%, from $517M in 2023 to $502M in 2018.

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

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

Latest Data

Trade between Malawi () and South Africa ()

Malawi Exports

Date

South Africa Exports

Date

Market Competitiveness

Color

Exports

Export Growth

Section

Year

Malawi
Top DestinationGermany$99.1M

South Africa
Top DestinationChina$29.5B

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

In 2023, no countries were registered that imported more from Malawi than from South Africa.

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

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

Comparative Advantage Malawi - South Africa

Flow

Section

HS2

HS4

Scale

Log

Linear

Year

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

During 2023, Malawi had a large net trade with South Africa in the exports of Vegetable Products ($29.4M), Transportation ($3.96M), and Foodstuffs ($3.8M).

During 2018, South Africa had a large net trade with Malawi in the exports of Chemical Products ($77.3M), Plastics and Rubbers ($72.3M), and Machines ($68M).

Potential Exports

Depth

Section

HS2

HS4

View

Top 20

Top 15

Top 10

Sort By

Highest Potential

Most Saturated

Section

Top Product Potential Malawi South Africa+$918kDried Legumes

Top Product Potential South Africa Malawi+$2.88MCars

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

About

Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

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

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

Latest Data

Trade between Malawi () and South Africa ()

Malawi Exports

South Africa Exports

Market Competitiveness

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

Comparative Advantage Malawi - South Africa

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Economic Complexity

Competitive Landscape

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

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