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Insights Centre
Sectors

Manufacturing

Where factories cluster, which zones are filling up, what each country makes and where value addition is missing.

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Value added by manufacturing across SADCUS$92.9bn11.8% of output · +0.0% a year, last five years
SADC exports of the pillar's goodsUS$87.4bn2024
Deals in the last 12 months26US$610m where the value is confirmed · 67 tracked in all
Subsectors109 with trade data

What this page answers

  • Where do factories cluster, and which industrial zones are filling up?
  • Is output rising or falling?
  • What does each country make and export, and where are the gaps?
  • Who is investing in new plants?

South Africa has SADC's largest manufacturing sector, at US$51.3bn

Value added by manufacturing, US$, latest year, with its share of each economy

South AfricaUS$51.3bn14.2% of the economy
AngolaUS$8.9bn7.8% of the economy
ZimbabweUS$7.1bn16.5% of the economy
DRCUS$6.2bn8.8% of the economy
TanzaniaUS$5.9bn7.8% of the economy
ZambiaUS$2.3bn9.5% of the economy
MadagascarUS$2.1bn13.3% of the economy
MauritiusUS$1.7bn12.9% of the economy
MozambiqueUS$1.5bn7.3% of the economy
EswatiniUS$1.4bn31.2% of the economy
NamibiaUS$1.4bn11.7% of the economy
MalawiUS$1.4bn12.3% of the economy
BotswanaUS$1.1bn5.9% of the economy
LesothoUS$289m14.0% of the economy
ComorosUS$137m9.1% of the economy
SeychellesUS$90m4.9% of the economy
Source: UN Statistics Division·dotzedw Insights Centre

South Africa leads SADC on manufacturing (us$)

Manufacturing, value added (US$), US$, latest year for each country. Click a bar for that country's manufacturing page.

$0$2bn$4bn$6bn$8bn$10bnSouth Africa$52.3bnAngola$8.3bnZimbabwe$7.6bnDRC$7.2bnTanzania$6.6bn (2023)Zambia$2.5bnMadagascar$2.3bn (2024)Mauritius$1.8bnNamibia$1.5bnEswatini$1.4bnMozambique$1.4bnMalawi$1.2bn (2024)Botswana$1.1bnLesotho$288.6m (2024)Comoros$130.1mSeychelles$129.1mAxis cut: longest bar not to scalemedian $1.7bn

Source: World Bank·dotzedw Insights Centre

Where it sits

Output per worker in each country

South Africa gets the most from each worker in manufacturing

Value added per person working in manufacturing, US$, 2024, with the industry's share of each country's jobs and output. SADC median US$8,363.

South AfricaUS$29,40510% of jobs, 14% of output
EswatiniUS$29,23118% of jobs, 31% of output
AngolaUS$26,4633% of jobs, 8% of output
MauritiusUS$25,33511% of jobs, 13% of output
ZimbabweUS$24,2565% of jobs, 17% of output
NamibiaUS$22,5837% of jobs, 12% of output
BotswanaUS$18,5257% of jobs, 6% of output
ComorosUS$8,3636% of jobs, 9% of output
ZambiaUS$6,3815% of jobs, 10% of output
MalawiUS$5,2963% of jobs, 12% of output
TanzaniaUS$4,4054% of jobs, 8% of output
MozambiqueUS$3,8793% of jobs, 7% of output
DRCUS$3,5085% of jobs, 9% of output
MadagascarUS$2,5155% of jobs, 13% of output
LesothoUS$1,88421% of jobs, 14% of output
Source: UN Statistics Division and ILO·dotzedw Insights Centre

Choose a country in the header for output by province where it is published.

Subsectors

10 in this pillar

Food and beverages

Tracks
Mills, breweries, bottlers, sugar mills, dairies and meat plants; plant openings; processed against raw food exports.
Signals ahead
Harvest size, plant expansions, import duties.

Select a figure for its trend. Source: CEPII BACI, dotzedw deals tracker.

Trade in detail

SADC sold US$7.2bn of food and beverages abroad in 2024, up 21.4% on five years earlier

Exports and imports of the products in this subsector by the 16 SADC countries, US$ (HS 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)

0$2bn$4bn$6bn$8bn2012201420162018202020222024ExportsUS$7.2bnImportsUS$8.2bn
Source: CEPII BACI·dotzedw Insights Centre

Largest exporters, 2024

South AfricaUS$4.1bn
MauritiusUS$605m
EswatiniUS$563m
ZambiaUS$386m
DRCUS$355m
SeychellesUS$244m
TanzaniaUS$235m
MadagascarUS$195m

Where the exports go

SADCUS$3.4bn
European UnionUS$1.4bn
Rest of the worldUS$848m
United KingdomUS$503m
United StatesUS$380m
Rest of AfricaUS$322m
United Arab EmiratesUS$107m
IndiaUS$84m

Main products, 2024

Sugar (170114)US$700m
Prepared fish (160414)US$573m
Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted (180100)US$521m
Wine (220421)US$463m
Sugar (170113)US$326m
Soft drinks (220210)US$323m

Each country's trade in food and beverages every year since 2012, by partner is part of the Individual plan

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Open these deals in the deals tracker

What SADC sells abroad across manufacturing

SADC exports by subsector, 2024, US$. A product can count in two subsectors.

Metals, smelting and refiningUS$52.1bn+62% on five years earlier
Automotive and componentsUS$15.3bn+24% on five years earlier
Food and beveragesUS$7.2bn+21% on five years earlier
Textiles, clothing and footwearUS$4.2bn-8% on five years earlier
Chemicals and fertiliserUS$4.0bn-2% on five years earlier
Packaging, plastics and paperUS$2.6bn+3% on five years earlier
Electrical goods, batteries and solarUS$883m+42% on five years earlier
PharmaceuticalsUS$619m+10% on five years earlier
Cement and building materialsUS$515m+51% on five years earlier
Source: CEPII BACI·dotzedw Insights Centre

Who is moving

Open in the deals tracker

26 deals in the last 12 months across SADC, placed in subsectors by what they say.

Sources and method