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Trade

Who trades what with whom in SADC

What each of the 16 countries sells and buys, from whom and to whom, product by product, from 2012 to 2024. Inside the region and with the world, with how much of it leaves as raw material.

SADC exports, 2024US$299bn1.3% of world goods exports
Sold to other SADC countriesUS$47.5bn15.9% of SADC exports, against 17.6% in 2012
SADC imports, 2024US$219bnUS$86.8bn of it manufactured goods from outside SADC
Exports sold raw39%of what SADC sells outside the region, against 20% of what members sell each other

Who sells to whom inside SADC

Exports from each country (rows) to each other member (columns), 2024. Click a country's name for its trade profile.

Exports, 2024:Under US$1mUS$1m–20mUS$20m–100mUS$100m–500mUS$500m–2bnUS$2bn and more
Buyers →Sellers ↓South AfricaMozambiqueZambiaNamibiaZimbabweBotswanaTanzaniaDRCEswatiniLesothoAngolaMauritiusMalawiMadagascarSeychellesComorosSouth AfricaUS$28bnMozambiqueUS$2bnZambiaUS$3bnNamibiaUS$3bnZimbabweUS$2bnBotswanaUS$608mTanzaniaUS$4bnDRCUS$620mEswatiniUS$2bnLesothoUS$479mAngolaUS$1bnMauritiusUS$873mMalawiUS$204mMadagascarUS$258mSeychellesUS$87mComorosUS$184kBought10.3bn7.0bn5.0bn4.3bn4.9bn5.5bn859m3.3bn1.7bn1.5bn589m803m1.1bn453m169m48mSold

South Africa is the largest seller to 14 of the other 15 members in 2024. Trade between SACU members (Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa) is free of duty under their customs union.

Source: CEPII BACI· Get the data (Professional)·dotzedw Insights Centre

The biggest flows inside SADC

The largest seller-to-buyer flows of goods between members, 2024

Source: CEPII BACI·dotzedw Insights Centre

The ten largest

Seller to buyer, 2024, and what the trade was mostly in

  1. South Africa → MozambiqueUS$6.4bnChrome ore, Ferro-alloys, Iron ore
  2. South Africa → BotswanaUS$4.3bnRefined fuels and oils, Diamonds, Trucks and vans
  3. South Africa → ZimbabweUS$3.8bnMaize, Refined fuels and oils, Natural gas and LPG
  4. South Africa → NamibiaUS$3.5bnTrucks and vans, Electricity, Maize
  5. South Africa → ZambiaUS$3.0bnTrucks and vans, Electricity, Mixed fertilisers
  6. Tanzania → South AfricaUS$2.3bnGold, Tobacco leaf, Other rail locomotives
  7. South Africa → EswatiniUS$1.7bnRefined fuels and oils, Electricity, Maize
  8. Eswatini → South AfricaUS$1.5bnFlavour and fragrance mixtures, Sugar, Chemical preparations and binders
  9. South Africa → LesothoUS$1.5bnRefined fuels and oils, Electricity, Maize and other flour
  10. Zimbabwe → South AfricaUS$1.4bnNickel mattes and intermediates, Coke, Chrome ore
Source: CEPII BACI·dotzedw Insights Centre

Trade inside SADC is a smaller share of exports than in 2012

Exports by SADC members to the world and to each other, US dollars, 2012 to 2024

0$100bn$200bn$300bn2012201420162018202020222024Exports to the worldUS$299bnImportsUS$219bnExports to SADCUS$47.5bn

Members sold each other US$47.5bn of goods in 2024, 15.9% of all they exported (17.6% in 2012). Outside the region, the biggest buyers were China, European Union and India; the biggest product groups were gold, diamonds and pgms, fuels and electricity and metals.

Source: CEPII BACI·dotzedw Insights Centre

What SADC sells, and to whom

Exports of all 16 members by product group and destination, 2024. Trade between members is the "SADC" band.

Ores and mineralsGold, diamonds and PGMsFuels and electricityMetalsFood and farm goodsChemicals, plastics and rubberMachinery and vehiclesTextiles, clothing and leatherOther goods
Ores and mineralsUS$29.6bn · 10%Gold, diamonds and PGMsUS$72.9bn · 24%Fuels and electricityUS$55.7bn · 19%MetalsUS$53.1bn · 18%Food and farm goodsUS$27.6bn · 9%Chemicals, plastics and rubberMachinery and vehiclesUS$28.9bn · 10%Textiles, clothing and leatherOther goodsSADCUS$47.5bn · 16%Rest of AfricaChinaUS$76.4bn · 26%European UnionUS$40.8bn · 14%United KingdomUnited StatesIndiaUS$26.2bn · 9%United Arab EmiratesSwitzerlandRest of the worldUS$42.4bn · 14%

Hover over a band or a name to follow it. Flows under 0.4% of the total (US$17.0bn in all) are not drawn.

Source: CEPII BACI·dotzedw Insights Centre

How much leaves SADC unprocessed

Each country's exports by stage of processing, 2024, most raw first. Click a country for its trade profile.

RawProcessed materialsManufactured goods
All SADC36%48%16%US$299bn
Angola85%US$43.5bn
Malawi84%US$983m
Botswana73%22%US$4.2bn
Comoros67%15%18%US$50m
Mozambique50%48%US$14.1bn
Zimbabwe43%54%US$8.0bn
Madagascar39%27%33%US$3.6bn
Lesotho39%52%US$1.1bn
Namibia39%44%17%US$7.9bn
Tanzania33%56%US$12.0bn
South Africa25%51%24%US$154bn
DRC19%81%US$29.6bn
Zambia12%83%US$14.7bn
Mauritius36%53%US$2.5bn
Seychelles28%62%US$902m
Eswatini70%22%US$2.2bn

Raw: unprocessed farm goods, ores, minerals, crude oil, coal and gas. Processed materials: refined metals and fuels, chemicals, processed farm goods for industry. Refined gold counts here. Manufactured goods: machinery, vehicles, parts, consumer goods and packaged food. Not classified: monetary gold and goods not elsewhere classified.

Source: UN Broad Economic Categories applied to CEPII BACI·dotzedw Insights Centre

Go deeper

Part of the Individual plan

Value chains

29 chains from ore or crop to finished goods: copper, cobalt, lithium, chrome, cotton, cashews and more. Who sells raw, who processes, and who buys the finished goods back.

Opportunities

914 products a SADC country buys from outside the region that a neighbour already sells competitively, with the agreement they would trade under.

Agreements

SACU, the SADC FTA, COMESA, the EAC, the Tripartite FTA and the AfCFTA, with the EU and UK deals, AGOA and China's zero tariffs: who is in, since when, and the trade between members.

Each country's trade

AngolaBotswanaComorosDRCEswatiniLesothoMadagascarMalawiMauritiusMozambiqueNamibiaSeychellesSouth AfricaTanzaniaZambiaZimbabwe

CEPII BACI, built from UN Comtrade with each flow reconciled between exporter and importer (Etalab Open Licence 2.0). Values in current US dollars; exports valued free on board. Figures can differ from national statistics, and include non-monetary gold. Data release 202601. About the data