What Botswana sells and buys, and with whom
Botswana exported US$4.2bn of goods in 2024 and imported US$6.5bn, a deficit of US$2.3bn. 15% of its exports went to other SADC countries, which supplied 85% of its imports.
Botswana's trade since 2012
Exports and imports of goods, and exports to other SADC countries, US dollars
Who buys from Botswana
Exports by destination, 2024. India takes 28%.
What Botswana sells, and to whom
Exports by product group and partner, 2024
Hover over a band or a name to follow it. Flows under 0.4% of the total (US$67m in all) are not drawn.
Botswana's main exports
Top products (four-digit HS headings), 2024, with the value five years before
Trade with each SADC neighbour
2024, with the main products each way| Neighbour | Botswana sold | Botswana bought | Balance | Mostly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | US$487m | US$4.3bn | −US$3.8bn | Sold insulated wire and cable; bought refined fuels and oils · more |
| Namibia | US$32m | US$973m | −US$940m | Sold insulated wire and cable; bought diamonds · more |
| Zambia | US$21m | US$128m | −US$107m | Sold salt and pure sodium chloride; bought electricity · more |
| Zimbabwe | US$45m | US$39m | +US$5.5m | Sold salt and pure sodium chloride; bought sugar · more |
| Angola | US$4.6m | US$19m | −US$15m | Sold prefabricated buildings; bought diamonds · more |
| Mozambique | US$3.3m | US$19m | −US$16m | Sold plastic packaging; bought electricity · more |
| Lesotho | US$8.9m | US$2.8m | +US$6.1m | Sold tube or pipe fittings, of iron or steel; bought cotton, carded or combed · more |
| Malawi | US$4.8m | US$1.2m | +US$3.6m | Sold salt and pure sodium chloride; bought tea · more |
| Mauritius | US$1.7m | US$62k | +US$1.6m | Sold medicines; bought aluminium structures and parts of structures · more |
| Tanzania | US$292k | US$802k | −US$509k | Sold footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather or…; bought forklifts · more |
| Madagascar | US$0 | US$38k | −US$38k | bought refined fuels and oils · more |
| Seychelles | US$24k | US$0 | +US$24k | Sold computers · more |
How processed Botswana's trade is
Exports and imports by stage of processing, 2024
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.
Analysis: Botswana's value-addition balance and openings
For members: where Botswana earns and spends at each stage of processing, with SADC and with the world; how much rides on a few products and buyers; what it is competitive in; which exports grew or shrank; where its exports meet preferential terms; and the products it could sell to neighbours, or buy from them instead of from outside the region.
The trade analysis for Botswana is part of the Individual plan
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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. About the data