What Zambia sells and buys, and with whom
Zambia exported US$14.7bn of goods in 2024 and imported US$11.9bn, a surplus of US$2.8bn. 20% of its exports went to other SADC countries, which supplied 42% of its imports.
Zambia's trade since 2012
Exports and imports of goods, and exports to other SADC countries, US dollars
Who buys from Zambia
Exports by destination, 2024. Switzerland takes 33%.
What Zambia 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$374m in all) are not drawn.
Zambia'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 | Zambia sold | Zambia bought | Balance | Mostly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | US$520m | US$3.0bn | −US$2.5bn | Sold refined copper; bought trucks and vans · more |
| DRC | US$1.2bn | US$320m | +US$881m | Sold soft drinks; bought copper ore · more |
| Namibia | US$361m | US$476m | −US$115m | Sold nickel ore; bought frozen fish · more |
| Tanzania | US$187m | US$519m | −US$332m | Sold mixed fertilisers; bought refined fuels and oils · more |
| Zimbabwe | US$314m | US$171m | +US$143m | Sold cement; bought cigarettes · more |
| Mozambique | US$41m | US$234m | −US$193m | Sold steel bars; bought electricity · more |
| Mauritius | US$22m | US$157m | −US$135m | Sold copper ore; bought refined fuels and oils · more |
| Botswana | US$128m | US$21m | +US$107m | Sold electricity; bought salt and pure sodium chloride · more |
| Malawi | US$123m | US$21m | +US$102m | Sold tobacco leaf; bought plastic sheets · more |
| Eswatini | US$688k | US$29m | −US$29m | Sold maize; bought flavour and fragrance mixtures · more |
| Angola | US$8.4m | US$3.2m | +US$5.2m | Sold prepared explosives, other than propellent powders; bought bulldozers, graders and excavators · more |
| Lesotho | US$9.9m | US$175k | +US$9.7m | Sold raw cotton; bought women's suits and dresses · more |
| Seychelles | US$792k | US$7.1m | −US$6.3m | Sold refined copper; bought refined fuels and oils · more |
| Madagascar | US$1.0m | US$914k | +US$113k | Sold live poultry; bought nitrogen fertilisers · more |
How processed Zambia'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: Zambia's value-addition balance and openings
For members: where Zambia 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 Zambia 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