South Africa: Trade openness
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| South Africa |
Trade openness: exports plus imports as percent of GDP |
|---|---|
| Latest value | 60.91 |
| Year | 2025 |
| Measure | percent |
| Data availability | 1960 - 2025 |
| Average | 48.25 |
| Min - Max | 34.32 - 65.97 |
| Source | The World Bank |
| Available for | Data download |
The latest value from 2025 is 60.91 percent, a decline from 61.65 percent in 2024. In comparison, the world average is 90.55 percent, based on data from 135 countries. Historically, the average for South Africa from 1960 to 2025 is 48.25 percent. The minimum value, 34.32 percent, was reached in 1992 while the maximum of 65.97 percent was recorded in 2008.
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* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| Recent values | South Africa: Trade openness |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 60.91 |
| 2024 | 61.65 |
| 2023 | 65.68 |
| 2022 | 64.95 |
| 2021 | 56.16 |
| 2020 | 50.76 |
| 2019 | 53.90 |
| 2018 | 54.49 |
Definition: Exports plus imports as percent of GDP.
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| Related indicators | Latest | Reference | Measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terms of trade | 117.10 | 2024 | percent |
| Trade openness | 60.91 | 2025 | percent |
| Financial openness | -1.248 | 2022 | index points |
| Exports, percent of GDP | 31.41 | 2025 | percent |
| Exports, billion dollars | 134.18 | 2025 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Growth of exports | -2.45 | 2025 | percent |
| Imports, percent of GDP | 29.50 | 2025 | percent |
| Imports, billion dollars | 126.02 | 2025 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Foreign Direct Investment, percent of GDP | -0.51 | 2025 | percent |
| Foreign Direct Investment, billion dollars | 2.33 | 2024 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Portfolio investment inflows, equities | -3,933.64 | 2024 | million dollars (current) |
| Current account, percent of GDP | -0.42 | 2025 | percent |
| Current account, in dollars | -1.81 | 2025 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Current Account, quarterly | 1.50 | 3/2026 | percent |
| Trade balance, percent of GDP | 1.91 | 2025 | percent |
| Trade balance, in dollars | 7.81 | 2024 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Reserves | 76.02 | 2025 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Remittances, percent of GDP | 0.21 | 2024 | percent |
| Remittances | 1,004.74 | 2025 | million U.S. dollars |
| Net errors and omissions | -1,096.74 | 2025 | million USD |
| External debt | 44.01 | 2024 | percent |
| Short-term external debt | 27.56 | 2024 | percent |
| Short-term debt to reserves | 74.34 | 2024 | percent |
| External debt in foreign currencies | 56.28 | 2024 | percent |