01Key Takeaways
- South Africa imported $107.12 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 4.3% from $111.88 billion in 2022, the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Mineral fuels led import categories at 21.0% ($22.46 billion), the country's single largest import category by a wide margin.
- China was by far the largest import partner, supplying 20.5% of imports ($21.91 billion).
- The top three import partners together accounted for 37.2% of total import value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $88.0B | $68.9B | $93.4B | $111.9B | $107.1B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $21.9B | 20.5% |
| 2 | United States | $9.2B | 8.6% |
| 3 | Germany | $8.7B | 8.1% |
| 4 | India | $7.5B | 7.0% |
| 5 | United Arab Emirates | $4.0B | 3.7% |
| 6 | Thailand | $3.5B | 3.3% |
| 7 | Saudi Arabia | $3.1B | 2.9% |
| 8 | Japan | $2.7B | 2.5% |
| 9 | Oman | $2.6B | 2.4% |
| 10 | Italy | $2.4B | 2.2% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $22.5B | 21.0% |
| 2 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $12.9B | 12.0% |
| 3 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $12.3B | 11.5% |
| 4 | Commodities not specified according to kind | $8.8B | 8.2% |
| 5 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $8.4B | 7.8% |
| 6 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $2.6B | 2.5% |
| 7 | Pharmaceutical Products | $2.4B | 2.3% |
| 8 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $2.3B | 2.2% |
| 9 | Miscellaneous Chemical Products | $2.0B | 1.8% |
| 10 | Printed Books, Newspapers, Pictures and other Products of the Printing Industry; Manuscripts, Typescripts and Plans | $1.9B | 1.8% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Slipped After a Two-Year Climb
South Africa imported $107.12 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 4.3% from $111.88 billion in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years in total, from 2019 through 2023.
Import value fell from $88.04 billion in 2019 to $68.94 billion in 2020, the low point of this five-year window. It then rose for two consecutive years in a row, reaching $93.44 billion in 2021 and $111.88 billion in 2022, before slipping back to $107.12 billion in 2023.
This dataset does not explain the 2020 drop, the two-year rebound that followed, or the pullback in 2023. Import value in 2023 nonetheless remained well above every year in this dataset before 2022. That pattern echoes the export side of trade for this country, covered in the companion export data, which also peaked in 2022 before pulling back in 2023. Both sides of trade for this country moved through a similar shape across this five-year window: a sharp dip, a strong two-year recovery, then a modest retreat in the most recent year. The 2020 dip on the import side was proportionally larger than the equivalent dip on the export side, though this dataset does not explain why the two sides moved by different amounts. By 2022, both import and export value had climbed well past their pre-2020 levels, before each pulled back somewhat in 2023.
Mineral Fuels Dominate an Import List Reshaped by Refining Decline
Mineral fuels led every import category in 2023. They were worth $22.46 billion, or 21.0% of the total, the largest single category on this list. South Africa has overtaken Nigeria as Africa's top fuel importer, with imports now meeting over 60% of national fuel demand after a sharp decline in domestic refining capacity. That shift helps explain why mineral fuels sit atop this country's import list. Machinery and mechanical appliances ranked second at 12.0% ($12.87 billion), and electrical machinery followed closely at 11.5% ($12.33 billion).
A category labeled "Commodities not specified according to kind," a recognized catch-all classification within international trade statistics for shipments that do not map to a single specific product code, ranked fourth at 8.2% ($8.83 billion). Vehicles rounded out the top five at 7.8% ($8.37 billion).
Plastics contributed 2.5% ($2.64 billion), and pharmaceutical products added 2.3% ($2.41 billion). Optical and medical instruments contributed 2.2% ($2.32 billion), and other chemical products added 1.8% ($1.95 billion). Printed books and related products closed out the top ten at 1.8% ($1.90 billion), the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. Fuels, machinery and electronics together make up more than half of this list, describing an import base built around energy dependency layered on top of the equipment and components a manufacturing economy needs. The gap between mineral fuels and the smallest category on this list, printed books and related products, spans nearly the entire list, and it reflects two very different kinds of import: bulk energy commodities at one end, and specialized finished goods at the other.
China Alone Supplies a Fifth of All Imports
China supplied 20.5% of South Africa's imports in 2023, worth $21.91 billion, by far the largest single partner. That share is more than double the size of second-ranked United States, which took 8.6% ($9.20 billion). Germany ranked third at 8.1% ($8.68 billion). Together, these top three partners accounted for 37.2% of total import value, a far more concentrated top three than the export side of trade for this country.
India contributed 7.0% ($7.47 billion), and United Arab Emirates added 3.7% ($4.00 billion). Thailand contributed 3.3% ($3.50 billion), and Saudi Arabia added 2.9% ($3.10 billion), rounding out the top seven partners.
Japan contributed 2.5% ($2.71 billion), and Oman added 2.4% ($2.56 billion). Italy closed out the top ten at 2.2% ($2.41 billion), the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. Saudi Arabia and Oman's presence on this list lines up with the fuel-heavy category breakdown above, both being major oil-exporting economies in the Gulf. China's outsized share, by contrast, tracks the machinery and electrical equipment categories that rank second and third on this list. That pairing of a single dominant manufacturing supplier with a small group of specialized energy exporters is a distinct pattern from the more evenly spread partner list seen on the export side of trade for this country.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an import profile split between energy dependency and manufactured goods. A single dominant supplier in China sits alongside a cluster of Gulf oil exporters, describing a country that sources its two largest needs, fuel and equipment, from two very different corners of the world.