South Africa
Africa
Trade in South Africa
| South Africa was the world’s 38th largest exporter of goods and 58th largest exporter of commercial services in 2025. Export values were $116693 and $15939 million USD respectively. South Africa’s top export category was manufactures, followed by fuels and mining products, and agricultural products. In 2023, South Africa’s main export destination markets for goods and services trade were to China, United States and Germany, with trade representing 61.65 per cent of GDP. In terms of imports, South Africa is the world’s 38th largest importer of goods and 53rd largest importer of commercial services. Import values were $104962 and $19761 million USD respectively in 2025. South Africa’s top import category was manufactures, followed by fuels and mining products and agricultural products. Leading import partners were China, United States and Germany. South Africa is part of 8 different Regional Trade Agreements, including with EFTA – SACU, EU – SADC and EU – South Africa. |
Regional Trade Agreements Database
General InformationThis section includes general information on the economy, legal system, official languages and links to additional demographic information. |
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Official Name |
Republic of South Africa |
Abbreviation |
ZA |
Capital |
Pretoria |
WTO Membership Date |
1 January 1995 |
Legal System |
mixed legal system of Roman-Dutch civil law, English common law, and customary law |
Language |
Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Sesotho, Sesotho sa Leboa, Siswati, Tsonga, Setswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu |
Number of Time Zone(s) |
2 |
Additional Information | |
Financial InformationThis section includes financial information such as the currency, exchange rate lookup and local banks issuing trade finance. |
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Currency |
South African rand |
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Exchange Rate |
Google Finance Currencies |
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GTFP Confirming Banks Through the IFC's Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP) bank network, local financial institutions can establish working partnerships with a vast number of major international banks in the Program that can broaden access to finance and reduce cash collateral requirements. This extends and complements the capacity of banks to deliver trade finance by providing risk mitigation on a per-transaction basis in challenging markets where trade lines may be limited. |
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Contact InformationThis section includes contact information for business support organizations and national resources. |
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Business Support Organizations |
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SPS Enquiry Points Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) enquiry points are government agencies designated to answer questions about trade requirements. |
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TBT Enquiry Points Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) enquiry points are government agencies designated to answer questions about trade requirements. |
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Additional Information |
ePing alert |
Links to other helpful resourcesThis section includes additional links to trade-related resources. |
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National Tariff Finder |
https://www.sars.gov.za/customs-and-excise/tariff/ |
Trade Information Portal |
http://www.thedtic.gov.za/sectors-and-services-2/1-4-2-trade-and-export/ |
Last Reviewed: October, 2026
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