Taxes on international trade in South Africa
South Africa: Taxes on international trade was 3.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Taxes on international trade in South Africa, 1972–2024
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of revenue.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 3.6% for taxes on international trade in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.2% on the previous year and up 6.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, taxes on international trade in South Africa peaked at 8.8% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 1994.
That places South Africa 83rd out of 154 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.
Taxes on international trade in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of revenue | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 4.6% | — |
| 1973 | 4.7% | +1.9% |
| 1974 | 5.0% | +5.0% |
| 1975 | 5.2% | +5.6% |
| 1976 | 4.7% | -9.6% |
| 1977 | 8.0% | +69.4% |
| 1978 | 6.3% | -22.1% |
| 1979 | 4.9% | -21.1% |
| 1980 | 3.3% | -33.3% |
| 1981 | 4.5% | +36.0% |
| 1982 | 4.9% | +9.0% |
| 1983 | 3.3% | -33.1% |
| 1984 | 2.5% | -23.5% |
| 1985 | 2.9% | +15.9% |
| 1986 | 3.8% | +29.7% |
| 1987 | 3.8% | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 5.9% | +55.4% |
| 1989 | 8.8% | +49.3% |
| 1990 | 3.6% | -59.0% |
| 1991 | 3.7% | +2.9% |
| 1992 | 2.3% | -37.4% |
| 1993 | 3.5% | +50.7% |
| 1994 | 1.7% | -51.6% |
| 1995 | 4.1% | +142.2% |
| 1996 | 3.8% | -6.7% |
| 1997 | 2.5% | -34.1% |
| 1998 | 2.6% | +4.6% |
| 1999 | 2.6% | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 3.0% | +13.1% |
| 2001 | 2.7% | -7.5% |
| 2002 | 2.7% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 2.4% | -13.8% |
| 2004 | 3.3% | +38.2% |
| 2005 | 3.8% | +17.6% |
| 2006 | 4.2% | +10.4% |
| 2007 | 4.1% | -2.5% |
| 2008 | 3.2% | -23.4% |
| 2009 | 2.7% | -15.6% |
| 2010 | 3.4% | +27.5% |
| 2011 | 3.9% | +14.3% |
| 2012 | 4.1% | +4.9% |
| 2013 | 4.1% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 3.4% | -18.2% |
| 2015 | 3.5% | +3.5% |
| 2016 | 3.3% | -6.4% |
| 2017 | 3.4% | +4.0% |
| 2018 | 3.7% | +7.7% |
| 2019 | 3.4% | -7.2% |
| 2020 | 3.0% | -11.9% |
| 2021 | 3.2% | +5.6% |
| 2022 | 3.8% | +18.9% |
| 2023 | 3.4% | -8.9% |
| 2024 | 3.6% | +5.2% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 3.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.5%, 80% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 3.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 11.2%, 32% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Taxes on international trade in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +142.2% | 1.7% | 4.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.4% | 4.6% | 8.0% | 8 |
| 1980s | 4.4% | 2.5% | 8.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.1% | 1.7% | 4.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.2% | 2.4% | 4.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.6% | 3.3% | 4.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.4% | 3.0% | 3.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 80 Azerbaijan 3.8% compare
- 81 Russian Federation 3.7% compare
- 82 Papua New Guinea 3.7% compare
- 84 Nicaragua 3.6% compare
- 85 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 3.3% compare
- 86 Panama 3.3% compare
More public sector data for South Africa
- Arms imports 30.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 0.4746 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 30.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 44.31 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0071 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate -1.41 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 2.84 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 24.73 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is taxes on international trade in South Africa?
- Taxes on international trade in South Africa was 3.6% in 2024, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest taxes on international trade recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 8.8% in 1989.
- What is the lowest taxes on international trade recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 1994.
- How does South Africa rank for taxes on international trade?
- South Africa ranks 83rd out of 154 countries with data for 2024.
- Is taxes on international trade rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Taxes on international trade (% of revenue). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Taxes on international trade are taxes that become payable when goods cross the national or customs frontiers of the economic territory or when transactions in services exchange between residents and non-residents. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.