Rwanda vs South Africa: Value of imported goods as a share of GDP

Rwanda
31.1%
in 2014
South Africa
31.3%
in 2014
Rwanda rank
127th
South Africa rank
124th

Value of imported goods as a share of GDP over time

  • Rwanda
  • South Africa
10203040191119622014

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 31.3% against 31.1% in Rwanda, a difference of 0.2%.

The two have swapped places 6 times across 55 shared years of data; in 1960 it was South Africa ahead.

Rwanda ranks 127th and South Africa ranks 124th of 193 countries.

Across the 6 decades both report, Rwanda averaged higher in 3 and South Africa in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade Rwanda South Africa Difference Ahead
1960s 11.5% 18.0% 6.4% South Africa
1970s 15.8% 17.4% 1.6% South Africa
1980s 17.7% 12.8% 4.8% Rwanda
1990s 17.9% 14.4% 3.4% Rwanda
2000s 19.7% 25.5% 5.8% South Africa
2010s 30.1% 28.3% 1.8% Rwanda

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher value of imported goods as a share of gdp, Rwanda or South Africa?
South Africa, at 31.3% against 31.1% in Rwanda as of 2014.
What is the difference in value of imported goods as a share of gdp between Rwanda and South Africa?
0.2%, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Rwanda and South Africa?
55 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2014.
How do Rwanda and South Africa rank globally for value of imported goods as a share of gdp?
Rwanda ranks 127th and South Africa ranks 124th of 193 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Fouquin and Hugot (2016) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Value of imported goods as a share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Rwanda vs South Africa: Value of imported goods as a share of GDP. Statizoid, drawing on Fouquin and Hugot (2016) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/compare/merchandise-imports-gdp-cepii/rwanda/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://economy.statizoid.com/compare/merchandise-imports-gdp-cepii/rwanda/south-africa/">Rwanda vs South Africa: Value of imported goods as a share of GDP</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Value of imported goods as a share of GDP
Unit
%
Source
Fouquin and Hugot (2016) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
193 places, 12,772 data points, 1827–2014
Last refreshed

Estimates correspond to merchandise import-to-GDP ratios for countries and regions. All ratios are taken at current prices. See source for more details.