Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 28 - International trade costs — Average cost of trade within the same AU region, primary goods by country
The Statistical Annex to the annual Africa's Development Dynamics (AFDD) report is a collection of development indicators that were gathered and analysed while conducting the research that went into the report. These data are also available online for free viewing or download at https://oe.cd/AFDD-2024, a bilingual...
What the numbers show
Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 28 - International trade costs — Average cost of trade within the same AU region, primary goods is currently reported for 42 countries. The highest value is 745.84 Percentage of merchandise value in Liberia; the lowest is 60.9 Percentage of merchandise value in Zimbabwe.
The median across all reporting countries is 230.44 Percentage of merchandise value, and the mean is 268.45 Percentage of merchandise value.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 12.
Over the past decade 19 countries rose and 23 fell. The largest increase was in Liberia (up 175.3%), and the largest decrease in Guinea (down 49.0%).
Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 28 - International trade: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liberia | 745.84 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | up 175.3% | rising |
| 2 | Burundi | 583.36 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 16.9% | rising |
| 3 | Sierra Leone | 468.18 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | up 19.7% | rising |
| 4 | Comoros | 462.24 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | up 17.0% | flat |
| 5 | Guinea-Bissau | 429.48 Percentage of merchandise value | 2007 | up 40.3% | rising |
| 6 | Benin | 425.77 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | up 15.5% | rising |
| 7 | Nigeria | 418.17 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 0.8% | rising |
| 8 | Gabon | 393.88 Percentage of merchandise value | 2006 | up 6.6% | flat |
| 9 | Togo | 382.85 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | up 37.4% | rising |
| 10 | Sao Tome and Principe | 359.64 Percentage of merchandise value | 2008 | up 95.2% | rising |
| 11 | Côte d’Ivoire | 350.6 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | up 19.0% | rising |
| 12 | Chad | 344.8 Percentage of merchandise value | 2019 | down 5.8% | flat |
| 13 | Congo | 303.02 Percentage of merchandise value | 2019 | up 74.4% | rising |
| 14 | Gambia | 295.39 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | up 7.3% | rising |
| 15 | Ghana | 287.89 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 21.8% | flat |
| 16 | Egypt | 279.37 Percentage of merchandise value | 2019 | up 5.8% | falling |
| 17 | Niger | 278.23 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | up 34.8% | rising |
| 18 | Senegal | 274.25 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 25.2% | rising |
| 19 | Algeria | 270.17 Percentage of merchandise value | 2019 | up 7.4% | falling |
| 20 | Mauritius | 263.75 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | up 48.7% | rising |
| 21 | Angola | 238.22 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 37.2% | falling |
| 22 | Cameroon | 222.66 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 46.4% | falling |
| 23 | Sudan | 222.4 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 26.8% | falling |
| 24 | Rwanda | 220.67 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | up 9.6% | rising |
| 25 | Morocco | 209.25 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 9.1% | falling |
| 26 | Guinea | 206.65 Percentage of merchandise value | 2019 | down 49.0% | falling |
| 27 | Seychelles | 206.6 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | up 7.3% | rising |
| 28 | Tunisia | 204.38 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | up 16.4% | falling |
| 29 | Libya | 195.43 Percentage of merchandise value | 2011 | down 15.0% | falling |
| 30 | Burkina Faso | 195.07 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 33.3% | rising |
| 31 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 183.12 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 7.5% | rising |
| 32 | Mali | 180.66 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 17.5% | falling |
| 33 | Central African Republic | 170.44 Percentage of merchandise value | 2018 | down 40.3% | falling |
| 34 | Kenya | 169 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 2.0% | falling |
| 35 | Uganda | 144.75 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 18.7% | falling |
| 36 | Zambia | 135.09 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 2.1% | rising |
| 37 | Malawi | 129.68 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 26.3% | rising |
| 38 | Namibia | 113.2 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | up 27.0% | rising |
| 39 | Mozambique | 97.64 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 18.8% | falling |
| 40 | Botswana | 79.34 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 18.9% | rising |
| 41 | South Africa | 72.69 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 42.1% | falling |
| 42 | Zimbabwe | 60.9 Percentage of merchandise value | 2020 | down 40.1% | falling |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Democratic Republic of the Congo 533.86 Percentage of merchandise value
- Ethiopia 271.15 Percentage of merchandise value
- Mauritania 267.54 Percentage of merchandise value
- Equatorial Guinea 263.15 Percentage of merchandise value
- Madagascar 253.25 Percentage of merchandise value
- Eswatini 91.89 Percentage of merchandise value
- Lesotho 86.34 Percentage of merchandise value
About this data
The Statistical Annex to the annual Africa's Development Dynamics (AFDD) report is a collection of development indicators that were gathered and analysed while conducting the research that went into the report. These data are also available online for free viewing or download at https://oe.cd/AFDD-2024, a bilingual website which links to the electronic version of the Africa's Development Dynamics book in both English and French. Table 28 shows the average cost of importing and exporting goods calculated as a percentage of the value of goods traded, broken down by the origin and destination of the trade, whether it is with bordering countries, with countries in the same region, or the same continent.