South Africa | Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)

Imports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services received from the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services. They exclude compensation of employees and investment income (formerly called factor services) and transfer payments. Limitations and exceptions: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data. Although the data from the payments side provide reasonably reliable records of cross-border transactions, they may not adhere strictly to the appropriate definitions of valuation and timing used in the balance of payments or corresponds to the change-of ownership criterion. This issue has assumed greater significance with the increasing globalization of international business. Neither customs nor balance of payments data usually capture the illegal transactions that occur in many countries. Goods carried by travelers across borders in legal but unreported shuttle trade may further distort trade statistics. Statistical concept and methodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Republic of South Africa
Records
63
Source
South Africa | Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)
1960 21.26740278
1961 18.40667678
1962 17.88873039
1963 20.13414162
1964 22.14285714
1965 23.22442421
1966 20.1162447
1967 21.09547828
1968 19.33453237
1969 19.57833515
1970 21.38427026
1971 22.019828
1972 19.31444338
1973 19.464541
1974 24.6417523
1975 25.9691144
1976 24.96716318
1977 21.9276436
1978 22.52651751
1979 22.86360211
1980 24.63632839
1981 26.98956435
1982 23.75423474
1983 18.48835148
1984 20.89419921
1985 20.04538525
1986 19.40125762
1987 18.07987789
1988 20.04881804
1989 18.99292507
1990 16.67325919
1991 15.54079391
1992 15.36620689
1993 15.78375772
1994 17.56527136
1995 19.44017317
1996 20.42450851
1997 20.64074257
1998 21.51647352
1999 19.98908004
2000 21.81641842
2001 22.81428455
2002 25.03433441
2003 21.80858921
2004 22.88605644
2005 23.82801691
2006 27.66989139
2007 29.16617474
2008 33.71985013
2009 24.60478884
2010 24.62266954
2011 26.93820197
2012 28.443468
2013 30.49574731
2014 30.49895475
2015 29.01303773
2016 27.70516933
2017 26.19585605
2018 26.98850798
2019 26.695867
2020 23.15949204
2021 24.9733049
2022 31.52228963

South Africa | Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)

Imports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services received from the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services. They exclude compensation of employees and investment income (formerly called factor services) and transfer payments. Limitations and exceptions: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data. Although the data from the payments side provide reasonably reliable records of cross-border transactions, they may not adhere strictly to the appropriate definitions of valuation and timing used in the balance of payments or corresponds to the change-of ownership criterion. This issue has assumed greater significance with the increasing globalization of international business. Neither customs nor balance of payments data usually capture the illegal transactions that occur in many countries. Goods carried by travelers across borders in legal but unreported shuttle trade may further distort trade statistics. Statistical concept and methodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Republic of South Africa
Records
63
Source