Imports of goods and services (BoP, current US$) - Country Ranking - Africa

Definition: Imports of goods and services comprise all transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world involving a change of ownership from nonresidents to residents of general merchandise, nonmonetary gold, and services. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Source: International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 South Africa 79,013,330,000.00 2020
2 Egypt 72,482,400,000.00 2020
3 Nigeria 72,178,440,000.00 2020
4 Morocco 46,258,830,000.00 2020
5 Algeria 42,395,600,000.00 2020
6 Ghana 24,545,370,000.00 2020
7 Libya 24,499,900,000.00 2019
8 Tunisia 19,508,250,000.00 2020
9 Kenya 17,854,240,000.00 2020
10 Ethiopia 17,169,670,000.00 2020
11 Angola 15,145,690,000.00 2020
12 Dem. Rep. Congo 14,556,670,000.00 2020
13 Côte d'Ivoire 12,660,140,000.00 2020
14 Sudan 10,519,600,000.00 2020
15 Uganda 10,251,300,000.00 2020
16 Tanzania 9,181,001,000.00 2020
17 Senegal 8,960,095,000.00 2018
18 Mozambique 8,363,869,000.00 2020
19 Botswana 7,349,204,000.00 2020
20 Congo 7,286,067,000.00 2016
21 Cameroon 7,212,457,000.00 2020
22 Mali 6,339,123,000.00 2020
23 Guinea 6,313,510,000.00 2020
24 Zambia 5,836,255,000.00 2020
25 Zimbabwe 5,489,302,000.00 2020
26 Mauritius 5,224,867,000.00 2020
27 Gabon 5,049,263,000.00 2015
28 Burkina Faso 4,778,831,000.00 2020
29 Namibia 4,544,879,000.00 2020
30 Benin 3,941,918,000.00 2020
31 Madagascar 3,752,940,000.00 2020
32 Mauritania 3,674,690,000.00 2020
33 Rwanda 3,577,564,000.00 2020
34 Niger 3,542,297,000.00 2020
35 Djibouti 3,424,743,000.00 2020
36 Malawi 3,049,538,000.00 2020
37 Togo 2,389,189,000.00 2020
38 Lesotho 2,273,224,000.00 2021
39 Eswatini 1,695,428,000.00 2020
40 Sierra Leone 1,417,793,000.00 2020
41 Seychelles 1,334,513,000.00 2020
42 Liberia 1,243,796,000.00 2019
43 Cabo Verde 1,007,626,000.00 2020
44 Burundi 905,294,500.00 2018
45 The Gambia 726,229,800.00 2021
46 Eritrea 499,744,400.00 2000
47 Equatorial Guinea 476,617,800.00 1996
48 Guinea-Bissau 439,386,000.00 2020
49 Chad 411,469,900.00 1994
50 Comoros 343,670,800.00 2020
51 Central African Republic 244,414,400.00 1994
52 São Tomé and Principe 160,096,800.00 2020

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Development Relevance: The balance of payments records an economy’s transactions with the rest of the world. Balance of payments accounts are divided into two groups: the current account, which records transactions in goods, services, primary income, and secondary income, and the capital and financial account, which records capital transfers, acquisition or disposal of nonproduced, nonfinancial assets, and transactions in financial assets and liabilities. The current account balance is one of the most analytically useful indicators of an external imbalance. A primary purpose of the balance of payments accounts is to indicate the need to adjust an external imbalance. Where to draw the line for analytical purposes requires a judgment concerning the imbalance that best indicates the need for adjustment. There are a number of definitions in common use for this and related analytical purposes. The trade balance is the difference between exports and imports of goods. From an analytical view it is arbitrary to distinguish goods from services. For example, a unit of foreign exchange earned by a freight company strengthens the balance of payments to the same extent as the foreign exchange earned by a goods exporter. Even so, the trade balance is useful because it is often the most timely indicator of trends in the current account balance. Customs authorities are typically able to provide data on trade in goods long before data on trade in services are available.

Limitations and Exceptions: Discrepancies may arise in the balance of payments because there is no single source for balance of payments data and therefore no way to ensure that the data are fully consistent. Sources include customs data, monetary accounts of the banking system, external debt records, information provided by enterprises, surveys to estimate service transactions, and foreign exchange records. Differences in collection methods - such as in timing, definitions of residence and ownership, and the exchange rate used to value transactions - contribute to net errors and omissions. In addition, smuggling and other illegal or quasi-legal transactions may be unrecorded or misrecorded.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: The balance of payments (BoP) is a double-entry accounting system that shows all flows of goods and services into and out of an economy; all transfers that are the counterpart of real resources or financial claims provided to or by the rest of the world without a quid pro quo, such as donations and grants; and all changes in residents' claims on and liabilities to nonresidents that arise from economic transactions. All transactions are recorded twice - once as a credit and once as a debit. In principle the net balance should be zero, but in practice the accounts often do not balance, requiring inclusion of a balancing item, net errors and omissions. The concepts and definitions underlying the data are based on the sixth edition of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6). Balance of payments data for 2005 onward will be presented in accord with the BPM6. The historical BPM5 data series will end with data for 2008, which can be accessed through the World Development Indicators archives. The complete balance of payments methodology can be accessed through the International Monetary Fund website (www.imf.org/external/np/sta/bop/bop.htm).

Aggregation method: Gap-filled total

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Note: Data are based on the sixth edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6) and are only available from 2005 onwards.