Tariff rate, applied, simple mean, all products (%) - Country Ranking - Africa

Definition: Simple mean applied tariff is the unweighted average of effectively applied rates for all products subject to tariffs calculated for all traded goods. Data are classified using the Harmonized System of trade at the six- or eight-digit level. Tariff line data were matched to Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) revision 3 codes to define commodity groups. Effectively applied tariff rates at the six- and eight-digit product level are averaged for products in each commodity group. When the effectively applied rate is unavailable, the most favored nation rate is used instead. To the extent possible, specific rates have been converted to their ad valorem equivalent rates and have been included in the calculation of simple mean tariffs.

Source: World Bank staff estimates using the World Integrated Trade Solution system, based on data from United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's Trade Analysis and Information System (TRAINS) database and the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Integrate

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Djibouti 18.92 2014
2 Gabon 18.65 2019
2 Equatorial Guinea 18.65 2007
4 Cameroon 18.56 2019
5 Chad 18.16 2016
6 Ethiopia 17.83 2018
7 Central African Republic 15.99 2017
8 Egypt 14.43 2019
9 Liberia 13.92 2020
10 The Gambia 13.85 2020
11 Cabo Verde 13.71 2020
12 Kenya 13.69 2020
13 Sierra Leone 13.63 2020
14 Uganda 13.24 2020
15 Mauritania 13.21 2020
16 Guinea-Bissau 13.20 2020
17 Guinea 13.15 2020
18 Congo 12.91 2015
19 Ghana 12.84 2020
20 Senegal 12.80 2020
21 Nigeria 12.75 2020
22 Algeria 12.52 2020
23 Mali 12.27 2020
24 Tanzania 12.23 2020
25 Comoros 12.17 2020
26 Côte d'Ivoire 12.13 2020
27 Togo 11.83 2020
28 Burundi 11.78 2020
29 Rwanda 11.69 2020
30 Benin 11.67 2020
31 Zambia 11.65 2020
32 Dem. Rep. Congo 11.57 2020
33 Burkina Faso 11.00 2020
34 Niger 10.55 2020
35 Angola 10.51 2020
36 Tunisia 10.21 2016
37 São Tomé and Principe 10.00 2019
38 Zimbabwe 9.56 2016
38 Eritrea 9.56 2006
40 Malawi 9.46 2020
41 Mozambique 8.94 2020
42 Madagascar 8.27 2020
43 Botswana 7.69 2020
44 South Africa 7.11 2020
45 Eswatini 6.91 2020
46 Namibia 6.66 2020
47 Lesotho 5.81 2020
48 Libya 4.84 2020
49 Morocco 4.33 2020
50 Seychelles 1.79 2020
51 Mauritius 1.18 2020
52 Sudan 0.00 2020

More rankings: Africa | Asia | Central America & the Caribbean | Europe | Middle East | North America | Oceania | South America | World |

Development Relevance: Poor people in developing countries work primarily in agriculture and labor-intensive manufactures, sectors that confront the greatest trade barriers. Removing barriers to merchandise trade could increase growth in these countries - even more if trade in services were also liberalized. In general, tariffs in high-income countries on imports from developing countries, though low, are twice those collected from other high-income countries. But protection is also an issue for developing countries, which maintain high tariffs on agricultural commodities, labor-intensive manufactures, and other products and services. Countries use a combination of tariff and nontariff measures to regulate imports. The most common form of tariff is an ad valorem duty, based on the value of the import, but tariffs may also be levied on a specific, or per unit, basis or may combine ad valorem and specific rates. Tariffs may be used to raise fiscal revenues or to protect domestic industries from foreign competition - or both. Nontariff barriers, which limit the quantity of imports of a particular good, include quotas, prohibitions, licensing schemes, export restraint arrangements, and health and quarantine measures. Because of the difficulty of combining nontariff barriers into an aggregate indicator, they are not included in the data. Some countries set fairly uniform tariff rates across all imports. Others are selective, setting high tariffs to protect favored domestic industries. The effective rate of protection - the degree to which the value added in an industry is protected - may exceed the nominal rate if the tariff system systematically differentiates among imports of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Simple averages are often a better indicator of tariff protection than weighted averages, which are biased downward because higher tariffs discourage trade and reduce the weights applied to these tariffs.

Periodicity: Annual