Shifting our focus to global benchmarks, worldwide exports from all countries equaled $21.513 trillion in 2021. Therefore, Africa’s exports represent an estimated 2.4% of total world exports in 2021.
Worldwide exports from all countries increased at a faster pace (22.5%) than Africa over the 5-year period starting in 2017. Year over year, overall exports gained 22.9% which was outpaced by the 30.7% expansion in African exports.
In 2021, the 5 biggest African exporting nations are South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco. Collectively, that powerful cohort of African shippers generated over half (55.7%) of the continent’s overall exports by value. That percentage reflects an increase in concentration compared to the 52.9% share one year earlier in 2021.
Given Africa’s population of about 1.4 billion people, the continent’s total $513.5 billion worth of 2021 exported goods translates to roughly $365 per African resident. That dollar metric exceeds the average $275 per capita for 2020.
Top African Export Countries
Below are the top African export countries that achieved the highest dollar value in global shipments during 2021. Also shown is the percentage change in value from 2020 to 2021.
| Rank | African Entity | 2021 Value (US$) | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa | $123,734,050,000 | +44.4% |
| 2 | Nigeria | $47,570,421,000 | +42.6% |
| 3 | Egypt | $40,701,704,000 | +51.8% |
| 4 | Algeria | $37,322,033,000 | +66% |
| 5 | Morocco | $36,578,743,000 | +32% |
| 6 | Angola | $33,743,794,000 | +60.4% |
| 7 | Libya | $30,640,042,000 | +224.4% |
| 8 | Tunisia | $16,432,745,000 | +18.8% |
| 9 | Democr. Rep. Congo | $14,621,096,000 | +3.5% |
| 10 | Ghana | $12,751,967,000 | -9.5% |
| 11 | Ivory Coast | $12,657,624,000 | +1.6% |
| 12 | Zambia | $11,217,517,000 | +39.2% |
| 13 | Guinea | $7,286,055,000 | -39.9% |
| 14 | Kenya | $6,751,366,000 | +12% |
| 15 | Gabon | $6,544,530,000 | +23.2% |
| 16 | Tanzania | $6,390,863,000 | +6.8% |
| 17 | Mozambique | $5,111,686,000 | +47.7% |
| 18 | Burkina Faso | $5,060,028,000 | +15.5% |
| 19 | Equatorial Guinea | $4,875,943,000 | +56.9% |
| 20 | Cameroon | $4,772,875,000 | +6.4% |
| 21 | Senegal | $4,486,066,000 | +14% |
| 22 | Namibia | $4,138,774,000 | -23.7% |
| 23 | Botswana | $3,728,873,000 | -12.4% |
| 24 | Mauritania | $3,266,989,000 | +10.9% |
| 25 | Ethiopia | $3,057,629,000 | +21% |
| 26 | Madagascar | $2,718,729,000 | +38.9% |
| 27 | Congo | $2,362,230,000 | -52.5% |
| 28 | Sudan | $2,319,336,000 | -43% |
| 29 | Eswatini | $2,245,567,000 | +28.2% |
| 30 | Chad | $2,226,203,000 | +30.6% |
| 31 | Mali | $2,066,176,000 | -59.5% |
| 32 | Zimbabwe | $2,063,471,000 | -53% |
| 33 | Mauritius | $1,684,826,000 | +8.8% |
| 34 | Liberia | $1,629,614,000 | +49.5% |
| 35 | Uganda | $1,624,885,000 | -60.8% |
| 36 | Togo | $1,069,303,000 | +9.1% |
| 37 | Benin | $1,024,180,000 | +21.1% |
| 38 | Lesotho | $1,007,041,000 | +23% |
| 39 | Niger | $949,800,000 | -23.8% |
| 40 | Malawi | $915,740,000 | +17.1% |
| 41 | Sierra Leone | $911,446,000 | +50.8% |
| 42 | Seychelles | $668,372,000 | +93.5% |
| 43 | South Sudan | $477,191,000 | -43.9% |
| 44 | Eritrea | $464,819,000 | -26% |
| 45 | Rwanda | $390,804,000 | -58.3% |
| 46 | Djibouti | $361,427,000 | +71.4% |
| 47 | Guinea-Bissau | $181,587,000 | +9.3% |
| 48 | Somalia | $164,686,000 | -44.4% |
| 49 | Gambia | $129,363,000 | +400.2% |
| 50 | Cape Verde | $126,354,000 | +137.9% |
| 51 | Central African Rep | $86,237,000 | +110.1% |
| 52 | Burundi | $75,575,000 | -53.4% |
| 53 | Saint Helena | $40,392,000 | +196.9% |
| 54 | Comoros | $34,994,000 | +76.5% |
| 55 | Sao Tome/Principe | $31,453,000 | +152.4% |
| 56 | Fr. Southern/Antarctic Terr | $19,442,000 | -42.8% |
| 57 | Western Sahara | $6,664,000 | -12% |
| 58 | Br. Indian Ocean Terr | $3,919,000 | -71% |
The top 10 African exporters surpassed three-quarters (76.7%) of all international product sales shipped from Africa during 2021.
From 2020 to 2021, 40 export countries or territories in Africa increased the value of their exports.
The fastest-gaining African exporters were Gambia (up 400.2% from 2020), Libya (up 224.4%), Saint Helena (up 196.9%), Sao Tome/Principe (up 152.4%), Cape Verde (up 137.9%) and the Central African Republic (up 110.1%).
Leading the 18 year-over-year decliners were British Indian Ocean Territory (down -71% from 2020), Uganda (down -60.8%), Mali (down -59.5%), Rwanda (down -58.3%), Burundi (down -53.4%), Zimbabwe (down -53%) then the Republic of the Congo (down -52.5%).
See also South Africa’s Top 10 Exports, Nigeria’s Top 10 Exports, Egypt’s Top 10 Exports, Algeria’s Top 10 Exports and Morocco’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, Population statistics by country. Accessed on June 26, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 26, 2022
World Population Review, Countries in Africa. Accessed on June 26, 2022
