Fuel exports in South Africa
South Africa: Fuel exports was 8.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Fuel exports in South Africa, 1974–2025
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of merchandise exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for fuel exports in South Africa is 8.2%, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 14.5% on the previous year and down 15.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fuel exports in South Africa peaked at 14.3% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 1974.
That places South Africa 63rd out of 192 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Fuel exports in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 0.9% | — |
| 1975 | 1.3% | +37.8% |
| 1976 | 2.6% | +107.7% |
| 1977 | 4.6% | +76.0% |
| 1978 | 5.0% | +6.9% |
| 1979 | 6.0% | +20.5% |
| 1980 | 3.8% | -36.6% |
| 1981 | 6.1% | +61.2% |
| 1982 | 6.5% | +6.4% |
| 1983 | 6.1% | -6.2% |
| 1984 | 7.3% | +20.3% |
| 1992 | 6.9% | -5.4% |
| 1993 | 6.8% | -1.6% |
| 1994 | 5.4% | -20.3% |
| 1995 | 8.9% | +64.2% |
| 1996 | 10.9% | +21.7% |
| 1997 | 7.3% | -32.6% |
| 1998 | 7.7% | +4.7% |
| 1999 | 9.8% | +28.4% |
| 2000 | 10.1% | +3.0% |
| 2001 | 11.7% | +15.7% |
| 2002 | 12.1% | +3.0% |
| 2003 | 9.8% | -18.7% |
| 2004 | 9.1% | -7.3% |
| 2005 | 10.4% | +13.8% |
| 2006 | 9.5% | -8.3% |
| 2007 | 10.6% | +11.1% |
| 2008 | 9.6% | -8.8% |
| 2009 | 11.2% | +16.2% |
| 2010 | 10.7% | -4.2% |
| 2011 | 10.5% | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 11.4% | +8.4% |
| 2013 | 10.7% | -6.3% |
| 2014 | 10.2% | -4.9% |
| 2015 | 9.8% | -4.2% |
| 2016 | 9.8% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 12.0% | +22.1% |
| 2018 | 11.0% | -8.5% |
| 2019 | 10.1% | -8.6% |
| 2020 | 8.1% | -19.3% |
| 2021 | 8.7% | +7.1% |
| 2022 | 14.3% | +65.0% |
| 2023 | 10.7% | -25.1% |
| 2024 | 9.6% | -10.4% |
| 2025 | 8.2% | -14.5% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 8.2% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.4%, 2.4× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 8.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.7%, 4.8× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Fuel exports in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | +107.7% | 1.3% | 2.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.4% | 0.9% | 6.0% | 6 |
| 1980s | 6.0% | 3.8% | 7.3% | 5 |
| 1990s | 8.0% | 5.4% | 10.9% | 8 |
| 2000s | 10.4% | 9.1% | 12.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.6% | 9.8% | 12.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.9% | 8.1% | 14.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 60 Kyrgyzstan 9.4% compare
- 61 Argentina 8.8% compare
- 62 Latvia 8.2% compare
- 64 Afghanistan 8.1% compare
- 65 Tajikistan 8.0% compare
- 66 Barbados 8.0% compare
More energy & mining data for South Africa
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -0.3095 % change on previous year (2025)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 17.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fuel exports in South Africa?
- Fuel exports in South Africa was 8.2% in 2025, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest fuel exports recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 14.3% in 2022.
- What is the lowest fuel exports recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 1974.
- How does South Africa rank for fuel exports?
- South Africa ranks 63rd out of 192 countries with data for 2025.
- Is fuel exports rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Fuel exports (% of merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Fuels comprise the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) section 3 (mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise exports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e.