Trade · Africa ranking
Imports (% of GDP) by African country
Lesotho has the highest imports of goods and services as a share of GDP of any African country, at 104.5%, ahead of Somalia and Djibouti.
Imports of goods and services as a share of GDP. 52 of 54 countries, ranked · World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2025.
Latest available year varies by country (1960–2025); each row shows its year, and values more than 5 years behind the most recent are marked ⚠.
Lesotho
Somalia
DjiboutiBy region
Full ranking
| # | Country | Imports (% of GDP) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lesotho | 104.5% | |
| 2 | Somalia | 98.8% | |
| 3 | Djibouti | 95.8% | |
| 4 | Seychelles | 92.7% | |
| 5 | Mauritius | 74.9% | |
| 6 | Libya | 65.9% | |
| 7 | Namibia | 63.9% | |
| 8 | Guinea | 62.3% | |
| 9 | Mozambique | 55.7% | |
| 10 | Tunisia | 54.8% | |
| 11 | Mauritania | 54.2% | |
| 12 | Eswatini | 53.7% | |
| 13 | Cabo Verde | 53.4% | |
| 14 | Morocco | 51.1% | |
| 15 | Gambia | 49.4% | |
| 16 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 43.9% | |
| 17 | Republic of the Congo | 43.6% | |
| 18 | Senegal | 38.6% | |
| 19 | Botswana | 37.5% | |
| 20 | Togo | 35.3% | |
| 21 | Rwanda | 35.1% | |
| 22 | Ghana | 33.9% | |
| 23 | Central African Republic | 33.6% | |
| 24 | Sao Tome and Principe | 33.3% | |
| 25 | Madagascar | 32.9% | |
| 26 | Comoros | 31.6% | |
| 27 | Egypt | 31.5% | |
| 28 | Burkina Faso | 30% | |
| 29 | South Africa | 29.5% | |
| 30 | Gabon | 29.4% | |
| 31 | Eritrea | 29.2% ⚠ ’11 | |
| 32 | South Sudan | 28.9% ⚠ ’15 | |
| 33 | Uganda | 28.8% | |
| 34 | Malawi | 28.8% | |
| 35 | Equatorial Guinea | 28.4% | |
| 36 | Sierra Leone | 28.2% | |
| 37 | Zambia | 27.6% | |
| 38 | Guinea-Bissau | 27% | |
| 39 | Mali | 26.7% | |
| 40 | Cote d'Ivoire | 24.8% | |
| 41 | Zimbabwe | 23.4% | |
| 42 | Algeria | 22.1% | |
| 43 | Kenya | 21.8% | |
| 44 | Cameroon | 20.3% | |
| 45 | Ethiopia | 20.2% | |
| 46 | Benin | 20.1% | |
| 47 | Tanzania | 20% | |
| 48 | Niger | 18.1% | |
| 49 | Nigeria | 16.9% ⚠ ’60 | |
| 50 | Chad | 16.7% | |
| 51 | Angola | 11.7% | |
| 52 | Sudan | 1.3% |
Seychelles
Mauritius
Libya
Namibia
Guinea
Mozambique
Tunisia
Mauritania
Eswatini
Cabo Verde
Morocco
Gambia
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
Senegal
Botswana
Togo
Rwanda
Ghana
Central African Republic
Sao Tome and Principe
Madagascar
Comoros
Egypt
Burkina Faso
South Africa
Gabon
Eritrea
South Sudan
Uganda
Malawi
Equatorial Guinea
Sierra Leone
Zambia
Guinea-Bissau
Mali
Cote d'Ivoire
Zimbabwe
Algeria
Kenya
Cameroon
Ethiopia
Benin
Tanzania
Niger
Nigeria
Chad
Angola
SudanGet this ranking via API
One call to /v1/data returns the latest Imports (% of GDP) figure for every country you pass — JSON, with source metadata on each observation.
curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/data?metric_key=imports_goods_services_pct_gdp&latest=true&country_codes=NG,KE,ZA,EG" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"Cite or republish this ranking
Data: Africa API — World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2025. Free to republish with a link to this page. Pull the live figures via the API above so your version never goes stale.
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Frequently asked questions
Which African country has the highest imports of goods and services as a share of GDP?
Lesotho has the highest imports of goods and services as a share of GDP in Africa at 104.5% (2025), followed by Somalia and Djibouti.
Which African country has the lowest imports of goods and services as a share of GDP?
Sudan has the lowest imports of goods and services as a share of GDP of the 52 African countries with data, at 1.3% (2025).
How many African countries report Imports (% of GDP) data?
52 of 54 African countries have a Imports (% of GDP) figure in the Africa API, each from the latest year available for that country (which can differ between countries, here 1960–2025). Every value links to its full series with source and history.
How do I get this ranking via API?
Call GET /v1/data?metric_key=imports_goods_services_pct_gdp&latest=true with the country codes you need and a free Africa API key — the response returns the latest value per country as JSON.
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