Neighbor South Africa

However, some strong regional value chains are in place across economies that neighbor South Africa. Countries located within Southern Africa, for example, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, are strongly connected to South Africa in the regional production system, sourcing substantial amounts of foreign value added from South Africa (figure 4.17). More distant Sub-Saharan African countries systematically show remarkably low integration in the regional production system. Proximity to countries with important manufacturing industries is critical to the development of such production networks.

Figure 4.17 Strong Regional Value Chains for Countries That Neighbor South Africa

COG

TCD

GMB

NER

SUD

DJI MOZ

UGA

AGO ZMB GIN

MLI COD

ERI SLE

NGA

LSO

LBR

BFA CIV SEN

CPV

GHA

MWI

MRT GAB

MUS

SOM

ZAF BDI ETH

MDG

RWA

BEN

CMR

BWA

SWZ TZA

SYC

ZWE KEN

TGO

NAM SDS

Source: World Bank illustration using indicators of global value chain participation (share of foreign value added) calculated from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Eora database. Note: Line thickness indicates strength of relationship between the two countries. Figure is based on weights of foreign value-added trade between countries in the region.