Bhaso Ndzendze

14 November 2025

A look at South Africa’s exports of books and newspapers makes for an optimistic read and shows some market resilience (at least at the macro level) even in this digital era.

But what are books and newspapers?

Under its Harmonized System (HS), the World Trade Organization (WTO) classifies all products under any one of 99 chapters, broadly based on their level of manufacturing input and complexity. Thus, for example, live animals are coded under Chapter 1, while vehicles and auto parts are under Chapter 87. Books and newspapers are coded under Chapter 49 in the HS. They include products such as printed books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry, manuscripts, and typescripts. Within Chapter 49, Heading 4901 is for printed books and Heading 4902 for newspapers, journals, and periodicals.

What the data shows

The data from SARS and the United Nations Trademap shows that South Africa exports more books and related products than it imports. The latest available data points to a balance of trade of R617.05-million in 2024 for books (from R374.36-million a decade earlier), and R133.02-million for newspapers in that same year (compared to R98.92-million ten years prior).

Table 1. South African newspaper exports, in millions of ZAR.

Years	Total exports	Exports to Africa	Imports	Balance of trade
2014	93.04	91.21	0.25	90.96
2015	142.84	140.94	1.11	139.82
2016	120.01	117.62	1.61	116.01
2017	124.17	107.50	1.67	105.83
2018	157.83	142.72	0.27	142.44
2019	123.50	121.52	0.12	121.39
2020	72.43	71.40	0.14	71.25
2021	84.95	84.65	0.13	84.52
2022	121.52	120.50	0.08	120.42
2023	124.94	122.77	0.33	122.44
2024	135.88	133.09	0.07	133.02

Source: Author, data from United Nations Trademap.

Table 2. South African book trade (including brochures), in millions of ZAR.

Years	Total exports	Exports to Africa	Imports	Balance of trade
2014	625.94	575.62	201.26	374.36
2015	719.28	657.45	187.77	469.68
2016	774.79	693.72	193.92	499.80
2017	619.70	558.00	158.51	399.49
2018	796.41	751.55	175.54	576.00
2019	728.71	674.34	114.899	559.44
2020	1092.31	1038.83	75.24	963.58
2021	482.33	440.33	110.39	329.93
2022	657.69	536.78	99.90	436.88
2023	759.45	696.93	98.79	598.13
2024	798.84	711.74	94.6	617.05

Source: Author, data from United Nations Trademap.

Room for growth

Books and newspapers constitute only 0.14% of South Africa’s exports to Africa, and 0.011% of GDP. South Africa exports its books and newspapers mostly to Africa, more than to any other region. In 2024, Africa represented 89.09% of South Africa’s book export market and 97.94% for newspapers. The country’s potential, including market diversification outside the continent and the SADC region, still has considerable room for growth.