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African economies
Zimbabwe · Economy

Zimbabwe economy: GDP, investment, trade and remittances

How large the Zimbabwe economy is and how fast it is growing, who invests in it, what it sells and buys, how much its citizens abroad send home, who it owes and what it holds in reserve. The latest published year is shown with each figure.

GDP
US$51.2 billion
current US$, 2025
Real GDP growth
8.1%
2025
GDP per person
US$3,021
current US$, 2025
Exports of goods
US$7.4 billion
2024
Remittances received
US$3.5 billion
2024, 8.5% of GDP
Foreign direct investment, net inflows
US$965 million
2025, 1.9% of GDP

Zimbabwe economy snapshot: GDP, growth and income per person

Zimbabwe's GDP was US$51.2 billion in 2025, after real growth of 8.1%.

GDP

Current US dollars.

020bn40bn60bn201520172019202120232025GDP 2015: US$20.0 billionGDP 2016: US$20.6 billionGDP 2017: US$51.0 billionGDP 2018: US$34.1 billionGDP 2019: US$33.4 billionGDP 2020: US$32.0 billionGDP 2021: US$41.3 billionGDP 2022: US$40.8 billionGDP 2023: US$35.9 billionGDP 2024: US$41.5 billionGDP 2025: US$51.2 billion

Real GDP growth

Annual change, per cent. Red bars are contractions.

-10%-5%0%5%10%201520172019202120232025Real GDP growth 2015: 1.8%Real GDP growth 2016: 0.8%Real GDP growth 2017: 4.7%Real GDP growth 2018: 5.0%Real GDP growth 2019: -6.3%Real GDP growth 2020: -7.8%Real GDP growth 2021: 8.5%Real GDP growth 2022: 6.1%Real GDP growth 2023: 5.4%Real GDP growth 2024: 1.7%Real GDP growth 2025: 8.1%

GDP per person

Current US dollars.

01k2k3k4k201520172019202120232025GDP per person 2015: US$1,387GDP per person 2016: US$1,408GDP per person 2017: US$3,445GDP per person 2018: US$2,271GDP per person 2019: US$2,185GDP per person 2020: US$2,060GDP per person 2021: US$2,614GDP per person 2022: US$2,536GDP per person 2023: US$2,195GDP per person 2024: US$2,496GDP per person 2025: US$3,021

Source: World Bank, 2025. Method

Who invests in Zimbabwe and in what

Direct investment by investing country

South Africa was the largest investing country in Zimbabwe, at 32% of inward direct investment positions in 2024.

Inward direct investment positions in Zimbabwe at the end of 2024: the stock of foreign direct investment, not a year's new flow. The 10 largest investing countries.

The IMF data holds no positions reported by Zimbabwe itself. The figures are derived by the IMF from what the investing countries report, so they are shown as reported by investing countries.

South AfricaUS$1.8 billion31.6%
MauritiusUS$1.6 billion27.5%
ChinaUS$759 million13.2%
GermanyUS$592 million10.3%
United StatesUS$301 million5.2%
NetherlandsUS$271 million4.7%
ItalyUS$106 million1.8%
IndiaUS$89 million1.5%
BotswanaUS$86 million1.5%
FranceUS$78 million1.4%

Source: IMF, 2024. Method

What Zimbabwe sells and buys

Pearls, precious stones and metals was 38% of exports in 2024.

Zimbabwe sold the most to United Arab Emirates, 37% of exports in 2024.

Exports by product, 2024

Tile area follows value. Each tile is a customs chapter of the Harmonized System; hover for the full name.

Natural, cultured pearls: US$2.9 billion, 38.3%Pearls, precious stones and m…38%Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes: US$1.4 billion, 19.2%Tobacco19%Nickel and articles thereof: US$989 million, 13.3%Nickel and articles ther…13%Ores, slag and ash: US$878 million, 11.8%Ores, slag and ash12%Iron and steel: US$348 million, 4.7%Iron and s…5%Salt: US$318 million, 4.3%Salt, sul…4%Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation: US$216 million, 2.9%Sugars and sugar confectionery: US$45 million, 0.6%Raw hides and skins (other than furskins) and leather: US$35 million, 0.5%Fruit and nuts, edible: US$34 million, 0.5%Machinery and mechanical appliances, boilers, nuclear reactors: US$26 million, 0.4%Coffee, tea, mate and spices: US$22 million, 0.3%All other chapters: US$246 million, 3.3%All othe…3%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method

Top buyers, 2024

Share of Zimbabwe's exports.

United Arab EmiratesUS$2.7 billion36.6%
South AfricaUS$2.1 billion27.6%
ChinaUS$1.3 billion17.3%
MozambiqueUS$253 million3.4%
ZambiaUS$145 million1.9%
BelgiumUS$115 million1.5%
IndonesiaUS$78 million1.0%
NetherlandsUS$77 million1.0%
VietnamUS$72 million1.0%
Hong KongUS$52 million0.7%

Top suppliers, 2024

Share of Zimbabwe's imports.

South AfricaUS$3.8 billion39.5%
ChinaUS$1.3 billion13.9%
BahamasUS$732 million7.7%
MozambiqueUS$404 million4.2%
SingaporeUS$334 million3.5%
ZambiaUS$315 million3.3%
United Arab EmiratesUS$306 million3.2%
BahrainUS$275 million2.9%
MauritiusUS$205 million2.1%
IndiaUS$190 million2.0%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method

What Zimbabwe buys, 2024

The 8 largest product chapters in imports.

Mineral fuels and oilsUS$2.0 billion21.2%
Machinery and mechanical appliancesUS$1.1 billion12.1%
CerealsUS$939 million9.8%
VehiclesUS$763 million8.0%
Electrical machinery and equipmentUS$567 million5.9%
FertilisersUS$331 million3.5%
PlasticsUS$327 million3.4%
Fats and oilsUS$282 million3.0%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method

Trade balance of goods

Exports minus imports. Red bars are years when imports were larger. A year is left out when either side is not published.

-3.0bn-2.0bn-1.0bn020152017201920212023Trade balance 2015: -US$2.6 billion (exports US$3.4 billion, imports US$6.1 billion)Trade balance 2016: -US$2.0 billion (exports US$3.3 billion, imports US$5.3 billion)Trade balance 2017: -US$1.5 billion (exports US$3.5 billion, imports US$5.0 billion)Trade balance 2018: -US$2.4 billion (exports US$4.0 billion, imports US$6.5 billion)Trade balance 2019: -US$508 million (exports US$4.3 billion, imports US$4.8 billion)Trade balance 2020: -US$1.2 billion (exports US$4.4 billion, imports US$5.6 billion)Trade balance 2021: -US$1.5 billion (exports US$6.0 billion, imports US$7.5 billion)Trade balance 2022: -US$2.0 billion (exports US$6.6 billion, imports US$8.6 billion)Trade balance 2023: -US$2.0 billion (exports US$7.2 billion, imports US$9.2 billion)Trade balance 2024: -US$2.1 billion (exports US$7.4 billion, imports US$9.5 billion)

Source: UN Comtrade, 2024. Method

Remittances against foreign direct investment in Zimbabwe

Remittances to Zimbabwe were 7.5 times foreign direct investment in 2024.

Remittances receivedForeign direct investment, net inflows
01.0bn2.0bn3.0bn4.0bn201520172019202120232025Remittances 2015: US$2.0 billionRemittances 2016: US$1.9 billionRemittances 2017: US$1.7 billionRemittances 2018: US$1.4 billionRemittances 2019: US$1.4 billionRemittances 2020: US$1.8 billionRemittances 2021: US$2.6 billionRemittances 2022: US$3.1 billionRemittances 2023: US$3.3 billionRemittances 2024: US$3.5 billionForeign direct investment 2015: US$399 millionForeign direct investment 2016: US$343 millionForeign direct investment 2017: US$307 millionForeign direct investment 2018: US$414 millionForeign direct investment 2019: US$250 millionForeign direct investment 2020: US$150 millionForeign direct investment 2021: US$237 millionForeign direct investment 2022: US$337 millionForeign direct investment 2023: US$604 millionForeign direct investment 2024: US$465 millionForeign direct investment 2025: US$965 million

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Remittances and investment as a share of GDP

The same two flows measured against the size of the economy.

Remittances, share of GDPForeign direct investment, share of GDP
0%5%10%15%201520172019202120232025Remittances 2015: 10.2%Remittances 2016: 9.0%Remittances 2017: 3.4%Remittances 2018: 4.2%Remittances 2019: 4.2%Remittances 2020: 5.7%Remittances 2021: 6.2%Remittances 2022: 7.6%Remittances 2023: 9.2%Remittances 2024: 8.5%Foreign direct investment 2015: 2.0%Foreign direct investment 2016: 1.7%Foreign direct investment 2017: 0.6%Foreign direct investment 2018: 1.2%Foreign direct investment 2019: 0.7%Foreign direct investment 2020: 0.5%Foreign direct investment 2021: 0.6%Foreign direct investment 2022: 0.8%Foreign direct investment 2023: 1.7%Foreign direct investment 2024: 1.1%Foreign direct investment 2025: 1.9%

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Who Zimbabwe owes

External debt stock by type of creditor. Creditor types cover public and publicly guaranteed debt; the grey part is the rest of the total external debt stock. A creditor type with no published figure is not shown.

Bilateral creditors held 21% of Zimbabwe's external debt stock in 2024.

Public external debt owed to China was US$2.0 billion in 2024, 14% of the external debt stock.

MultilateralBilateralBondsCommercial banksRest of the totalPublic debt owed to China
05.0bn10bn15bn20152017201920212023Multilateral 2015: US$1.9 billionBilateral 2015: US$2.1 billionBonds 2015: US$27 thousandCommercial banks 2015: US$396 millionRest of the total 2015: US$5.6 billionMultilateral 2016: US$1.8 billionBilateral 2016: US$2.2 billionBonds 2016: US$26 thousandCommercial banks 2016: US$371 millionRest of the total 2016: US$7.4 billionMultilateral 2017: US$1.7 billionBilateral 2017: US$2.4 billionBonds 2017: US$30 thousandCommercial banks 2017: US$411 millionRest of the total 2017: US$8.3 billionMultilateral 2018: US$1.5 billionBilateral 2018: US$2.6 billionBonds 2018: US$29 thousandCommercial banks 2018: US$393 millionRest of the total 2018: US$8.5 billionMultilateral 2019: US$1.5 billionBilateral 2019: US$2.6 billionBonds 2019: US$28 thousandCommercial banks 2019: US$385 millionRest of the total 2019: US$8.0 billionMultilateral 2020: US$1.5 billionBilateral 2020: US$2.8 billionBonds 2020: US$31 thousandCommercial banks 2020: US$412 millionRest of the total 2020: US$8.3 billionMultilateral 2021: US$1.5 billionBilateral 2021: US$2.9 billionBonds 2021: US$28 thousandCommercial banks 2021: US$390 millionRest of the total 2021: US$9.4 billionMultilateral 2022: US$1.5 billionBilateral 2022: US$3.0 billionBonds 2022: US$27 thousandCommercial banks 2022: US$365 millionRest of the total 2022: US$9.3 billionMultilateral 2023: US$1.9 billionBilateral 2023: US$3.1 billionBonds 2023: US$28 thousandCommercial banks 2023: US$378 millionRest of the total 2023: US$9.3 billionMultilateral 2024: US$1.8 billionBilateral 2024: US$3.0 billionBonds 2024: US$26 thousandCommercial banks 2024: US$361 millionRest of the total 2024: US$9.2 billionPublic debt owed to China 2015: US$1.0 billionPublic debt owed to China 2016: US$1.1 billionPublic debt owed to China 2017: US$1.3 billionPublic debt owed to China 2018: US$1.5 billionPublic debt owed to China 2019: US$1.5 billionPublic debt owed to China 2020: US$1.6 billionPublic debt owed to China 2021: US$1.7 billionPublic debt owed to China 2022: US$1.9 billionPublic debt owed to China 2023: US$2.0 billionPublic debt owed to China 2024: US$2.0 billion

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Reserves and months of import cover

Total reserves including gold, and how many months of imports they cover.

Reserves, US$Months of imports
0250m500m750m1.0bn011220152017201920212023Reserves 2015: US$435 millionReserves 2016: US$407 millionReserves 2017: US$293 millionReserves 2018: US$87 millionReserves 2019: US$151 millionReserves 2020: US$33 millionReserves 2021: US$839 millionReserves 2022: US$599 millionReserves 2023: US$116 millionReserves 2024: US$485 millionMonths of imports 2015: 0.7 monthsMonths of imports 2016: 0.7 monthsMonths of imports 2017: 0.5 monthsMonths of imports 2018: 0.1 monthsMonths of imports 2019: 0.3 monthsMonths of imports 2020: 0.1 monthsMonths of imports 2021: 1.1 monthsMonths of imports 2022: 0.7 monthsMonths of imports 2023: 0.1 monthsMonths of imports 2024: 0.5 months

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Aid received by Zimbabwe

Net official development assistance and official aid received.

0250m500m750m1.0bn20152017201920212023Aid received 2015: US$788 millionAid received 2016: US$654 millionAid received 2017: US$726 millionAid received 2018: US$795 millionAid received 2019: US$845 millionAid received 2020: US$986 millionAid received 2021: US$987 millionAid received 2022: US$788 millionAid received 2023: US$792 million

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

More on Zimbabwe

World Bank data pages for Zimbabwe: GDP, GDP growth, GDP per person, remittances, foreign direct investment, reserves, months of imports, external debt, debt by creditor, aid. UN Comtrade: trade data. IMF: direct investment positions.