South Africa

For further information regarding the country, please check the links below the chart. Detailed information about each category are provided on the pages following the links.

1. Arms Embargoes and other International Obligations Not critical
2. Adherence to Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Critical
3. Internal Conflict Critical
4. Preservation of Regional Peace, Security and Stability Possibly critical
5. Presence of Allied Armed Forces in Fragile Environments Not critical
6. Membership in International Conventions Not critical
7. Arms Export Controls and Transparency Not critical
8. Danger of Disproportionate Military Capacities Impairing Development Not critical
Value of approved arms export licenses from Germany to South Africa in €
Year Arms export licenses in €
1999 4,243,723
2000 7,972,120
2001 5,286,789
2002 21,220,637
2003 427,852,065
2004 152,446,677
2005 613,918,156
2006 19,082,020
2007 33,826,025
2008 14,657,781
2009 26,405,780
2010 22,168,247
2011 19,920,479
2012 14,732,392
2013 14,088,327
2014 22,170,572
2015 19,539,308
2016 62,709,253
2017 17,593,911
2018 7,106,946
2019 15,500,033
2020 11,645,590
2021 3,734,416
2022 7,305,282
2023 7,305,282
German exports of weapons of war to South Africa in €
Year German exports of weapons of war in €
1999 0
2000 0
2001 0
2002 0
2003 259,770,000
2004 264,714,000
2005 180,006,000
2006 183,538,000
2007 61,000
2008 180,311,000
2009 3,572,000
2010 4,272,000
2011 149,000
2012 29,000
2013 768,750
2014 4,690,000
2015 3,106,000
2016 4,098,000
2017 2,170,000
2018 0
2019 1,040,000
2020 n.s.
2021 n.s.
2022 n.s.
2023 n.s.

1999-2002: Data only available for commercial exports to the 10 largest recipient states.

2003-2010: All exports of weapons of war, including commercial and non-commercial exports.

n.s.: Not specified

Weapons of war: According to section §1(2) of the German War Weapons Control Act (KrWaffKontrG), weapons of war are “objects, substances or organisms that are capable of causing destruction or damage to persons or objects either alone or in combination with each other or other objects and that may serve as a means to use force in armed conflicts between states” (see Annex 5 of the Arms Exports Report of the German Government).

Armaments: According to the 2019 Arms Exports Report of the German government (page 9) armaments are “a whole range of goods that go beyond terms dominating the public debate about arms exports, like “weapons” or “tanks” (see Annex 4 of the Arms Exports Report of the German Government).