Share of plastic waste exports in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Share of plastic waste exports was 0.1% in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
0.1%
Change on year
up 444.4%
World rank
72nd
of 162 countries
All-time high
0.1%
in 2024
All-time low
0.0%
in 2013
Years of data
18
1995–2024

Share of plastic waste exports in Zimbabwe, 1995–2024

00.020.040.061995200920241995: 0 %2005: 0.001 %2007: 0.001 %2010: 0 %2011: 0.001 %2012: 0 %2013: 0 %2014: 0.004 %2015: 0.007 %2016: 0.007 %2017: 0.008 %2018: 0.05 %2019: 0.032 %2020: 0.004 %2021: 0.02 %2022: 0.034 %2023: 0.012 %2024: 0.067 %

Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, share of plastic waste exports in Zimbabwe stood at 0.1%. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 444.4% on the previous year and up 1,455.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of plastic waste exports in Zimbabwe peaked at 0.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2013.

That places Zimbabwe 72nd out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Share of plastic waste exports in Zimbabwe, year by year

Annual values for Share of plastic waste exports in Zimbabwe, 1995 to 2024.
Year % Change
1995 0.0%
2005 0.0% +215.2%
2007 0.0% -14.2%
2010 0.0% -55.5%
2011 0.0% +328.6%
2012 0.0% -81.9%
2013 0.0% -62.0%
2014 0.0% +5494.1%
2015 0.0% +66.4%
2016 0.0% -3.1%
2017 0.0% +13.3%
2018 0.0% +536.6%
2019 0.0% -35.9%
2020 0.0% -86.6%
2021 0.0% +360.2%
2022 0.0% +72.4%
2023 0.0% -63.9%
2024 0.1% +444.4%

Zimbabwe compared with similar countries

  • Zimbabwe's 0.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.0%, 2.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)
  • Zimbabwe's 0.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.0%, 2.1× the median. (33 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Share of plastic waste exports in Zimbabwe changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2014 +5494.1% 0.0% 0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
2000s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
2010s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 10
2020s 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 5

Countries ranked near Zimbabwe

  1. 69 Mauritius 0.1% compare
  2. 70 Laos 0.1% compare
  3. 71 Ethiopia 0.1% compare
  4. 73 Burkina Faso 0.1% compare
  5. 74 Libya 0.1% compare
  6. 75 Serbia 0.1% compare

See the full ranking of 162 places →

More environment data for Zimbabwe

All data for Zimbabwe →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of plastic waste exports in Zimbabwe?
Share of plastic waste exports in Zimbabwe was 0.1% in 2024, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Zimbabwe?
The highest recorded value was 0.1% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Zimbabwe?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2013.
How does Zimbabwe rank for share of plastic waste exports?
Zimbabwe ranks 72nd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of plastic waste exports rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
Over the last ten years it is up 1,455.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Zimbabwe data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of plastic waste exports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of plastic waste exports in Zimbabwe. Statizoid, drawing on United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/share-plastic-waste-exports/zimbabwe/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of plastic waste exports
Unit
%
Source
United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
162 places, 2,674 data points, 1988–2024
Last refreshed

Percentage of global plastic waste exports that a country accounts for.