How intellectual property payments and receipts compare across African economies

South Africa had the largest flows in both directions

South Africa recorded USD 1,664.84 million in payments and USD 218.09 million in receipts in 2024. The gap was about USD 1,446.75 million. Egypt recorded USD 522.30 million in payments and USD 1.30 million in receipts. These are gross flows in each direction before calculating a difference. Source 1 Source 2

Kenya and Rwanda illustrate different scales and directions

Kenya paid USD 65.48 million and received USD 41.53 million in 2024. Rwanda paid about USD 0.30 million and received USD 0.68 million. Rwanda’s receipts were larger than its payments, although both were below one million dollars. Compare the direction and size separately. Source 1 Source 2

A missing series limits the comparison for Nigeria

Nigeria’s table has published payments but no receipts in the extracted series. Its 2024 payment value was USD 252.84 million, a value repeated in several of its annual records. The chart omits Nigeria to preserve paired comparisons. The absence of receipt data cannot establish a zero or a balance. Source 1 Source 2

Licences are recorded according to the rights transferred

The IMF category includes qualifying charges for using proprietary rights and some licences to reproduce or distribute products such as software and audiovisual works. An outright sale of rights or purchase of a product for personal use can fall under other categories. The aggregate values do not identify the contracts or partner countries. Source 3

Sources

• IMF balance-of-payments data via World Bank, charges for use of IP, payments
• IMF balance-of-payments data via World Bank, charges for use of IP, receipts
• IMF, Balance of Payments Manual, Chapter 10, intellectual property charges