Libya vs Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Merchandise trade

Libya
102.7%
in 2025
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
44.5%
in 2025
Libya rank
24th
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank
22nd

Merchandise trade over time

  • Libya
  • Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
255075100125196019922025

How they compare

Libya currently reports 102.7% against 44.5% in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), a difference of 58.2%.

That makes Libya's figure about 2.3 times Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)'s.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Libya ahead.

Libya ranks 24th and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 22nd of 204 countries.

Libya has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Libya Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) Difference Ahead
1960s 59.2% 30.8% 28.4% Libya
1970s 67.2% 36.2% 31.0% Libya
1980s 56.6% 34.6% 21.9% Libya
1990s 48.5% 33.0% 15.5% Libya
2000s 53.3% 44.1% 9.1% Libya
2010s 74.0% 43.4% 30.6% Libya
2020s 103.3% 40.3% 63.0% Libya

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher merchandise trade, Libya or Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
Libya, at 102.7% against 44.5% in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) as of 2025.
What is the difference in merchandise trade between Libya and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
58.2%, with Libya ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Libya and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
How do Libya and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank globally for merchandise trade?
Libya ranks 24th and Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 22nd of 204 countries.
Where does this data come from?
World Trade Organization (WTO), published as Merchandise trade (% of GDP). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Libya vs Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Merchandise trade. Statizoid, drawing on World Trade Organization (WTO). Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://private-sector.statizoid.com/compare/merchandise-trade-percent-of-gdp/libya/sub-saharan-africa-excluding-high-income/

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About this data

Indicator
Merchandise trade (% of GDP)
Unit
% of GDP
Source
World Trade Organization (WTO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
251 places, 14,091 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

General merchandise trade includes goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.