Food imports in Bahamas
Bahamas: Food imports was 20.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Food imports in Bahamas, 1974–2024
Source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division. Measured in % of merchandise imports.
Analysis
Bahamas recorded 20.0% for food imports in 2024.
That represents a change of down 9.7% on the previous year and up 24.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, food imports in Bahamas peaked at 22.5% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 1.5%, in 1981.
Bahamas ranks 62nd of 196 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 39 years of available data.
Food imports in Bahamas, year by year
| Year | % of merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 4.2% | — |
| 1975 | 2.6% | -37.7% |
| 1976 | 2.7% | +1.8% |
| 1980 | 2.0% | -23.4% |
| 1981 | 1.5% | -25.8% |
| 1982 | 2.9% | +89.1% |
| 1983 | 3.4% | +20.2% |
| 1984 | 4.4% | +27.7% |
| 1985 | 6.0% | +37.6% |
| 1986 | 6.0% | -1.3% |
| 1987 | 7.3% | +22.0% |
| 1997 | 16.3% | +123.4% |
| 1998 | 16.5% | +1.4% |
| 1999 | 18.0% | +9.1% |
| 2000 | 16.7% | -7.1% |
| 2001 | 17.5% | +4.7% |
| 2002 | 18.6% | +6.5% |
| 2003 | 18.1% | -2.8% |
| 2004 | 18.4% | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 15.6% | -14.8% |
| 2006 | 14.9% | -4.7% |
| 2007 | 15.4% | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 15.7% | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 18.4% | +17.0% |
| 2010 | 17.5% | -4.6% |
| 2011 | 15.9% | -9.5% |
| 2012 | 15.9% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 16.1% | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 16.1% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 19.3% | +20.4% |
| 2016 | 20.2% | +4.5% |
| 2017 | 18.6% | -7.9% |
| 2018 | 19.2% | +3.3% |
| 2019 | 18.3% | -4.9% |
| 2020 | 20.9% | +14.3% |
| 2021 | 21.9% | +5.0% |
| 2022 | 22.5% | +2.6% |
| 2023 | 22.1% | -1.8% |
| 2024 | 20.0% | -9.7% |
Bahamas compared with similar countries
- Bahamas's 20.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 12.8%, 1.6× the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Bahamas's 20.0% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 18.4%, 1.1× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Food imports in Bahamas 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +123.4% | 7.3% | 16.3% |
| 1982 | +89.1% | 1.5% | 2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.2% | 2.6% | 4.2% | 3 |
| 1980s | 4.2% | 1.5% | 7.3% | 8 |
| 1990s | 16.9% | 16.3% | 18.0% | 3 |
| 2000s | 16.9% | 14.9% | 18.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.7% | 15.9% | 20.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.5% | 20.0% | 22.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Bahamas
More private sector data for Bahamas
- Merchandise trade 35.6% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 61.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 5.52 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 52.2% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 31.2% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 711.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,764 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0435 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 3.19 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 13,696 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is food imports in Bahamas?
- Food imports in Bahamas was 20.0% in 2024, according to Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division.
- What is the highest food imports recorded in Bahamas?
- The highest recorded value was 22.5% in 2022.
- What is the lowest food imports recorded in Bahamas?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.5% in 1981.
- How does Bahamas rank for food imports?
- Bahamas ranks 62nd out of 196 countries with data for 2024.
- Is food imports rising or falling in Bahamas?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bahamas data come from?
- The figures come from Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division, published as part of Food imports (% of merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 39 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Food comprises the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 0 (food and live animals), 1 (beverages and tobacco), and 4 (animal and vegetable oils and fats) and division 22 (oil seeds, oil nuts, and oil kernels). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise imports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a non-resident and a 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.