Food imports (% of merchandise imports) in Low & middle income
Low & middle income: Food imports (% of merchandise imports) was 8.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Food imports in Low & middle income, 1984–2025
Source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division. Measured in % of merchandise imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for food imports in Low & middle income is 8.4%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 8.6% on the previous year and down 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, food imports in Low & middle income peaked at 10.8% in 1984 and was at its lowest, 5.8%, in 2006.
Low & middle income ranks 38th of 47 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 38 years of available data.
Food imports (% of merchandise imports) in Low & middle income, year by year
| Year | % of merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 10.8% | — |
| 1985 | 8.4% | -22.2% |
| 1986 | 8.3% | -1.5% |
| 1987 | 9.1% | +10.2% |
| 1992 | 6.9% | -23.7% |
| 1993 | 5.9% | -15.6% |
| 1994 | 7.2% | +22.4% |
| 1995 | 8.3% | +15.1% |
| 1996 | 8.4% | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 7.8% | -6.6% |
| 1998 | 7.9% | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 7.6% | -3.3% |
| 2000 | 6.9% | -9.7% |
| 2001 | 7.2% | +3.9% |
| 2002 | 7.1% | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 7.3% | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 6.7% | -7.9% |
| 2005 | 6.0% | -10.5% |
| 2006 | 5.8% | -3.9% |
| 2007 | 6.6% | +14.0% |
| 2008 | 6.9% | +4.1% |
| 2009 | 7.4% | +8.4% |
| 2010 | 7.1% | -3.8% |
| 2011 | 7.5% | +5.4% |
| 2012 | 7.5% | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 7.6% | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 7.9% | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 8.4% | +6.6% |
| 2016 | 9.0% | +7.5% |
| 2017 | 8.8% | -2.3% |
| 2018 | 8.1% | -8.3% |
| 2019 | 8.4% | +4.3% |
| 2020 | 9.8% | +15.8% |
| 2021 | 9.4% | -3.2% |
| 2022 | 9.3% | -1.6% |
| 2023 | 9.6% | +3.0% |
| 2024 | 9.1% | -4.5% |
| 2025 | 8.4% | -8.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 9.1% | 8.3% | 10.8% | 4 |
| 1990s | 7.5% | 5.9% | 8.4% | 8 |
| 2000s | 6.8% | 5.8% | 7.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.0% | 7.1% | 9.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.3% | 8.4% | 9.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Low & middle income
More private sector data for Low & middle income
- Merchandise trade 41.5% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 59.9% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 8.33 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 1.91 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 9.5% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 74.2% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 8.84 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 1.80 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,301 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.213 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is food imports in Low & middle income?
- Food imports in Low & middle income was 8.4% in 2025, according to Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division.
- What is the highest food imports recorded in Low & middle income?
- The highest recorded value was 10.8% in 1984.
- What is the lowest food imports recorded in Low & middle income?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.8% in 2006.
- How does Low & middle income rank for food imports?
- Low & middle income ranks 38th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is food imports rising or falling in Low & middle income?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Low & middle income 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 — 38 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.