Merchandise exports to high-income economies in China
China: Merchandise exports to high-income economies was 65.7% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in China, 1961–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
China recorded 65.7% for merchandise exports to high-income economies in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 47 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.6% on the previous year and down 12.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to high-income economies in China peaked at 91.0% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 65.7%, in 2023.
That places China 103rd out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in China, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 82.8% | — |
| 1978 | 86.0% | +3.9% |
| 1979 | 86.1% | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 85.3% | -0.9% |
| 1981 | 80.6% | -5.5% |
| 1982 | 77.7% | -3.6% |
| 1983 | 78.5% | +1.0% |
| 1984 | 80.8% | +3.0% |
| 1985 | 84.6% | +4.6% |
| 1986 | 85.2% | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 84.4% | -0.9% |
| 1988 | 86.5% | +2.5% |
| 1989 | 90.7% | +4.8% |
| 1990 | 89.8% | -1.0% |
| 1991 | 91.0% | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 91.0% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 89.9% | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 90.6% | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 89.1% | -1.7% |
| 1996 | 89.7% | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 89.2% | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 89.0% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 89.0% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 88.1% | -1.0% |
| 2001 | 87.5% | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 87.0% | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 86.7% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 86.1% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 85.4% | -0.8% |
| 2006 | 83.9% | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 81.8% | -2.5% |
| 2008 | 79.5% | -2.8% |
| 2009 | 78.4% | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 77.6% | -1.1% |
| 2011 | 76.4% | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 75.6% | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 74.6% | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 73.4% | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 73.0% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 72.7% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 72.0% | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 71.8% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 69.9% | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 70.9% | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 69.4% | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 67.4% | -2.9% |
| 2023 | 65.7% | -2.6% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 65.7% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 65.7%, 100% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- China's 65.7% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 59.1%, 1.1× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 82.8% | 82.8% | 82.8% | 1 |
| 1970s | 86.1% | 86.0% | 86.1% | 2 |
| 1980s | 83.4% | 77.7% | 90.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 89.8% | 89.0% | 91.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 84.5% | 78.4% | 88.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 73.7% | 69.9% | 77.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 68.3% | 65.7% | 70.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near China
More private sector data for China
- Merchandise trade 32.6% (2025)
- Food imports 8.1% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 49.3% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 2.58 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 2.4% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 91.2% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 3.77 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 2,682 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1934 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 5.48 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise exports to high-income economies in China?
- Merchandise exports to high-income economies in China was 65.7% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 91.0% in 1992.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 65.7% in 2023.
- How does China rank for merchandise exports to high-income economies?
- China ranks 103rd out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to high-income economies rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise exports to high-income economies are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise exports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.