Merchandise exports to high-income economies in South Korea
South Korea: Merchandise exports to high-income economies was 53.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in South Korea, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise exports to high-income economies in South Korea is 53.5%, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 6.0% on the previous year and up 8.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to high-income economies in South Korea peaked at 100.0% in 1961 and was at its lowest, 47.6%, in 2018.
South Korea ranks 132nd of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 99.7% | — |
| 1961 | 100.0% | +0.3% |
| 1962 | 98.6% | -1.4% |
| 1963 | 92.6% | -6.1% |
| 1964 | 90.2% | -2.5% |
| 1965 | 85.2% | -5.6% |
| 1966 | 90.0% | +5.7% |
| 1967 | 92.4% | +2.6% |
| 1968 | 94.2% | +2.0% |
| 1969 | 94.2% | -0.0% |
| 1970 | 95.0% | +0.8% |
| 1971 | 93.9% | -1.2% |
| 1972 | 94.8% | +1.0% |
| 1973 | 96.0% | +1.2% |
| 1974 | 95.0% | -1.0% |
| 1975 | 93.7% | -1.4% |
| 1976 | 92.1% | -1.7% |
| 1977 | 91.0% | -1.2% |
| 1978 | 89.8% | -1.2% |
| 1979 | 88.4% | -1.6% |
| 1980 | 84.6% | -4.3% |
| 1981 | 84.3% | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 85.9% | +1.9% |
| 1983 | 88.1% | +2.5% |
| 1984 | 87.3% | -0.9% |
| 1985 | 88.2% | +1.1% |
| 1986 | 91.2% | +3.4% |
| 1987 | 92.2% | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 91.7% | -0.5% |
| 1989 | 90.2% | -1.6% |
| 1990 | 88.0% | -2.5% |
| 1991 | 81.6% | -7.3% |
| 1992 | 78.6% | -3.6% |
| 1993 | 73.2% | -6.9% |
| 1994 | 73.7% | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 74.3% | +0.9% |
| 1996 | 70.1% | -5.8% |
| 1997 | 68.1% | -2.8% |
| 1998 | 70.3% | +3.2% |
| 1999 | 71.4% | +1.5% |
| 2000 | 71.2% | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 68.7% | -3.6% |
| 2002 | 66.7% | -2.9% |
| 2003 | 63.8% | -4.4% |
| 2004 | 62.3% | -2.2% |
| 2005 | 59.9% | -4.0% |
| 2006 | 59.2% | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 57.5% | -3.0% |
| 2008 | 55.8% | -2.9% |
| 2009 | 53.0% | -5.0% |
| 2010 | 51.1% | -3.6% |
| 2011 | 51.1% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 51.0% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 49.1% | -3.7% |
| 2014 | 49.8% | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 49.5% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 49.1% | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 47.6% | -3.0% |
| 2018 | 47.6% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 47.6% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 47.9% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 49.3% | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 50.4% | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 53.5% | +6.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 53.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 80.7%, 66% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 53.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 59.1%, 91% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 93.7% | 85.2% | 100.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 93.0% | 88.4% | 96.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 88.4% | 84.3% | 92.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 74.9% | 68.1% | 88.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 61.8% | 53.0% | 71.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 49.4% | 47.6% | 51.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 50.3% | 47.9% | 53.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More private sector data for South Korea
- Merchandise trade 71.6% (2025)
- Food imports 6.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 60.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 631.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.6% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 87.3% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 709.33 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 13,724 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3788 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 3.76 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise exports to high-income economies in South Korea?
- Merchandise exports to high-income economies in South Korea was 53.5% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1961.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 47.6% in 2018.
- How does South Korea rank for merchandise exports to high-income economies?
- South Korea ranks 132nd out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to high-income economies rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea 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 — 64 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.