Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Least developed countries
Least developed countries: Merchandise exports to high-income economies was 49.7% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Least developed countries, 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 Least developed countries is 49.7%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 9.3% on the previous year and up 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to high-income economies in Least developed countries peaked at 84.8% in 1968 and was at its lowest, 39.5%, in 2000.
That places Least developed countries 40th out of 47 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Least developed countries, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 75.5% | — |
| 1961 | 77.1% | +2.1% |
| 1962 | 76.4% | -1.0% |
| 1963 | 79.0% | +3.4% |
| 1964 | 80.8% | +2.4% |
| 1965 | 80.3% | -0.7% |
| 1966 | 84.1% | +4.7% |
| 1967 | 83.6% | -0.6% |
| 1968 | 84.8% | +1.5% |
| 1969 | 83.2% | -1.9% |
| 1970 | 81.4% | -2.1% |
| 1971 | 79.6% | -2.3% |
| 1972 | 75.5% | -5.1% |
| 1973 | 76.5% | +1.2% |
| 1974 | 77.9% | +1.8% |
| 1975 | 79.4% | +2.0% |
| 1976 | 83.9% | +5.6% |
| 1977 | 83.0% | -1.0% |
| 1978 | 80.7% | -2.8% |
| 1979 | 79.3% | -1.7% |
| 1980 | 78.1% | -1.6% |
| 1981 | 76.9% | -1.5% |
| 1982 | 80.3% | +4.4% |
| 1983 | 82.3% | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 82.4% | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 82.5% | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 83.0% | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 82.7% | -0.4% |
| 1988 | 83.3% | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 83.8% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 83.5% | -0.3% |
| 1991 | 81.1% | -2.8% |
| 1992 | 81.4% | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 77.7% | -4.5% |
| 1994 | 76.8% | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 72.8% | -5.2% |
| 1996 | 71.5% | -1.7% |
| 1997 | 73.7% | +3.1% |
| 1998 | 77.2% | +4.7% |
| 1999 | 73.9% | -4.3% |
| 2000 | 39.5% | -46.5% |
| 2001 | 41.5% | +5.0% |
| 2002 | 42.1% | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 46.6% | +10.8% |
| 2004 | 54.1% | +16.0% |
| 2005 | 56.9% | +5.1% |
| 2006 | 60.8% | +6.9% |
| 2007 | 60.4% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 59.6% | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 55.0% | -7.7% |
| 2010 | 53.4% | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 54.6% | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 46.6% | -14.7% |
| 2013 | 48.3% | +3.7% |
| 2014 | 48.1% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 50.2% | +4.2% |
| 2016 | 50.4% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 47.9% | -4.9% |
| 2018 | 45.9% | -4.0% |
| 2019 | 49.3% | +7.3% |
| 2020 | 52.0% | +5.4% |
| 2021 | 49.6% | -4.5% |
| 2022 | 54.7% | +10.3% |
| 2023 | 49.7% | -9.3% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Least developed countries 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | -46.5% | 73.9% | 39.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 80.5% | 75.5% | 84.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 79.7% | 75.5% | 83.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 81.5% | 76.9% | 83.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 77.0% | 71.5% | 83.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 51.7% | 39.5% | 60.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 49.5% | 45.9% | 54.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 51.5% | 49.6% | 54.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Least developed countries
More private sector data for Least developed countries
- Merchandise trade 41.4% (2025)
- Food imports 15.6% (2019)
- Manufactures imports 62.6% (2019)
- Merchandise imports 376.94 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 15.1% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 20.1% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 311.48 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 256.54 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1884 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 10.88 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise exports to high-income economies in Least developed countries?
- Merchandise exports to high-income economies in Least developed countries was 49.7% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in Least developed countries?
- The highest recorded value was 84.8% in 1968.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to high-income economies recorded in Least developed countries?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.5% in 2000.
- How does Least developed countries rank for merchandise exports to high-income economies?
- Least developed countries ranks 40th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to high-income economies rising or falling in Least developed countries?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Least developed countries 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.