Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in East Asia in China
China: Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in East Asia was 13.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in East Asia in China, 1961–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
China recorded 13.7% for merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in east asia in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.0% on the previous year and up 48.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in east asia in China peaked at 13.8% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 3.3%, in 1986.
China ranks 66th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in East Asia in China, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 4.5% | — |
| 1978 | 7.0% | +55.2% |
| 1979 | 7.1% | +1.8% |
| 1980 | 7.1% | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 5.2% | -26.2% |
| 1982 | 4.6% | -13.1% |
| 1983 | 4.2% | -8.2% |
| 1984 | 4.3% | +2.8% |
| 1985 | 4.0% | -6.5% |
| 1986 | 3.3% | -17.1% |
| 1987 | 3.7% | +10.4% |
| 1988 | 4.1% | +11.6% |
| 1989 | 3.9% | -3.9% |
| 1990 | 4.3% | +8.5% |
| 1991 | 4.3% | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 4.0% | -8.0% |
| 1993 | 4.2% | +5.4% |
| 1994 | 4.2% | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 5.1% | +20.0% |
| 1996 | 4.8% | -6.5% |
| 1997 | 4.9% | +3.4% |
| 1998 | 4.1% | -16.1% |
| 1999 | 4.2% | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 4.9% | +16.0% |
| 2001 | 5.1% | +3.6% |
| 2002 | 5.3% | +4.7% |
| 2003 | 5.2% | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 5.3% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 5.3% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 5.2% | -2.4% |
| 2007 | 5.5% | +6.5% |
| 2008 | 6.0% | +8.5% |
| 2009 | 6.7% | +11.5% |
| 2010 | 7.0% | +4.9% |
| 2011 | 7.4% | +6.3% |
| 2012 | 8.3% | +11.8% |
| 2013 | 9.2% | +11.3% |
| 2014 | 9.8% | +5.6% |
| 2015 | 10.1% | +3.9% |
| 2016 | 10.5% | +3.3% |
| 2017 | 10.8% | +2.8% |
| 2018 | 11.1% | +3.3% |
| 2019 | 12.5% | +12.8% |
| 2020 | 12.9% | +2.6% |
| 2021 | 12.9% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 13.8% | +6.8% |
| 2023 | 13.7% | -1.0% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 13.7% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 6.1%, 2.3× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- China's 13.7% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 35.9%, 38% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in East Asia in China 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | +55.2% | 4.5% | 7.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.5% | 4.5% | 4.5% | 1 |
| 1970s | 7.0% | 7.0% | 7.1% | 2 |
| 1980s | 4.4% | 3.3% | 7.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.4% | 4.0% | 5.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.4% | 4.9% | 6.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.7% | 7.0% | 12.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.3% | 12.9% | 13.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near China
- 63 Pakistan 15.0% compare
- 64 South Africa 14.1% compare
- 65 Tuvalu 13.9% compare
- 67 Madagascar 13.7% compare
- 68 Kuwait 13.4% compare
- 69 French Polynesia 12.9% compare
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 low- and middle-income economies in east asia in China?
- Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in east asia in China was 13.7% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in east asia recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 13.8% in 2022.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in east asia recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.3% in 1986.
- How does China rank for merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in east asia?
- China ranks 66th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in east asia rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 48.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% 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 low- and middle-income economies in East Asia and Pacific are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to low- and middle-income economies in the East Asia and Pacific region according to World Bank classification of economies. Data are 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.