Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Europe & in South Korea
South Korea: Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Europe & was 2.5% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Europe & in South Korea, 1976–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 2.5% for merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe & in 2023. That is the highest value across all 48 years on record.
The figure is up 33.6% on the previous year and up 35.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe & in South Korea peaked at 2.5% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1982.
South Korea ranks 60th of 204 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Europe & in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 0.1% | — |
| 1977 | 0.2% | +54.9% |
| 1978 | 0.4% | +114.9% |
| 1979 | 0.4% | -17.1% |
| 1980 | 0.3% | -20.6% |
| 1981 | 0.1% | -53.9% |
| 1982 | 0.0% | -74.5% |
| 1983 | 0.1% | +106.2% |
| 1984 | 0.1% | -23.4% |
| 1985 | 0.4% | +582.1% |
| 1986 | 0.2% | -54.0% |
| 1987 | 0.2% | -8.1% |
| 1988 | 0.2% | +3.1% |
| 1989 | 0.2% | +27.8% |
| 1990 | 0.6% | +174.2% |
| 1991 | 0.5% | -19.0% |
| 1992 | 0.5% | +19.3% |
| 1993 | 1.0% | +74.5% |
| 1994 | 0.6% | -37.6% |
| 1995 | 0.7% | +24.9% |
| 1996 | 1.2% | +57.0% |
| 1997 | 1.6% | +33.8% |
| 1998 | 1.4% | -10.0% |
| 1999 | 0.9% | -33.4% |
| 2000 | 1.0% | +7.1% |
| 2001 | 0.9% | -7.7% |
| 2002 | 0.9% | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 1.2% | +31.3% |
| 2004 | 1.5% | +21.6% |
| 2005 | 1.6% | +6.5% |
| 2006 | 1.6% | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 2.0% | +25.5% |
| 2008 | 1.8% | -7.4% |
| 2009 | 1.4% | -22.9% |
| 2010 | 1.6% | +9.0% |
| 2011 | 1.7% | +11.9% |
| 2012 | 1.7% | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | +9.1% |
| 2014 | 1.9% | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | -12.1% |
| 2016 | 1.6% | -7.1% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | +4.7% |
| 2019 | 2.1% | +28.2% |
| 2020 | 2.0% | -2.4% |
| 2021 | 1.7% | -14.8% |
| 2022 | 1.9% | +10.4% |
| 2023 | 2.5% | +33.6% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 2.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.2%, 2.2× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 2.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.3%, 10.0× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in Europe & in South Korea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | +582.1% | 0.1% | 0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 4 |
| 1980s | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9% | 0.5% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.4% | 0.9% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 1.5% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.0% | 1.7% | 2.5% | 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 low- and middle-income economies in europe & in South Korea?
- Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe & in South Korea was 2.5% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe & recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.5% in 2023.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe & recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1982.
- How does South Korea rank for merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe &?
- South Korea ranks 60th out of 204 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in europe & rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Korea 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 Europe & Central Asia (% of total merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 48 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 Europe and Central Asia are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to low- and middle-income economies in the Europe and Central Asia 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.