Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in South Asia in China
China: Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in South Asia was 4.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in South Asia in China, 1961–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
In 2023, merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in south asia in China stood at 4.9%. That is the highest value across all 47 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 43.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in south asia in China peaked at 4.9% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 1980.
China ranks 46th of 205 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in South Asia in China, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.8% | — |
| 1978 | 1.8% | -37.3% |
| 1979 | 1.8% | +4.8% |
| 1980 | 1.2% | -33.1% |
| 1981 | 2.1% | +71.9% |
| 1982 | 2.2% | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 1.9% | -12.2% |
| 1984 | 1.9% | -0.4% |
| 1985 | 1.7% | -8.9% |
| 1986 | 1.9% | +12.1% |
| 1987 | 1.6% | -15.2% |
| 1988 | 1.5% | -6.0% |
| 1989 | 1.7% | +11.0% |
| 1990 | 1.6% | -4.0% |
| 1991 | 1.6% | -1.6% |
| 1992 | 1.3% | -19.9% |
| 1993 | 1.5% | +19.3% |
| 1994 | 1.5% | -4.5% |
| 1995 | 1.7% | +15.7% |
| 1996 | 1.5% | -12.3% |
| 1997 | 1.5% | -2.3% |
| 1998 | 1.4% | -3.4% |
| 1999 | 1.5% | +6.8% |
| 2000 | 1.5% | +1.7% |
| 2001 | 1.6% | +1.7% |
| 2002 | 1.7% | +7.7% |
| 2003 | 1.6% | -1.9% |
| 2004 | 1.9% | +15.2% |
| 2005 | 2.1% | +10.8% |
| 2006 | 2.4% | +15.3% |
| 2007 | 2.9% | +19.5% |
| 2008 | 3.1% | +7.3% |
| 2009 | 3.5% | +12.6% |
| 2010 | 3.7% | +4.8% |
| 2011 | 3.8% | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 3.4% | -8.4% |
| 2013 | 3.4% | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 3.7% | +7.6% |
| 2015 | 4.1% | +13.0% |
| 2016 | 4.6% | +10.8% |
| 2017 | 4.7% | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 4.7% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 4.6% | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 4.0% | -13.8% |
| 2021 | 4.6% | +15.3% |
| 2022 | 4.9% | +6.2% |
| 2023 | 4.9% | +0.5% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 4.9% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.3%, 3.9× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- China's 4.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.9%, 5.5× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in South 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | +71.9% | 1.2% | 2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.8% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 1 |
| 1970s | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 2 |
| 1980s | 1.8% | 1.2% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.2% | 1.5% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.1% | 3.4% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.6% | 4.0% | 4.9% | 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 low- and middle-income economies in south asia in China?
- Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in south asia in China was 4.9% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in south asia recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 4.9% in 2023.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in south asia recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 1980.
- How does China rank for merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in south asia?
- China ranks 46th out of 205 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies in south asia rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.3%. 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 South Asia (% 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 South Asia are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to low- and middle-income economies in the South 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.