Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region in China
China: Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region was 20.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region in China, 1961–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region in China is 20.5%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 47 years on record.
The figure is up 9.9% on the previous year and up 29.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region in China peaked at 20.5% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 4.7%, in 1991.
That places China 68th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it 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 outside region in China, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 12.6% | — |
| 1978 | 7.0% | -44.5% |
| 1979 | 6.8% | -2.5% |
| 1980 | 7.6% | +11.4% |
| 1981 | 14.1% | +85.5% |
| 1982 | 17.6% | +25.3% |
| 1983 | 17.3% | -1.9% |
| 1984 | 14.9% | -14.1% |
| 1985 | 11.4% | -23.3% |
| 1986 | 11.4% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 11.9% | +3.8% |
| 1988 | 9.3% | -21.6% |
| 1989 | 5.4% | -42.4% |
| 1990 | 5.9% | +10.5% |
| 1991 | 4.7% | -21.4% |
| 1992 | 4.9% | +5.7% |
| 1993 | 5.8% | +17.9% |
| 1994 | 5.1% | -12.0% |
| 1995 | 5.8% | +13.0% |
| 1996 | 5.5% | -4.5% |
| 1997 | 5.8% | +5.1% |
| 1998 | 6.8% | +16.5% |
| 1999 | 6.7% | -1.4% |
| 2000 | 6.9% | +3.3% |
| 2001 | 7.2% | +5.0% |
| 2002 | 7.6% | +4.8% |
| 2003 | 8.0% | +5.5% |
| 2004 | 8.5% | +6.4% |
| 2005 | 9.2% | +7.7% |
| 2006 | 10.7% | +17.0% |
| 2007 | 12.5% | +16.2% |
| 2008 | 14.3% | +14.9% |
| 2009 | 14.7% | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 15.2% | +3.7% |
| 2011 | 15.8% | +4.1% |
| 2012 | 15.7% | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 15.9% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 16.6% | +4.6% |
| 2015 | 16.7% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 16.8% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 17.1% | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 17.1% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 17.5% | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 16.2% | -7.3% |
| 2021 | 17.6% | +8.2% |
| 2022 | 18.7% | +6.4% |
| 2023 | 20.5% | +9.9% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 20.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 9.6%, 2.1× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- China's 20.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.1%, 5.0× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region 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 | +85.5% | 7.6% | 14.1% |
| 1978 | -44.5% | 12.6% | 7.0% |
| 1989 | -42.4% | 9.3% | 5.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 12.6% | 12.6% | 12.6% | 1 |
| 1970s | 6.9% | 6.8% | 7.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 12.1% | 5.4% | 17.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.7% | 4.7% | 6.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.0% | 6.9% | 14.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.4% | 15.2% | 17.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.2% | 16.2% | 20.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near China
- 65 Cuba 21.3% compare
- 66 North Korea 20.7% compare
- 67 Kenya 20.6% compare
- 69 Botswana 20.0% compare
- 70 Switzerland 19.9% compare
- 71 Madagascar 19.8% 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 outside region in China?
- Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region in China was 20.5% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 20.5% in 2023.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.7% in 1991.
- How does China rank for merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region?
- China ranks 68th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.4%. 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 outside region (% 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 outside region are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to other low- and middle-income economies in other World Bank regions 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.