Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies … outside in Korea
Korea: Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies … outside was 11.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region in Korea, 1964–2023
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 Korea is 11.4%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.1% on the previous year and down 15.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region in Korea peaked at 14.9% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 1964.
Korea ranks 101st of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 60 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies … outside in Korea, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 0.7% | — |
| 1965 | 1.6% | +123.4% |
| 1966 | 1.1% | -30.3% |
| 1967 | 2.7% | +146.8% |
| 1968 | 2.8% | +1.6% |
| 1969 | 2.2% | -20.4% |
| 1970 | 2.2% | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 2.9% | +33.1% |
| 1972 | 2.2% | -25.6% |
| 1973 | 1.5% | -33.0% |
| 1974 | 2.2% | +52.8% |
| 1975 | 4.1% | +85.4% |
| 1976 | 6.1% | +47.7% |
| 1977 | 6.3% | +3.8% |
| 1978 | 7.3% | +14.8% |
| 1979 | 7.8% | +7.1% |
| 1980 | 9.8% | +26.3% |
| 1981 | 11.3% | +15.3% |
| 1982 | 9.2% | -18.4% |
| 1983 | 8.0% | -13.8% |
| 1984 | 9.3% | +16.2% |
| 1985 | 8.0% | -13.3% |
| 1986 | 6.3% | -21.7% |
| 1987 | 5.3% | -15.0% |
| 1988 | 5.2% | -2.4% |
| 1989 | 5.7% | +8.5% |
| 1990 | 6.5% | +15.4% |
| 1991 | 10.2% | +55.6% |
| 1992 | 9.4% | -7.1% |
| 1993 | 11.4% | +20.5% |
| 1994 | 10.9% | -4.2% |
| 1995 | 9.1% | -16.9% |
| 1996 | 10.2% | +12.1% |
| 1997 | 11.0% | +7.9% |
| 1998 | 11.8% | +7.7% |
| 1999 | 9.9% | -16.5% |
| 2000 | 9.3% | -5.9% |
| 2001 | 10.4% | +12.4% |
| 2002 | 9.6% | -8.5% |
| 2003 | 9.8% | +2.2% |
| 2004 | 10.6% | +8.2% |
| 2005 | 10.9% | +3.4% |
| 2006 | 12.0% | +9.9% |
| 2007 | 12.6% | +5.3% |
| 2008 | 14.1% | +12.0% |
| 2009 | 14.5% | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 14.8% | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 14.9% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 13.7% | -7.8% |
| 2013 | 13.5% | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 13.4% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 12.3% | -8.3% |
| 2016 | 12.3% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 11.5% | -6.4% |
| 2018 | 10.6% | -7.6% |
| 2019 | 11.3% | +6.7% |
| 2020 | 9.7% | -14.5% |
| 2021 | 10.1% | +3.9% |
| 2022 | 10.8% | +7.6% |
| 2023 | 11.4% | +5.1% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 11.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.2%, 1.2× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Korea's 11.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.1%, 2.8× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies … outside in 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | +146.8% | 1.1% | 2.7% |
| 1965 | +123.4% | 0.7% | 1.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.8% | 0.7% | 2.8% | 6 |
| 1970s | 4.3% | 1.5% | 7.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.8% | 5.2% | 11.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.0% | 6.5% | 11.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.4% | 9.3% | 14.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.8% | 10.6% | 14.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.5% | 9.7% | 11.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Korea
More private sector data for Korea
- Merchandise trade 71.6% (2025)
- Food imports 6.5% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 62.1% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 631.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 183.44 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.7% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 88.0% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 709.33 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 149.31 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 13,724 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region in Korea?
- Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region in Korea was 11.4% 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 Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 14.9% in 2011.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 1964.
- How does Korea rank for merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region?
- Korea ranks 101st out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies outside region rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this 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 outside region (% of total merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 60 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.