Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region was 69.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region in Afghanistan, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise exports.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 69.9% for merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 13.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region in Afghanistan peaked at 88.7% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 1993.
That places Afghanistan 10th out of 203 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 33.3% | — |
| 1961 | 21.4% | -35.9% |
| 1962 | 27.8% | +30.1% |
| 1963 | 33.8% | +21.6% |
| 1964 | 45.6% | +35.1% |
| 1965 | 33.4% | -26.8% |
| 1966 | 38.3% | +14.7% |
| 1967 | 39.2% | +2.2% |
| 1968 | 61.5% | +57.0% |
| 1969 | 44.1% | -28.3% |
| 1970 | 38.9% | -11.9% |
| 1971 | 17.0% | -56.1% |
| 1972 | 41.9% | +146.0% |
| 1973 | 46.4% | +10.7% |
| 1974 | 47.1% | +1.4% |
| 1975 | 41.4% | -12.1% |
| 1976 | 28.5% | -31.1% |
| 1977 | 31.6% | +10.8% |
| 1978 | 51.9% | +64.3% |
| 1979 | 54.6% | +5.2% |
| 1980 | 44.9% | -17.8% |
| 1981 | 49.0% | +9.0% |
| 1982 | 35.7% | -27.1% |
| 1983 | 18.9% | -47.2% |
| 1984 | 23.0% | +22.0% |
| 1985 | 22.8% | -0.9% |
| 1986 | 49.0% | +114.6% |
| 1987 | 41.2% | -15.8% |
| 1988 | 23.7% | -42.4% |
| 1989 | 15.2% | -36.0% |
| 1990 | 18.1% | +19.0% |
| 1991 | 8.8% | -51.1% |
| 1992 | 6.7% | -24.5% |
| 1993 | 1.7% | -74.3% |
| 1994 | 16.3% | +848.1% |
| 1995 | 14.4% | -11.5% |
| 1996 | 26.3% | +82.5% |
| 1997 | 24.0% | -8.5% |
| 1998 | 31.6% | +31.3% |
| 1999 | 46.6% | +47.7% |
| 2000 | 73.9% | +58.6% |
| 2001 | 64.9% | -12.1% |
| 2002 | 65.8% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 82.1% | +24.8% |
| 2004 | 76.8% | -6.5% |
| 2005 | 80.8% | +5.2% |
| 2006 | 78.8% | -2.5% |
| 2007 | 78.6% | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 73.4% | -6.6% |
| 2009 | 66.2% | -9.8% |
| 2010 | 55.8% | -15.8% |
| 2011 | 66.8% | +19.8% |
| 2012 | 88.7% | +32.7% |
| 2013 | 80.6% | -9.1% |
| 2014 | 84.0% | +4.3% |
| 2015 | 72.8% | -13.3% |
| 2016 | 86.1% | +18.2% |
| 2017 | 85.8% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 84.3% | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 82.0% | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 79.5% | -3.1% |
| 2021 | 70.2% | -11.7% |
| 2022 | 69.9% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 69.9% | +0.0% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 69.9% is above the median for low income countries, which is 16.5%, 4.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 69.9% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 6.9%, 10.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region in Afghanistan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | +848.1% | 1.7% | 16.3% |
| 1972 | +146.0% | 17.0% | 41.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 37.8% | 21.4% | 61.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 39.9% | 17.0% | 54.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 32.3% | 15.2% | 49.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.4% | 1.7% | 46.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 74.1% | 64.9% | 82.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 78.7% | 55.8% | 88.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 72.4% | 69.9% | 79.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More private sector data for Afghanistan
- Merchandise trade 22.2% (2025)
- Food imports 26.9% (2019)
- Manufactures imports 41.1% (2019)
- Merchandise imports 3.61 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 63.9% (2019)
- Manufactures exports 4.8% (2019)
- Merchandise exports 926.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 21.12 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0517 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 0.7617 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region in Afghanistan?
- Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region in Afghanistan was 69.9% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 88.7% in 2012.
- What is the lowest merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 1993.
- How does Afghanistan rank for merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region?
- Afghanistan ranks 10th out of 203 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to other low- and middle-income economies in the same World Bank region 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. No figures are shown for high-income economies, because they are a separate category in the World Bank classification of economies.