Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World in Least developed countries
Least developed countries: Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World was 12.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World in Least developed countries, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
Least developed countries recorded 12.5% for merchandise imports from economies in the arab world in 2023. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.1% on the previous year and up 15.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from economies in the arab world in Least developed countries peaked at 12.5% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 1967.
Least developed countries ranks 10th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World in Least developed countries, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2.8% | — |
| 1961 | 3.0% | +6.5% |
| 1962 | 2.8% | -6.9% |
| 1963 | 2.1% | -23.9% |
| 1964 | 2.2% | +3.9% |
| 1965 | 1.8% | -17.9% |
| 1966 | 1.6% | -10.2% |
| 1967 | 1.6% | -1.5% |
| 1968 | 1.9% | +17.3% |
| 1969 | 2.3% | +20.7% |
| 1970 | 2.3% | +0.3% |
| 1971 | 2.5% | +11.8% |
| 1972 | 2.4% | -7.0% |
| 1973 | 2.6% | +8.2% |
| 1974 | 5.9% | +132.2% |
| 1975 | 7.2% | +20.7% |
| 1976 | 8.0% | +12.1% |
| 1977 | 6.5% | -18.8% |
| 1978 | 4.9% | -24.5% |
| 1979 | 7.5% | +52.6% |
| 1980 | 11.1% | +48.0% |
| 1981 | 10.7% | -3.8% |
| 1982 | 11.6% | +8.4% |
| 1983 | 8.8% | -24.1% |
| 1984 | 6.8% | -23.4% |
| 1985 | 7.3% | +8.5% |
| 1986 | 5.8% | -20.4% |
| 1987 | 4.9% | -16.0% |
| 1988 | 4.5% | -8.2% |
| 1989 | 4.6% | +2.8% |
| 1990 | 6.1% | +31.7% |
| 1991 | 6.3% | +3.8% |
| 1992 | 6.5% | +3.6% |
| 1993 | 7.0% | +7.0% |
| 1994 | 5.9% | -15.1% |
| 1995 | 5.7% | -3.6% |
| 1996 | 5.4% | -5.8% |
| 1997 | 5.9% | +8.7% |
| 1998 | 5.4% | -7.4% |
| 1999 | 6.3% | +15.8% |
| 2000 | 9.0% | +42.8% |
| 2001 | 8.6% | -4.0% |
| 2002 | 8.8% | +2.5% |
| 2003 | 9.2% | +3.7% |
| 2004 | 9.9% | +8.1% |
| 2005 | 12.4% | +25.0% |
| 2006 | 11.6% | -6.4% |
| 2007 | 10.9% | -5.8% |
| 2008 | 11.3% | +3.2% |
| 2009 | 9.5% | -15.4% |
| 2010 | 10.0% | +4.9% |
| 2011 | 10.4% | +4.5% |
| 2012 | 10.7% | +2.9% |
| 2013 | 10.8% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 9.8% | -9.8% |
| 2015 | 11.2% | +14.3% |
| 2016 | 9.0% | -19.5% |
| 2017 | 9.8% | +9.2% |
| 2018 | 9.3% | -5.0% |
| 2019 | 10.1% | +8.7% |
| 2020 | 9.2% | -9.4% |
| 2021 | 9.6% | +5.1% |
| 2022 | 12.0% | +24.5% |
| 2023 | 12.5% | +4.1% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World in Least developed countries 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | +132.2% | 2.6% | 5.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.2% | 1.6% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 5.0% | 2.3% | 8.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.6% | 4.5% | 11.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.1% | 5.4% | 7.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.1% | 8.6% | 12.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.1% | 9.0% | 11.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.8% | 9.2% | 12.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Least developed countries
More private sector data for Least developed countries
- Merchandise trade 41.4% (2025)
- Food imports 15.6% (2019)
- Manufactures imports 62.6% (2019)
- Merchandise imports 376.94 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 15.1% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 20.1% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 311.48 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 256.54 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1884 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 10.88 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from economies in the arab world in Least developed countries?
- Merchandise imports from economies in the arab world in Least developed countries was 12.5% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from economies in the arab world recorded in Least developed countries?
- The highest recorded value was 12.5% in 2023.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from economies in the arab world recorded in Least developed countries?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 1967.
- How does Least developed countries rank for merchandise imports from economies in the arab world?
- Least developed countries ranks 10th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from economies in the arab world rising or falling in Least developed countries?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Least developed countries data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from economies in the Arab World. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise imports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.