Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World in Syria
Syria: Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World was 20.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World in Syria, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
In 2023, merchandise imports from economies in the arab world in Syria stood at 20.5%.
That represents a change of down 39.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from economies in the arab world in Syria peaked at 34.6% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 2.1%, in 1983.
Syria ranks 18th of 206 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World in Syria, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 17.9% | — |
| 1961 | 22.8% | +27.1% |
| 1962 | 13.0% | -43.0% |
| 1963 | 16.1% | +24.4% |
| 1964 | 20.0% | +23.9% |
| 1965 | 18.4% | -8.1% |
| 1966 | 14.1% | -23.6% |
| 1967 | 15.6% | +11.3% |
| 1968 | 19.3% | +23.2% |
| 1969 | 17.1% | -11.2% |
| 1970 | 21.9% | +27.8% |
| 1971 | 23.4% | +7.2% |
| 1972 | 17.4% | -25.6% |
| 1973 | 17.7% | +1.4% |
| 1974 | 16.5% | -6.3% |
| 1975 | 10.3% | -37.5% |
| 1976 | 14.1% | +36.1% |
| 1977 | 17.1% | +21.4% |
| 1978 | 17.8% | +4.4% |
| 1979 | 23.6% | +32.4% |
| 1980 | 27.3% | +15.5% |
| 1981 | 34.6% | +27.0% |
| 1982 | 18.3% | -47.2% |
| 1983 | 2.1% | -88.6% |
| 1984 | 12.8% | +515.1% |
| 1985 | 13.1% | +2.5% |
| 1986 | 13.3% | +1.4% |
| 1987 | 12.5% | -5.7% |
| 1988 | 5.5% | -56.0% |
| 1989 | 6.9% | +24.3% |
| 1990 | 7.5% | +9.5% |
| 1991 | 6.1% | -18.4% |
| 1992 | 6.4% | +4.8% |
| 1993 | 7.8% | +20.6% |
| 1994 | 8.3% | +6.5% |
| 1995 | 9.8% | +18.6% |
| 1996 | 9.3% | -5.0% |
| 1997 | 8.2% | -12.0% |
| 1998 | 10.1% | +23.2% |
| 1999 | 10.7% | +6.4% |
| 2000 | 10.7% | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 9.9% | -7.9% |
| 2002 | 13.6% | +38.4% |
| 2003 | 15.0% | +10.1% |
| 2004 | 19.2% | +28.1% |
| 2005 | 19.4% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 20.4% | +5.1% |
| 2007 | 21.7% | +6.8% |
| 2008 | 15.8% | -27.3% |
| 2009 | 17.6% | +11.3% |
| 2010 | 15.0% | -14.7% |
| 2011 | 13.4% | -10.9% |
| 2012 | 15.1% | +13.2% |
| 2013 | 33.6% | +121.8% |
| 2014 | 33.2% | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 27.4% | -17.6% |
| 2016 | 23.7% | -13.2% |
| 2017 | 30.1% | +26.7% |
| 2018 | 26.1% | -13.1% |
| 2019 | 25.0% | -4.5% |
| 2020 | 25.8% | +3.3% |
| 2021 | 20.5% | -20.6% |
| 2022 | 20.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 20.5% | +0.0% |
Syria compared with similar countries
- Syria's 20.5% is above the median for low income countries, which is 10.9%, 1.9× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Syria's 20.5% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 12.9%, 1.6× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World in Syria 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | +515.1% | 2.1% | 12.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 17.4% | 13.0% | 22.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 18.0% | 10.3% | 23.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 14.6% | 2.1% | 34.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.4% | 6.1% | 10.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 16.3% | 9.9% | 21.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.3% | 13.4% | 33.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.8% | 20.5% | 25.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Syria
More private sector data for Syria
- Merchandise trade 79.2% (2025)
- Food imports 21.0% (2010)
- Manufactures imports 54.1% (2010)
- Merchandise imports 7.91 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 21.0% (2010)
- Manufactures exports 24.7% (2010)
- Merchandise exports 3.38 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 132.12 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0816 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.8 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from economies in the arab world in Syria?
- Merchandise imports from economies in the arab world in Syria was 20.5% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from economies in the arab world recorded in Syria?
- The highest recorded value was 34.6% in 1981.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from economies in the arab world recorded in Syria?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.1% in 1983.
- How does Syria rank for merchandise imports from economies in the arab world?
- Syria ranks 18th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from economies in the arab world rising or falling in Syria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 39.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Syria 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.