Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Arab World
Arab World: Merchandise imports from high-income economies was 51.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Arab World, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise imports from high-income economies in Arab World is 51.6%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.7% on the previous year and down 18.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from high-income economies in Arab World peaked at 90.7% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 51.6%, in 2023.
Arab World ranks 37th of 47 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Arab World, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 85.6% | — |
| 1961 | 85.3% | -0.3% |
| 1962 | 83.7% | -1.9% |
| 1963 | 83.1% | -0.8% |
| 1964 | 82.2% | -1.0% |
| 1965 | 78.6% | -4.4% |
| 1966 | 81.7% | +4.0% |
| 1967 | 81.6% | -0.2% |
| 1968 | 80.6% | -1.2% |
| 1969 | 80.9% | +0.3% |
| 1970 | 80.7% | -0.2% |
| 1971 | 80.4% | -0.4% |
| 1972 | 80.8% | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 82.3% | +1.9% |
| 1974 | 81.5% | -1.0% |
| 1975 | 85.4% | +4.8% |
| 1976 | 87.4% | +2.4% |
| 1977 | 88.7% | +1.4% |
| 1978 | 90.0% | +1.5% |
| 1979 | 89.7% | -0.3% |
| 1980 | 90.0% | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 90.7% | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 90.7% | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 90.1% | -0.6% |
| 1984 | 88.3% | -2.0% |
| 1985 | 87.3% | -1.2% |
| 1986 | 87.1% | -0.2% |
| 1987 | 85.4% | -2.0% |
| 1988 | 85.0% | -0.4% |
| 1989 | 84.4% | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 84.6% | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 83.6% | -1.1% |
| 1992 | 83.4% | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 82.2% | -1.4% |
| 1994 | 80.8% | -1.7% |
| 1995 | 79.5% | -1.5% |
| 1996 | 79.1% | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 79.3% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 79.4% | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 78.6% | -1.0% |
| 2000 | 77.0% | -2.1% |
| 2001 | 75.2% | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 73.8% | -1.8% |
| 2003 | 72.0% | -2.5% |
| 2004 | 68.9% | -4.3% |
| 2005 | 69.2% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 69.4% | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 67.9% | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 64.7% | -4.8% |
| 2009 | 62.6% | -3.2% |
| 2010 | 61.0% | -2.5% |
| 2011 | 63.0% | +3.2% |
| 2012 | 60.7% | -3.7% |
| 2013 | 63.7% | +5.0% |
| 2014 | 63.1% | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 62.8% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 62.1% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 57.6% | -7.3% |
| 2018 | 57.9% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 56.5% | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 54.1% | -4.2% |
| 2021 | 53.2% | -1.8% |
| 2022 | 52.5% | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 51.6% | -1.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 82.3% | 78.6% | 85.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 84.7% | 80.4% | 90.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 87.9% | 84.4% | 90.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 81.0% | 78.6% | 84.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 70.1% | 62.6% | 77.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 60.8% | 56.5% | 63.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 52.9% | 51.6% | 54.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Arab World
More private sector data for Arab World
- Merchandise trade 53.7% (2025)
- Food imports 11.7% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 60.2% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 1.48 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 3.6% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 16.3% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 1.59 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 3,163 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.4193 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.39 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from high-income economies in Arab World?
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Arab World was 51.6% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Arab World?
- The highest recorded value was 90.7% in 1981.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Arab World?
- The lowest recorded value was 51.6% in 2023.
- How does Arab World rank for merchandise imports from high-income economies?
- Arab World ranks 37th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from high-income economies rising or falling in Arab World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Arab World data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% 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 high-income economies are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. 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.