Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Australia
Australia: Merchandise imports from high-income economies was 54.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Australia, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
In 2023, merchandise imports from high-income economies in Australia stood at 54.0%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.9% on the previous year and down 8.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from high-income economies in Australia peaked at 92.8% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 53.0%, in 2022.
That places Australia 118th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 88.4% | — |
| 1961 | 86.5% | -2.1% |
| 1962 | 87.9% | +1.7% |
| 1963 | 88.2% | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 89.1% | +1.0% |
| 1965 | 90.1% | +1.1% |
| 1966 | 89.6% | -0.5% |
| 1967 | 90.4% | +0.8% |
| 1968 | 91.1% | +0.9% |
| 1969 | 91.6% | +0.6% |
| 1970 | 92.8% | +1.3% |
| 1971 | 92.8% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 92.6% | -0.3% |
| 1973 | 92.0% | -0.6% |
| 1974 | 91.7% | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 92.0% | +0.4% |
| 1976 | 92.1% | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 90.6% | -1.6% |
| 1978 | 91.2% | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 90.7% | -0.6% |
| 1980 | 90.1% | -0.7% |
| 1981 | 91.7% | +1.8% |
| 1982 | 90.8% | -1.0% |
| 1983 | 92.6% | +2.0% |
| 1984 | 91.8% | -0.9% |
| 1985 | 92.7% | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 92.4% | -0.3% |
| 1987 | 90.5% | -2.0% |
| 1988 | 91.0% | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 90.5% | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 90.1% | -0.4% |
| 1991 | 87.2% | -3.2% |
| 1992 | 85.3% | -2.2% |
| 1993 | 84.6% | -0.9% |
| 1994 | 84.8% | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 84.4% | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 83.1% | -1.5% |
| 1997 | 81.5% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 80.4% | -1.4% |
| 1999 | 78.9% | -1.8% |
| 2000 | 76.2% | -3.4% |
| 2001 | 75.3% | -1.2% |
| 2002 | 73.9% | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 72.2% | -2.4% |
| 2004 | 70.9% | -1.8% |
| 2005 | 68.9% | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 66.7% | -3.2% |
| 2007 | 65.7% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 65.2% | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 61.6% | -5.5% |
| 2010 | 59.8% | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 61.2% | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 60.3% | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 58.8% | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 57.3% | -2.6% |
| 2015 | 56.0% | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 55.3% | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 54.9% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 54.1% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 54.5% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 53.3% | -2.2% |
| 2021 | 53.6% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 53.0% | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 54.0% | +1.9% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 54.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 78.4%, 69% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Australia's 54.0% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 59.6%, 91% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 89.3% | 86.5% | 91.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 91.9% | 90.6% | 92.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 91.4% | 90.1% | 92.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 84.0% | 78.9% | 90.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 69.7% | 61.6% | 76.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 57.2% | 54.1% | 61.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 53.5% | 53.0% | 54.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More private sector data for Australia
- Merchandise trade 36.0% (2025)
- Food imports 6.5% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 74.3% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 310.63 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 13.7% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 9.8% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 337.58 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 12,225 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1877 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -0.9521 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from high-income economies in Australia?
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Australia was 54.0% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 92.8% in 1971.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.0% in 2022.
- How does Australia rank for merchandise imports from high-income economies?
- Australia ranks 118th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from high-income economies rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia 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.