Merchandise imports from high-income economies in South Korea
South Korea: Merchandise imports from high-income economies was 58.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in South Korea, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
In 2023, merchandise imports from high-income economies in South Korea stood at 58.5%. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.3% on the previous year and down 12.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from high-income economies in South Korea peaked at 96.9% in 1964 and was at its lowest, 58.5%, in 2023.
That places South Korea 104th 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 South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 95.5% | — |
| 1961 | 96.4% | +0.9% |
| 1962 | 96.1% | -0.3% |
| 1963 | 96.9% | +0.8% |
| 1964 | 96.9% | +0.1% |
| 1965 | 96.4% | -0.5% |
| 1966 | 91.4% | -5.2% |
| 1967 | 93.7% | +2.4% |
| 1968 | 91.3% | -2.5% |
| 1969 | 91.7% | +0.4% |
| 1970 | 91.0% | -0.7% |
| 1971 | 91.9% | +1.0% |
| 1972 | 93.5% | +1.7% |
| 1973 | 90.8% | -2.9% |
| 1974 | 92.9% | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 94.0% | +1.1% |
| 1976 | 90.6% | -3.6% |
| 1977 | 90.3% | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 92.3% | +2.1% |
| 1979 | 89.5% | -3.1% |
| 1980 | 90.4% | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 90.1% | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 86.3% | -4.3% |
| 1983 | 86.8% | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 85.9% | -1.0% |
| 1985 | 84.2% | -2.0% |
| 1986 | 89.0% | +5.7% |
| 1987 | 89.7% | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 90.1% | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 90.1% | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 89.7% | -0.4% |
| 1991 | 83.3% | -7.2% |
| 1992 | 82.6% | -0.8% |
| 1993 | 82.5% | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 82.0% | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 82.4% | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 81.7% | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 78.4% | -4.0% |
| 1998 | 78.6% | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 76.9% | -2.2% |
| 2000 | 76.4% | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 75.1% | -1.8% |
| 2002 | 74.1% | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 74.3% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 72.8% | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 71.5% | -1.7% |
| 2006 | 69.6% | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 67.1% | -3.7% |
| 2008 | 66.8% | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 66.8% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 66.5% | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 65.2% | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 66.7% | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 66.8% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 66.2% | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 63.2% | -4.6% |
| 2016 | 61.5% | -2.7% |
| 2017 | 61.3% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 61.5% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 59.9% | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 58.9% | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 59.5% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 59.2% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 58.5% | -1.3% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 58.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 78.4%, 75% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 58.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 59.6%, 98% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 94.6% | 91.3% | 96.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 91.7% | 89.5% | 94.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 88.3% | 84.2% | 90.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 81.8% | 76.9% | 89.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 71.5% | 66.8% | 76.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 63.9% | 59.9% | 66.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 59.0% | 58.5% | 59.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More private sector data for South Korea
- Merchandise trade 71.6% (2025)
- Food imports 6.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 60.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 631.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.6% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 87.3% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 709.33 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 13,724 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3788 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 3.76 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from high-income economies in South Korea?
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies in South Korea was 58.5% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 96.9% in 1964.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 58.5% in 2023.
- How does South Korea rank for merchandise imports from high-income economies?
- South Korea ranks 104th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from high-income economies rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea 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.