Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Least developed countries
Least developed countries: Merchandise imports from high-income economies was 36.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Least developed countries, 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 Least developed countries is 36.9%, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 4.5% on the previous year and down 20.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from high-income economies in Least developed countries peaked at 82.3% in 1963 and was at its lowest, 36.1%, in 2020.
That places Least developed countries 47th out of 47 groups with data for 2023, putting it 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 Least developed countries, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 81.5% | — |
| 1961 | 82.3% | +0.9% |
| 1962 | 82.2% | -0.1% |
| 1963 | 82.3% | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 76.6% | -6.9% |
| 1965 | 76.0% | -0.8% |
| 1966 | 77.5% | +2.0% |
| 1967 | 78.2% | +0.8% |
| 1968 | 76.8% | -1.8% |
| 1969 | 75.8% | -1.3% |
| 1970 | 77.6% | +2.4% |
| 1971 | 75.5% | -2.7% |
| 1972 | 76.7% | +1.6% |
| 1973 | 75.3% | -1.8% |
| 1974 | 75.1% | -0.2% |
| 1975 | 77.8% | +3.5% |
| 1976 | 77.8% | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 76.0% | -2.3% |
| 1978 | 79.9% | +5.1% |
| 1979 | 79.8% | -0.1% |
| 1980 | 79.0% | -0.9% |
| 1981 | 79.5% | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 77.9% | -2.0% |
| 1983 | 79.5% | +2.2% |
| 1984 | 77.2% | -2.9% |
| 1985 | 79.7% | +3.2% |
| 1986 | 79.1% | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 78.8% | -0.5% |
| 1988 | 77.6% | -1.5% |
| 1989 | 75.9% | -2.2% |
| 1990 | 77.4% | +2.0% |
| 1991 | 77.1% | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 74.4% | -3.5% |
| 1993 | 72.1% | -3.0% |
| 1994 | 69.4% | -3.8% |
| 1995 | 68.0% | -2.1% |
| 1996 | 64.1% | -5.6% |
| 1997 | 65.4% | +2.0% |
| 1998 | 66.0% | +0.9% |
| 1999 | 63.7% | -3.4% |
| 2000 | 56.1% | -12.0% |
| 2001 | 56.3% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 54.9% | -2.5% |
| 2003 | 52.8% | -3.9% |
| 2004 | 51.7% | -2.0% |
| 2005 | 51.0% | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 53.1% | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 50.9% | -4.3% |
| 2008 | 51.3% | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 49.2% | -4.1% |
| 2010 | 47.6% | -3.2% |
| 2011 | 46.4% | -2.6% |
| 2012 | 46.2% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 46.5% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 42.9% | -7.8% |
| 2015 | 42.7% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 39.4% | -7.7% |
| 2017 | 40.1% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 37.2% | -7.3% |
| 2019 | 38.3% | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 36.1% | -5.7% |
| 2021 | 36.6% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 38.6% | +5.4% |
| 2023 | 36.9% | -4.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 78.9% | 75.8% | 82.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 77.1% | 75.1% | 79.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 78.4% | 75.9% | 79.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 69.7% | 63.7% | 77.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 52.7% | 49.2% | 56.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 42.7% | 37.2% | 47.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.0% | 36.1% | 38.6% | 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 high-income economies in Least developed countries?
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Least developed countries was 36.9% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Least developed countries?
- The highest recorded value was 82.3% in 1963.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Least developed countries?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.1% in 2020.
- How does Least developed countries rank for merchandise imports from high-income economies?
- Least developed countries ranks 47th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from high-income economies rising or falling in Least developed countries?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 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.