Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Merchandise imports from high-income economies was 57.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Saudi Arabia, 1964–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
In 2023, merchandise imports from high-income economies in Saudi Arabia stood at 57.0%.
That represents a change of up 1.7% on the previous year and down 14.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from high-income economies in Saudi Arabia peaked at 92.7% in 1982 and was at its lowest, 56.0%, in 2022.
Saudi Arabia ranks 110th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 60 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 72.4% | — |
| 1965 | 70.9% | -2.1% |
| 1966 | 74.8% | +5.6% |
| 1967 | 74.3% | -0.7% |
| 1968 | 68.0% | -8.6% |
| 1969 | 72.3% | +6.4% |
| 1970 | 70.8% | -2.0% |
| 1971 | 70.7% | -0.2% |
| 1972 | 73.8% | +4.4% |
| 1973 | 75.9% | +2.8% |
| 1974 | 70.5% | -7.0% |
| 1975 | 76.8% | +8.8% |
| 1976 | 83.0% | +8.2% |
| 1977 | 86.6% | +4.3% |
| 1978 | 90.9% | +5.0% |
| 1979 | 91.0% | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 91.1% | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 91.8% | +0.7% |
| 1982 | 92.7% | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 92.6% | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 91.7% | -1.0% |
| 1985 | 90.3% | -1.5% |
| 1986 | 89.1% | -1.3% |
| 1987 | 88.3% | -0.9% |
| 1988 | 86.7% | -1.8% |
| 1989 | 87.1% | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 87.1% | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 86.7% | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 87.3% | +0.7% |
| 1993 | 83.4% | -4.5% |
| 1994 | 83.9% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 81.9% | -2.4% |
| 1996 | 80.7% | -1.5% |
| 1997 | 81.8% | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 80.4% | -1.7% |
| 1999 | 79.8% | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 79.9% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 79.6% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 77.8% | -2.3% |
| 2003 | 77.3% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 75.4% | -2.4% |
| 2005 | 73.5% | -2.6% |
| 2006 | 72.3% | -1.6% |
| 2007 | 72.1% | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 68.7% | -4.8% |
| 2009 | 69.2% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 66.9% | -3.3% |
| 2011 | 66.2% | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 66.5% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 66.5% | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 65.3% | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 65.4% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 64.4% | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 63.1% | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 63.5% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 59.8% | -5.8% |
| 2020 | 58.3% | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 59.0% | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 56.0% | -5.2% |
| 2023 | 57.0% | +1.7% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 57.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 78.4%, 73% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 57.0% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 57.0%, 1.0× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 72.1% | 68.0% | 74.8% | 6 |
| 1970s | 79.0% | 70.5% | 91.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 90.1% | 86.7% | 92.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 83.3% | 79.8% | 87.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 74.6% | 68.7% | 79.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 64.8% | 59.8% | 66.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 57.6% | 56.0% | 59.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More private sector data for Saudi Arabia
- Merchandise trade 44.2% (2025)
- Food imports 13.0% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 70.5% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 254.06 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.9% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 15.9% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 310.67 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 8,403 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2433 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.69 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from high-income economies in Saudi Arabia?
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Saudi Arabia was 57.0% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 92.7% in 1982.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 56.0% in 2022.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for merchandise imports from high-income economies?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 110th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from high-income economies rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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 — 60 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.