Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Tonga
Tonga: Merchandise imports from high-income economies was 69.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Tonga, 1979–2023
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 Tonga is 69.9%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.4% on the previous year and down 14.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from high-income economies in Tonga peaked at 93.0% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 62.7%, in 2006.
That places Tonga 66th 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 45 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Tonga, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 91.7% | — |
| 1980 | 92.6% | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 93.0% | +0.4% |
| 1982 | 89.7% | -3.6% |
| 1983 | 91.8% | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 91.4% | -0.4% |
| 1985 | 93.0% | +1.7% |
| 1986 | 91.4% | -1.7% |
| 1987 | 89.1% | -2.5% |
| 1988 | 84.1% | -5.6% |
| 1989 | 86.3% | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 83.6% | -3.1% |
| 1991 | 81.3% | -2.7% |
| 1992 | 81.5% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 86.8% | +6.5% |
| 1994 | 91.7% | +5.6% |
| 1995 | 91.6% | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 92.3% | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 91.1% | -1.4% |
| 1998 | 91.9% | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 78.4% | -14.7% |
| 2000 | 80.3% | +2.4% |
| 2001 | 82.3% | +2.4% |
| 2002 | 81.6% | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 75.9% | -6.9% |
| 2004 | 72.9% | -4.0% |
| 2005 | 69.5% | -4.6% |
| 2006 | 62.7% | -9.8% |
| 2007 | 81.6% | +30.1% |
| 2008 | 81.8% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 82.2% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 81.0% | -1.5% |
| 2011 | 79.0% | -2.5% |
| 2012 | 81.9% | +3.7% |
| 2013 | 82.0% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 79.4% | -3.2% |
| 2015 | 67.7% | -14.6% |
| 2016 | 72.8% | +7.5% |
| 2017 | 78.5% | +7.8% |
| 2018 | 78.2% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 79.6% | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 76.7% | -3.7% |
| 2021 | 73.6% | -4.0% |
| 2022 | 73.9% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 69.9% | -5.4% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 69.9% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 56.4%, 1.2× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 69.9% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 59.6%, 1.2× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Tonga changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | +30.1% | 62.7% | 81.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 91.7% | 91.7% | 91.7% | 1 |
| 1980s | 90.2% | 84.1% | 93.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 87.0% | 78.4% | 92.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.1% | 62.7% | 82.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 78.0% | 67.7% | 82.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 73.5% | 69.9% | 76.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More private sector data for Tonga
- Merchandise trade 39.5% (2025)
- Food imports 27.5% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 53.8% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 255.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 30.9% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 67.5% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 13.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 125.31 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0191 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 44.44 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from high-income economies in Tonga?
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Tonga was 69.9% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 93.0% in 1981.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 62.7% in 2006.
- How does Tonga rank for merchandise imports from high-income economies?
- Tonga ranks 66th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from high-income economies rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tonga 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 — 45 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.