Merchandise imports from high-income economies in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: Merchandise imports from high-income economies was 40.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in United Arab Emirates, 1970–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
United Arab Emirates recorded 40.3% for merchandise imports from high-income economies in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 54 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.2% on the previous year and down 30.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from high-income economies in United Arab Emirates peaked at 91.1% in 1982 and was at its lowest, 40.3%, in 2023.
United Arab Emirates ranks 165th of 206 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 54 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in United Arab Emirates, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 84.9% | — |
| 1971 | 86.0% | +1.3% |
| 1972 | 86.6% | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 85.8% | -0.9% |
| 1974 | 82.5% | -3.9% |
| 1975 | 85.1% | +3.1% |
| 1976 | 87.5% | +2.8% |
| 1977 | 88.5% | +1.2% |
| 1978 | 90.6% | +2.3% |
| 1979 | 90.2% | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 90.0% | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 90.7% | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 91.1% | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 87.5% | -3.9% |
| 1984 | 87.7% | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 85.7% | -2.3% |
| 1986 | 84.1% | -1.9% |
| 1987 | 82.3% | -2.1% |
| 1988 | 80.7% | -1.9% |
| 1989 | 78.8% | -2.4% |
| 1990 | 77.7% | -1.4% |
| 1991 | 75.9% | -2.2% |
| 1992 | 76.9% | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 74.7% | -2.8% |
| 1994 | 75.2% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 72.2% | -4.0% |
| 1996 | 71.3% | -1.2% |
| 1997 | 72.3% | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 74.2% | +2.7% |
| 1999 | 72.1% | -2.9% |
| 2000 | 73.6% | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 72.0% | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 73.1% | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 67.2% | -8.0% |
| 2004 | 61.9% | -7.9% |
| 2005 | 61.4% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 62.1% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 59.6% | -4.0% |
| 2008 | 58.6% | -1.6% |
| 2009 | 57.7% | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 52.2% | -9.5% |
| 2011 | 52.2% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 50.8% | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 58.3% | +14.8% |
| 2014 | 57.2% | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 56.3% | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 53.4% | -5.2% |
| 2017 | 49.1% | -8.0% |
| 2018 | 50.3% | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 47.1% | -6.4% |
| 2020 | 43.4% | -7.9% |
| 2021 | 41.1% | -5.3% |
| 2022 | 41.2% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 40.3% | -2.2% |
United Arab Emirates compared with similar countries
- United Arab Emirates's 40.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 78.4%, 51% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- United Arab Emirates's 40.3% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 57.0%, 71% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 86.8% | 82.5% | 90.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 85.9% | 78.8% | 91.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 74.3% | 71.3% | 77.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 64.7% | 57.7% | 73.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 52.7% | 47.1% | 58.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.5% | 40.3% | 43.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates
More private sector data for United Arab Emirates
- Merchandise trade 208.2% (2024)
- Food imports 5.0% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 54.9% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 618.88 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 2.9% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 8.8% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 706.67 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 61,380 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 1.1 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 16.69 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from high-income economies in United Arab Emirates?
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies in United Arab Emirates was 40.3% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 91.1% in 1982.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.3% in 2023.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for merchandise imports from high-income economies?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 165th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from high-income economies rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Arab Emirates 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 — 54 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.