Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East was 24.8% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East in Afghanistan, 1967–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east in Afghanistan is 24.8%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.
That represents a change of up 260.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east in Afghanistan peaked at 24.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 1981.
Afghanistan ranks 60th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 8.2% | — |
| 1969 | 14.8% | +80.3% |
| 1973 | 6.4% | -56.6% |
| 1974 | 2.2% | -65.1% |
| 1975 | 1.4% | -37.4% |
| 1976 | 3.0% | +113.8% |
| 1977 | 2.5% | -18.5% |
| 1980 | 4.0% | +64.1% |
| 1981 | 0.7% | -83.8% |
| 1982 | 3.1% | +379.0% |
| 1983 | 3.0% | -3.6% |
| 1984 | 3.2% | +5.6% |
| 1985 | 7.6% | +138.0% |
| 1986 | 17.0% | +125.1% |
| 1987 | 14.6% | -14.1% |
| 1988 | 7.8% | -46.6% |
| 1989 | 5.5% | -29.8% |
| 1990 | 7.7% | +40.6% |
| 1991 | 10.5% | +36.3% |
| 1992 | 11.8% | +12.0% |
| 1993 | 12.4% | +5.8% |
| 1994 | 15.0% | +20.7% |
| 1995 | 17.8% | +18.3% |
| 1996 | 11.6% | -34.4% |
| 1997 | 13.6% | +17.1% |
| 1998 | 12.2% | -10.2% |
| 1999 | 8.8% | -27.9% |
| 2000 | 9.2% | +4.2% |
| 2001 | 9.1% | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 9.6% | +5.7% |
| 2003 | 9.8% | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 10.1% | +3.7% |
| 2005 | 10.5% | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 11.4% | +8.3% |
| 2007 | 13.6% | +19.5% |
| 2008 | 20.2% | +48.2% |
| 2009 | 12.5% | -38.3% |
| 2010 | 16.3% | +31.1% |
| 2011 | 11.4% | -30.4% |
| 2012 | 23.0% | +102.6% |
| 2013 | 6.9% | -70.1% |
| 2014 | 24.2% | +252.0% |
| 2015 | 19.3% | -20.3% |
| 2016 | 22.6% | +17.4% |
| 2017 | 21.4% | -5.3% |
| 2018 | 21.5% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 23.7% | +10.2% |
| 2020 | 22.2% | -6.6% |
| 2021 | 22.7% | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 24.8% | +9.2% |
| 2023 | 24.8% | +0.0% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 24.8% is above the median for low income countries, which is 21.8%, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 24.8% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 19.6%, 1.3× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East in Afghanistan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | +379.0% | 0.7% | 3.1% |
| 2014 | +252.0% | 6.9% | 24.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 11.5% | 8.2% | 14.8% | 2 |
| 1970s | 3.1% | 1.4% | 6.4% | 5 |
| 1980s | 6.6% | 0.7% | 17.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.1% | 7.7% | 17.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.6% | 9.1% | 20.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.0% | 6.9% | 24.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.6% | 22.2% | 24.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More private sector data for Afghanistan
- Merchandise trade 22.2% (2025)
- Food imports 26.9% (2019)
- Manufactures imports 41.1% (2019)
- Merchandise imports 3.61 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 63.9% (2019)
- Manufactures exports 4.8% (2019)
- Merchandise exports 926.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 21.12 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0517 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 0.7617 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east in Afghanistan?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east in Afghanistan was 24.8% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 24.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 1981.
- How does Afghanistan rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east?
- Afghanistan ranks 60th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 260.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia and Pacific are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from low- and middle-income economies in the East Asia and Pacific region 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.