Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East in China
China: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East was 15.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East in China, 1961–2023
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 China is 15.2%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 47 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.1% on the previous year and up 52.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east in China peaked at 15.2% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3.1%, in 1985.
That places China 118th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East in China, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 6.4% | — |
| 1978 | 5.3% | -17.2% |
| 1979 | 4.6% | -13.8% |
| 1980 | 4.2% | -7.5% |
| 1981 | 3.5% | -17.3% |
| 1982 | 6.5% | +84.8% |
| 1983 | 4.3% | -33.0% |
| 1984 | 4.1% | -5.8% |
| 1985 | 3.1% | -25.2% |
| 1986 | 3.3% | +6.7% |
| 1987 | 4.5% | +38.6% |
| 1988 | 4.8% | +6.5% |
| 1989 | 4.6% | -3.9% |
| 1990 | 4.8% | +3.9% |
| 1991 | 4.9% | +2.3% |
| 1992 | 4.4% | -11.2% |
| 1993 | 4.1% | -7.4% |
| 1994 | 4.5% | +11.7% |
| 1995 | 5.2% | +16.0% |
| 1996 | 5.6% | +6.2% |
| 1997 | 6.0% | +7.7% |
| 1998 | 6.3% | +5.3% |
| 1999 | 6.9% | +9.7% |
| 2000 | 8.1% | +16.2% |
| 2001 | 7.9% | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 8.8% | +11.4% |
| 2003 | 9.7% | +10.3% |
| 2004 | 9.6% | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 9.9% | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 10.3% | +4.1% |
| 2007 | 10.7% | +4.2% |
| 2008 | 9.6% | -10.2% |
| 2009 | 9.9% | +3.2% |
| 2010 | 10.6% | +6.5% |
| 2011 | 10.7% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 10.5% | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 10.0% | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 10.4% | +4.5% |
| 2015 | 11.6% | +11.2% |
| 2016 | 12.2% | +5.4% |
| 2017 | 12.4% | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 12.4% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 13.2% | +6.9% |
| 2020 | 14.3% | +8.1% |
| 2021 | 14.4% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 14.9% | +3.2% |
| 2023 | 15.2% | +2.1% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 15.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 19.8%, 77% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- China's 15.2% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 34.3%, 44% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East in China 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 | +84.8% | 3.5% | 6.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 1 |
| 1970s | 5.0% | 4.6% | 5.3% | 2 |
| 1980s | 4.3% | 3.1% | 6.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.3% | 4.1% | 6.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.4% | 7.9% | 10.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.4% | 10.0% | 13.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.7% | 14.3% | 15.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near China
More private sector data for China
- Merchandise trade 32.6% (2025)
- Food imports 8.1% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 49.3% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 2.58 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 2.4% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 91.2% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 3.77 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 2,682 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1934 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 5.48 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east in China?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east in China was 15.2% 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 China?
- The highest recorded value was 15.2% in 2023.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.1% in 1985.
- How does China rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east?
- China ranks 118th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in east rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 52.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China 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 — 47 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.