Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Europe & in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Europe & was 17.0% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Europe & in Afghanistan, 1976–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 17.0% for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe & in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 41.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe & in Afghanistan peaked at 41.7% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1976.
That places Afghanistan 15th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
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 Europe & in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 0.0% | — |
| 1977 | 1.2% | +44668.3% |
| 1982 | 0.0% | -98.9% |
| 1983 | 0.0% | +156.7% |
| 1984 | 0.0% | -74.6% |
| 1985 | 0.0% | +336.3% |
| 1986 | 0.3% | +641.3% |
| 1987 | 0.5% | +70.7% |
| 1988 | 0.5% | -8.8% |
| 1989 | 0.7% | +44.9% |
| 1990 | 0.3% | -49.5% |
| 1991 | 0.2% | -39.1% |
| 1993 | 2.2% | +999.4% |
| 1994 | 6.8% | +203.2% |
| 1995 | 5.7% | -16.5% |
| 1996 | 5.1% | -9.5% |
| 1997 | 8.3% | +61.0% |
| 1998 | 13.3% | +60.3% |
| 1999 | 13.7% | +3.1% |
| 2000 | 14.1% | +3.1% |
| 2001 | 13.9% | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 14.7% | +5.7% |
| 2003 | 14.9% | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 14.0% | -6.1% |
| 2005 | 14.6% | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 15.8% | +8.3% |
| 2007 | 18.9% | +19.5% |
| 2008 | 28.2% | +49.5% |
| 2009 | 41.7% | +47.8% |
| 2010 | 31.7% | -24.0% |
| 2011 | 29.1% | -8.1% |
| 2015 | 21.0% | -27.9% |
| 2016 | 23.8% | +13.4% |
| 2017 | 26.6% | +11.8% |
| 2018 | 26.2% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 23.0% | -12.4% |
| 2020 | 27.9% | +21.1% |
| 2021 | 22.5% | -19.1% |
| 2022 | 17.0% | -24.5% |
| 2023 | 17.0% | +0.0% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 17.0% is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.1%, 8.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 17.0% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 6.0%, 2.8× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Europe & 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | +44668.3% | 0.0% | 1.2% |
| 1993 | +999.4% | 0.2% | 2.2% |
| 1986 | +641.3% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| 1985 | +336.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1994 | +203.2% | 2.2% | 6.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.6% | 0.0% | 1.2% | 2 |
| 1980s | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.7% | 8 |
| 1990s | 6.2% | 0.2% | 13.7% | 9 |
| 2000s | 19.1% | 13.9% | 41.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.9% | 21.0% | 31.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 21.1% | 17.0% | 27.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
- 12 Libya 18.7% compare
- 13 Bosnia and Herzegovina 17.6% compare
- 14 Albania 17.1% compare
- 16 Kyrgyzstan 16.2% compare
- 17 Bulgaria 15.5% compare
- 18 North Macedonia 15.4% compare
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 europe & in Afghanistan?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe & in Afghanistan was 17.0% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe & recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 41.7% in 2009.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe & recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1976.
- How does Afghanistan rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe &?
- Afghanistan ranks 15th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in europe & rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 41.5%. 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 Europe & Central Asia (% of total merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Europe and Central Asia are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from low- and middle-income economies in the Europe and Central Asia 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.