Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in in Least developed countries
Least developed countries: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in was 11.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in in Least developed countries, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
Least developed countries recorded 11.8% for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in in 2023.
That represents a change of up 18.6% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in in Least developed countries peaked at 14.7% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 3.7%, in 1961.
Least developed countries ranks 9th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in in Least developed countries, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3.8% | — |
| 1961 | 3.7% | -3.4% |
| 1962 | 4.1% | +11.2% |
| 1963 | 5.7% | +38.8% |
| 1964 | 11.3% | +98.6% |
| 1965 | 12.4% | +9.8% |
| 1966 | 12.5% | +0.8% |
| 1967 | 11.5% | -8.1% |
| 1968 | 13.6% | +18.5% |
| 1969 | 13.2% | -3.0% |
| 1970 | 12.9% | -2.5% |
| 1971 | 12.0% | -6.7% |
| 1972 | 12.1% | +0.4% |
| 1973 | 10.7% | -11.5% |
| 1974 | 10.5% | -1.5% |
| 1975 | 9.4% | -10.9% |
| 1976 | 9.2% | -1.9% |
| 1977 | 9.4% | +2.1% |
| 1978 | 8.0% | -14.9% |
| 1979 | 8.1% | +1.6% |
| 1980 | 8.8% | +8.1% |
| 1981 | 8.2% | -6.2% |
| 1982 | 9.7% | +17.7% |
| 1983 | 9.6% | -0.8% |
| 1984 | 9.5% | -0.8% |
| 1985 | 8.0% | -15.5% |
| 1986 | 9.0% | +11.6% |
| 1987 | 8.8% | -2.2% |
| 1988 | 8.9% | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 11.1% | +24.5% |
| 1990 | 9.6% | -13.5% |
| 1991 | 8.4% | -12.0% |
| 1992 | 9.5% | +12.6% |
| 1993 | 9.9% | +4.4% |
| 1994 | 10.4% | +5.1% |
| 1995 | 10.1% | -2.8% |
| 1996 | 12.2% | +20.7% |
| 1997 | 11.5% | -6.2% |
| 1998 | 10.8% | -6.1% |
| 1999 | 11.9% | +10.0% |
| 2000 | 13.4% | +13.1% |
| 2001 | 12.7% | -4.9% |
| 2002 | 12.5% | -2.3% |
| 2003 | 14.6% | +17.2% |
| 2004 | 14.7% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 14.1% | -4.3% |
| 2006 | 13.3% | -5.6% |
| 2007 | 12.8% | -3.5% |
| 2008 | 13.3% | +3.8% |
| 2009 | 12.6% | -5.2% |
| 2010 | 12.3% | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 12.2% | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 12.3% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 12.1% | -2.1% |
| 2014 | 11.3% | -6.4% |
| 2015 | 10.4% | -7.7% |
| 2016 | 10.6% | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 10.4% | -2.4% |
| 2018 | 11.8% | +13.8% |
| 2019 | 10.9% | -7.5% |
| 2020 | 11.8% | +8.3% |
| 2021 | 9.9% | -16.0% |
| 2022 | 9.9% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 11.8% | +18.6% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in in Least developed countries 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | +98.6% | 5.7% | 11.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.2% | 3.7% | 13.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 10.2% | 8.0% | 12.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.2% | 8.0% | 11.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.4% | 8.4% | 12.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.4% | 12.5% | 14.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.4% | 10.4% | 12.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.9% | 9.9% | 11.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Least developed countries
More private sector data for Least developed countries
- Merchandise trade 41.4% (2025)
- Food imports 15.6% (2019)
- Manufactures imports 62.6% (2019)
- Merchandise imports 376.94 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 15.1% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 20.1% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 311.48 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 256.54 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1884 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 10.88 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in in Least developed countries?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in in Least developed countries was 11.8% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in recorded in Least developed countries?
- The highest recorded value was 14.7% in 2004.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in recorded in Least developed countries?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 1961.
- How does Least developed countries rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in?
- Least developed countries ranks 9th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in rising or falling in Least developed countries?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Least developed countries 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (% of total merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 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 Sub-Saharan Africa are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from low- and middle-income economies in the Sub-Saharan Africa 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.