Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in European Union
European Union: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside was 16.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in European Union, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
European Union recorded 16.6% for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in 2023.
That represents a change of down 6.9% on the previous year and up 12.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in European Union peaked at 18.5% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 9.9%, in 1999.
That places European Union 39th out of 47 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in European Union, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 18.5% | — |
| 1961 | 17.5% | -5.5% |
| 1962 | 17.4% | -0.6% |
| 1963 | 17.2% | -0.8% |
| 1964 | 17.5% | +1.6% |
| 1965 | 17.1% | -2.0% |
| 1966 | 17.2% | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 16.7% | -2.9% |
| 1968 | 16.5% | -1.2% |
| 1969 | 16.0% | -3.0% |
| 1970 | 15.1% | -5.4% |
| 1971 | 14.3% | -5.1% |
| 1972 | 13.8% | -3.8% |
| 1973 | 14.2% | +3.0% |
| 1974 | 18.2% | +28.1% |
| 1975 | 16.4% | -9.9% |
| 1976 | 16.6% | +1.5% |
| 1977 | 17.2% | +3.7% |
| 1978 | 16.2% | -6.1% |
| 1979 | 16.5% | +2.0% |
| 1980 | 17.2% | +4.3% |
| 1981 | 15.4% | -10.3% |
| 1982 | 16.7% | +8.1% |
| 1983 | 17.1% | +2.7% |
| 1984 | 17.6% | +2.5% |
| 1985 | 17.4% | -0.9% |
| 1986 | 12.1% | -30.5% |
| 1987 | 11.2% | -7.1% |
| 1988 | 10.8% | -3.7% |
| 1989 | 11.1% | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 11.1% | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 11.1% | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 10.7% | -3.7% |
| 1993 | 11.2% | +4.6% |
| 1994 | 11.1% | -0.8% |
| 1995 | 10.5% | -5.4% |
| 1996 | 10.9% | +3.9% |
| 1997 | 10.9% | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 10.4% | -4.8% |
| 1999 | 9.9% | -4.3% |
| 2000 | 10.9% | +9.3% |
| 2001 | 10.8% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 10.7% | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 11.2% | +4.2% |
| 2004 | 11.4% | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 12.6% | +9.8% |
| 2006 | 13.1% | +4.2% |
| 2007 | 13.6% | +3.9% |
| 2008 | 14.5% | +6.4% |
| 2009 | 14.3% | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 15.5% | +8.5% |
| 2011 | 15.3% | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 15.5% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 14.7% | -4.9% |
| 2014 | 14.8% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 15.3% | +3.1% |
| 2016 | 15.0% | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 15.3% | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 15.4% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 15.6% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 16.1% | +3.3% |
| 2021 | 16.6% | +3.3% |
| 2022 | 17.8% | +7.3% |
| 2023 | 16.6% | -6.9% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in European Union 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | -30.5% | 17.4% | 12.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 17.1% | 16.0% | 18.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 15.9% | 13.8% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 14.7% | 10.8% | 17.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.8% | 9.9% | 11.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.3% | 10.7% | 14.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.2% | 14.7% | 15.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.8% | 16.1% | 17.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near European Union
More private sector data for European Union
- Merchandise trade 70.9% (2025)
- Food imports 10.7% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 70.7% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 7.41 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 11.0% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 76.6% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 7.66 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 16,988 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3608 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.82 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in European Union?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in European Union was 16.6% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in European Union?
- The highest recorded value was 18.5% in 1960.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in European Union?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.9% in 1999.
- How does European Union rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside?
- European Union ranks 39th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside rising or falling in European Union?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this European Union data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% 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 outside region are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from other low- and middle-income economies in other World Bank regions 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.