Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in South Korea
South Korea: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside was 8.7% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in South Korea, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 8.7% for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in 2023.
That represents a change of down 6.4% on the previous year and down 3.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in South Korea peaked at 10.2% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1963.
South Korea ranks 155th of 206 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.3% | — |
| 1961 | 0.5% | +45.1% |
| 1962 | 0.5% | +8.2% |
| 1963 | 0.2% | -64.6% |
| 1964 | 0.7% | +292.6% |
| 1965 | 0.7% | -4.4% |
| 1966 | 3.1% | +339.4% |
| 1967 | 1.7% | -43.8% |
| 1968 | 3.3% | +93.0% |
| 1969 | 2.6% | -20.8% |
| 1970 | 2.7% | +1.1% |
| 1971 | 1.7% | -37.6% |
| 1972 | 0.6% | -64.2% |
| 1973 | 1.0% | +60.4% |
| 1974 | 1.0% | +4.6% |
| 1975 | 1.1% | +13.0% |
| 1976 | 3.6% | +217.0% |
| 1977 | 3.8% | +7.6% |
| 1978 | 2.7% | -30.0% |
| 1979 | 4.4% | +62.4% |
| 1980 | 3.2% | -27.8% |
| 1981 | 3.3% | +5.2% |
| 1982 | 6.5% | +96.2% |
| 1983 | 7.1% | +9.2% |
| 1984 | 7.1% | -0.4% |
| 1985 | 7.9% | +10.6% |
| 1986 | 4.9% | -37.7% |
| 1987 | 3.9% | -19.6% |
| 1988 | 4.1% | +3.2% |
| 1989 | 3.8% | -5.7% |
| 1990 | 4.0% | +3.3% |
| 1991 | 6.1% | +55.3% |
| 1992 | 6.2% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 5.6% | -8.8% |
| 1994 | 6.4% | +13.5% |
| 1995 | 6.1% | -5.1% |
| 1996 | 6.3% | +3.3% |
| 1997 | 7.8% | +25.3% |
| 1998 | 6.7% | -14.9% |
| 1999 | 7.5% | +11.7% |
| 2000 | 6.8% | -9.5% |
| 2001 | 6.5% | -3.4% |
| 2002 | 5.8% | -10.4% |
| 2003 | 5.6% | -4.6% |
| 2004 | 6.3% | +12.4% |
| 2005 | 5.9% | -6.1% |
| 2006 | 7.3% | +23.9% |
| 2007 | 8.1% | +11.1% |
| 2008 | 8.4% | +3.7% |
| 2009 | 8.4% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 8.4% | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 10.2% | +21.3% |
| 2012 | 9.8% | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 9.0% | -8.5% |
| 2014 | 8.8% | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 7.7% | -11.7% |
| 2016 | 7.9% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 8.8% | +11.2% |
| 2018 | 8.8% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 8.8% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 7.6% | -13.7% |
| 2021 | 8.3% | +10.4% |
| 2022 | 9.3% | +10.9% |
| 2023 | 8.7% | -6.4% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 8.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 11.2%, 77% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 8.7% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.1%, 2.8× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in South Korea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | +339.4% | 0.7% | 3.1% |
| 1964 | +292.6% | 0.2% | 0.7% |
| 1976 | +217.0% | 1.1% | 3.6% |
| 1982 | +96.2% | 3.3% | 6.5% |
| 1968 | +93.0% | 1.7% | 3.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.4% | 0.2% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.3% | 0.6% | 4.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.2% | 3.2% | 7.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.3% | 4.0% | 7.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.9% | 5.6% | 8.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.8% | 7.7% | 10.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.5% | 7.6% | 9.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More private sector data for South Korea
- Merchandise trade 71.6% (2025)
- Food imports 6.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 60.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 631.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.6% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 87.3% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 709.33 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 13,724 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3788 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 3.76 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in South Korea?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in South Korea was 8.7% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 10.2% in 2011.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1963.
- How does South Korea rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside?
- South Korea ranks 155th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Korea 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.