Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Maldives
Maldives: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside was 25.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Maldives, 1981–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
In 2023, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Maldives stood at 25.5%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 37.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Maldives peaked at 35.5% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 6.7%, in 1984.
Maldives ranks 84th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 43 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Maldives, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 17.6% | — |
| 1982 | 8.3% | -53.1% |
| 1983 | 10.4% | +25.7% |
| 1984 | 6.7% | -35.1% |
| 1985 | 8.6% | +28.0% |
| 1986 | 7.6% | -11.9% |
| 1987 | 7.2% | -5.7% |
| 1988 | 9.0% | +25.6% |
| 1989 | 9.5% | +5.3% |
| 1990 | 6.8% | -28.7% |
| 1991 | 6.7% | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 8.3% | +22.8% |
| 1993 | 8.7% | +4.8% |
| 1994 | 8.7% | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 7.1% | -18.2% |
| 1996 | 15.3% | +114.6% |
| 1997 | 14.4% | -6.0% |
| 1998 | 12.3% | -14.4% |
| 1999 | 14.1% | +14.9% |
| 2000 | 19.9% | +41.0% |
| 2001 | 16.9% | -15.4% |
| 2002 | 13.4% | -20.8% |
| 2003 | 16.8% | +25.6% |
| 2004 | 16.3% | -3.0% |
| 2005 | 16.6% | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 17.4% | +5.3% |
| 2007 | 19.3% | +10.7% |
| 2008 | 17.2% | -11.1% |
| 2009 | 17.6% | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 20.0% | +13.7% |
| 2011 | 18.2% | -9.1% |
| 2012 | 18.4% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 18.5% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 20.9% | +12.9% |
| 2015 | 25.1% | +20.1% |
| 2016 | 30.3% | +20.8% |
| 2017 | 30.2% | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 35.5% | +17.8% |
| 2019 | 32.3% | -9.3% |
| 2020 | 31.2% | -3.2% |
| 2021 | 26.6% | -14.9% |
| 2022 | 25.0% | -6.0% |
| 2023 | 25.5% | +2.0% |
Maldives compared with similar countries
- Maldives's 25.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 20.2%, 1.3× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Maldives's 25.5% is below the median for South Asia, which is 29.7%, 86% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Maldives 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | +114.6% | 7.1% | 15.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 9.4% | 6.7% | 17.6% | 9 |
| 1990s | 10.2% | 6.7% | 15.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.1% | 13.4% | 19.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.9% | 18.2% | 35.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 27.1% | 25.0% | 31.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
More private sector data for Maldives
- Merchandise trade 52.5% (2025)
- Food imports 21.2% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 53.7% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 3.62 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 94.4% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 1.2% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 444.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 838.25 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0574 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 15.93 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Maldives?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Maldives was 25.5% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 35.5% in 2018.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.7% in 1984.
- How does Maldives rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside?
- Maldives ranks 84th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is up 37.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Maldives 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
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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.