Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Panama
Panama: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside was 23.5% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Panama, 1960–2023
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 Panama stood at 23.5%. That is the highest value across all 64 years on record.
That represents a change of up 13.7% on the previous year and up 56.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Panama peaked at 23.5% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1984.
That places Panama 92nd out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
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 Panama, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.5% | — |
| 1961 | 0.4% | -10.6% |
| 1962 | 4.0% | +870.5% |
| 1963 | 0.5% | -87.9% |
| 1964 | 1.3% | +174.6% |
| 1965 | 1.2% | -9.6% |
| 1966 | 1.0% | -16.0% |
| 1967 | 0.4% | -59.6% |
| 1968 | 0.6% | +52.3% |
| 1969 | 0.8% | +29.8% |
| 1970 | 0.4% | -47.7% |
| 1971 | 0.6% | +30.0% |
| 1972 | 0.3% | -38.3% |
| 1973 | 0.3% | -18.9% |
| 1974 | 0.3% | +18.1% |
| 1975 | 0.7% | +116.9% |
| 1976 | 0.4% | -48.6% |
| 1977 | 1.6% | +331.7% |
| 1978 | 1.9% | +20.8% |
| 1979 | 0.4% | -79.3% |
| 1980 | 0.4% | -2.0% |
| 1981 | 0.4% | +15.5% |
| 1982 | 0.5% | +7.4% |
| 1983 | 0.4% | -24.1% |
| 1984 | 0.2% | -40.2% |
| 1985 | 0.2% | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 0.4% | +88.2% |
| 1987 | 0.6% | +33.8% |
| 1988 | 0.4% | -36.4% |
| 1989 | 1.6% | +353.3% |
| 1990 | 0.4% | -73.0% |
| 1991 | 0.8% | +89.2% |
| 1992 | 0.8% | -4.9% |
| 1993 | 0.7% | -3.2% |
| 1994 | 0.9% | +21.9% |
| 1995 | 0.8% | -14.1% |
| 1996 | 0.9% | +11.0% |
| 1997 | 0.9% | +8.4% |
| 1998 | 1.2% | +32.2% |
| 1999 | 1.4% | +15.7% |
| 2000 | 1.5% | +2.9% |
| 2001 | 1.7% | +15.4% |
| 2002 | 2.5% | +47.8% |
| 2003 | 2.8% | +9.5% |
| 2004 | 4.2% | +51.4% |
| 2005 | 4.4% | +5.4% |
| 2006 | 6.6% | +49.7% |
| 2007 | 7.8% | +17.9% |
| 2008 | 9.4% | +19.9% |
| 2009 | 8.3% | -10.9% |
| 2010 | 10.3% | +23.6% |
| 2011 | 12.1% | +16.8% |
| 2012 | 13.4% | +11.4% |
| 2013 | 15.0% | +11.6% |
| 2014 | 15.0% | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 16.6% | +11.1% |
| 2016 | 17.0% | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 18.4% | +7.9% |
| 2018 | 19.2% | +4.5% |
| 2019 | 18.4% | -4.1% |
| 2020 | 17.7% | -4.0% |
| 2021 | 20.5% | +16.0% |
| 2022 | 20.6% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 23.5% | +13.7% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 23.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.2%, 2.1× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Panama's 23.5% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 20.2%, 1.2× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Panama 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | +870.5% | 0.4% | 4.0% |
| 1989 | +353.3% | 0.4% | 1.6% |
| 1977 | +331.7% | 0.4% | 1.6% |
| 1964 | +174.6% | 0.5% | 1.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.1% | 0.4% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7% | 0.3% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.5% | 0.2% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9% | 0.4% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.9% | 1.5% | 9.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.5% | 10.3% | 19.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.6% | 17.7% | 23.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Panama
More private sector data for Panama
- Merchandise trade 41.6% (2025)
- Food imports 18.7% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 60.2% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 25.76 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 73.6% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 10.9% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 11.90 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 2,604 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1316 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -9.7 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Panama?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Panama was 23.5% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 23.5% in 2023.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1984.
- How does Panama rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside?
- Panama ranks 92nd out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside rising or falling in Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is up 56.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Panama 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.
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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.