Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in United States
United States: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside was 47.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in United States, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in United States is 47.4%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 4.3% on the previous year and up 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in United States peaked at 50.2% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 15.7%, in 1971.
That places United States 15th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in United States, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 28.8% | — |
| 1961 | 27.6% | -4.2% |
| 1962 | 26.0% | -6.1% |
| 1963 | 25.7% | -1.2% |
| 1964 | 25.6% | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 22.9% | -10.6% |
| 1966 | 21.8% | -4.8% |
| 1967 | 20.1% | -7.8% |
| 1968 | 18.5% | -8.0% |
| 1969 | 17.1% | -7.9% |
| 1970 | 16.7% | -1.9% |
| 1971 | 15.7% | -6.4% |
| 1972 | 15.8% | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 17.9% | +12.9% |
| 1974 | 24.2% | +35.8% |
| 1975 | 25.8% | +6.5% |
| 1976 | 26.8% | +3.8% |
| 1977 | 28.7% | +7.0% |
| 1978 | 26.9% | -6.4% |
| 1979 | 29.4% | +9.6% |
| 1980 | 30.4% | +3.2% |
| 1981 | 26.9% | -11.5% |
| 1982 | 24.7% | -8.2% |
| 1983 | 24.2% | -1.8% |
| 1984 | 21.6% | -10.8% |
| 1985 | 19.8% | -8.3% |
| 1986 | 17.5% | -11.7% |
| 1987 | 18.6% | +6.6% |
| 1988 | 19.1% | +2.4% |
| 1989 | 21.2% | +11.1% |
| 1990 | 22.5% | +6.2% |
| 1991 | 22.9% | +1.8% |
| 1992 | 24.8% | +8.1% |
| 1993 | 26.0% | +4.8% |
| 1994 | 27.1% | +4.2% |
| 1995 | 28.3% | +4.6% |
| 1996 | 29.9% | +5.8% |
| 1997 | 31.2% | +4.3% |
| 1998 | 32.1% | +3.0% |
| 1999 | 32.7% | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 33.8% | +3.5% |
| 2001 | 34.7% | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 36.4% | +4.9% |
| 2003 | 37.8% | +3.9% |
| 2004 | 39.3% | +4.0% |
| 2005 | 41.0% | +4.4% |
| 2006 | 42.9% | +4.6% |
| 2007 | 43.7% | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 44.3% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 46.9% | +6.1% |
| 2010 | 48.2% | +2.7% |
| 2011 | 47.1% | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 46.9% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 47.0% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 47.0% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 48.8% | +3.9% |
| 2016 | 49.5% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 50.2% | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 49.9% | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 48.2% | -3.3% |
| 2020 | 48.9% | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 49.4% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 49.5% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 47.4% | -4.3% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 47.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.2%, 4.2× the median. (74 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in United States 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | +35.8% | 17.9% | 24.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 23.4% | 17.1% | 28.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 22.8% | 15.7% | 29.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 22.4% | 17.5% | 30.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 27.7% | 22.5% | 32.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 40.1% | 33.8% | 46.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 48.3% | 46.9% | 50.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 48.8% | 47.4% | 49.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More private sector data for United States
- Merchandise trade 18.5% (2025)
- Food imports 6.9% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 78.4% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 3.51 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 9.5% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 55.7% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 2.19 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 6,394 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.071 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 5.99 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in United States?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in United States was 47.4% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 50.2% in 2017.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.7% in 1971.
- How does United States rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside?
- United States ranks 15th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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.