Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Africa Eastern and Southern
Africa Eastern and Southern: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within was 16.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Africa Eastern and Southern, 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 within in Africa Eastern and Southern is 16.8%, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 5.0% on the previous year and down 16.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Africa Eastern and Southern peaked at 26.5% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 5.2%, in 1962.
That places Africa Eastern and Southern 13th out of 46 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Africa Eastern and Southern, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 5.5% | — |
| 1961 | 5.5% | +0.1% |
| 1962 | 5.2% | -4.3% |
| 1963 | 6.2% | +19.2% |
| 1964 | 17.7% | +184.4% |
| 1965 | 17.9% | +0.8% |
| 1966 | 14.7% | -17.6% |
| 1967 | 12.5% | -14.8% |
| 1968 | 16.2% | +28.8% |
| 1969 | 15.5% | -4.3% |
| 1970 | 15.2% | -1.4% |
| 1971 | 13.7% | -10.4% |
| 1972 | 12.5% | -8.3% |
| 1973 | 13.1% | +4.3% |
| 1974 | 11.8% | -9.9% |
| 1975 | 10.3% | -12.5% |
| 1976 | 10.7% | +4.1% |
| 1977 | 10.2% | -4.6% |
| 1978 | 7.8% | -24.0% |
| 1979 | 9.2% | +17.9% |
| 1980 | 8.8% | -4.4% |
| 1981 | 11.2% | +28.0% |
| 1982 | 12.5% | +11.1% |
| 1983 | 12.6% | +0.9% |
| 1984 | 11.6% | -7.3% |
| 1985 | 10.3% | -11.2% |
| 1986 | 11.0% | +6.6% |
| 1987 | 11.0% | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 9.5% | -13.6% |
| 1989 | 13.3% | +39.5% |
| 1990 | 14.4% | +8.6% |
| 1991 | 14.3% | -1.3% |
| 1992 | 17.3% | +21.5% |
| 1993 | 20.5% | +18.3% |
| 1994 | 23.3% | +13.9% |
| 1995 | 23.4% | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 26.5% | +13.3% |
| 1997 | 26.0% | -2.1% |
| 1998 | 10.8% | -58.5% |
| 1999 | 12.1% | +11.6% |
| 2000 | 17.4% | +44.5% |
| 2001 | 16.7% | -3.8% |
| 2002 | 18.9% | +13.0% |
| 2003 | 19.3% | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 18.6% | -3.6% |
| 2005 | 16.8% | -9.6% |
| 2006 | 15.8% | -6.3% |
| 2007 | 16.0% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 17.0% | +6.3% |
| 2009 | 18.4% | +8.3% |
| 2010 | 19.1% | +3.8% |
| 2011 | 19.6% | +2.6% |
| 2012 | 20.3% | +3.6% |
| 2013 | 20.2% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 20.0% | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 19.0% | -5.2% |
| 2016 | 19.4% | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 18.4% | -5.3% |
| 2018 | 20.7% | +12.6% |
| 2019 | 19.2% | -7.0% |
| 2020 | 19.8% | +3.1% |
| 2021 | 18.1% | -8.9% |
| 2022 | 16.0% | -11.3% |
| 2023 | 16.8% | +5.0% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Africa Eastern and Southern 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | +184.4% | 6.2% | 17.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 11.7% | 5.2% | 17.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 11.4% | 7.8% | 15.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.2% | 8.8% | 13.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.9% | 10.8% | 26.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.5% | 15.8% | 19.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.6% | 18.4% | 20.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.7% | 16.0% | 19.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Africa Eastern and Southern
More private sector data for Africa Eastern and Southern
- Merchandise trade 45.4% (2025)
- Food imports 10.9% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 60.3% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 337.80 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 14.5% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 26.0% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 282.56 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 358.19 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.208 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 5.18 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Africa Eastern and Southern was 16.8% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within recorded in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- The highest recorded value was 26.5% in 1996.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within recorded in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.2% in 1962.
- How does Africa Eastern and Southern rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within?
- Africa Eastern and Southern ranks 13th out of 46 groups with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within rising or falling in Africa Eastern and Southern?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Africa Eastern and Southern data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within 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 within region are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from other low- and middle-income economies in the same World Bank region according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are 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. No figures are shown for high-income economies, because they are a separate category in the World Bank classification of economies.