Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Japan
Japan: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within was 36.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Japan, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
Japan recorded 36.6% for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in 2023.
The figure is up 4.0% on the previous year and up 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Japan peaked at 40.3% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 7.1%, in 1961.
That places Japan 32nd out of 203 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
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 Japan, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 8.8% | — |
| 1961 | 7.1% | -19.1% |
| 1962 | 8.3% | +16.0% |
| 1963 | 8.7% | +4.9% |
| 1964 | 9.6% | +11.2% |
| 1965 | 11.0% | +13.7% |
| 1966 | 14.4% | +31.7% |
| 1967 | 12.7% | -11.9% |
| 1968 | 11.7% | -8.3% |
| 1969 | 12.2% | +4.4% |
| 1970 | 11.6% | -4.3% |
| 1971 | 12.5% | +7.8% |
| 1972 | 13.1% | +4.4% |
| 1973 | 15.1% | +15.1% |
| 1974 | 15.2% | +0.6% |
| 1975 | 13.8% | -9.0% |
| 1976 | 13.9% | +0.7% |
| 1977 | 14.7% | +5.8% |
| 1978 | 14.9% | +1.3% |
| 1979 | 17.1% | +14.5% |
| 1980 | 18.0% | +5.4% |
| 1981 | 17.7% | -1.4% |
| 1982 | 18.1% | +2.4% |
| 1983 | 17.3% | -4.6% |
| 1984 | 18.3% | +5.6% |
| 1985 | 18.7% | +2.1% |
| 1986 | 16.3% | -12.4% |
| 1987 | 16.9% | +3.3% |
| 1988 | 16.5% | -2.2% |
| 1989 | 16.7% | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 16.5% | -1.1% |
| 1991 | 18.4% | +11.6% |
| 1992 | 19.8% | +7.6% |
| 1993 | 21.7% | +9.7% |
| 1994 | 22.9% | +5.3% |
| 1995 | 23.2% | +1.6% |
| 1996 | 24.6% | +6.0% |
| 1997 | 25.3% | +2.9% |
| 1998 | 25.6% | +0.9% |
| 1999 | 26.9% | +5.3% |
| 2000 | 28.3% | +5.0% |
| 2001 | 30.3% | +7.0% |
| 2002 | 31.9% | +5.3% |
| 2003 | 33.2% | +4.3% |
| 2004 | 33.9% | +1.9% |
| 2005 | 33.5% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 32.8% | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 33.1% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 31.4% | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 34.8% | +10.7% |
| 2010 | 35.1% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 34.6% | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 34.4% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 34.5% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 35.4% | +2.5% |
| 2015 | 38.8% | +9.5% |
| 2016 | 39.9% | +2.8% |
| 2017 | 38.7% | -3.0% |
| 2018 | 36.9% | -4.5% |
| 2019 | 37.4% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 40.3% | +7.9% |
| 2021 | 37.8% | -6.4% |
| 2022 | 35.2% | -6.9% |
| 2023 | 36.6% | +4.0% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 36.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.5%, 8.2× the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Japan's 36.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 34.3%, 1.1× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 10.4% | 7.1% | 14.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 14.2% | 11.6% | 17.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 17.5% | 16.3% | 18.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.5% | 16.5% | 26.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 32.3% | 28.3% | 34.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 36.6% | 34.4% | 39.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.5% | 35.2% | 40.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More private sector data for Japan
- Merchandise trade 33.7% (2025)
- Food imports 9.8% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 59.9% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 755.55 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.3% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 80.6% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 738.34 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 5,985 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1665 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 4.43 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Japan?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Japan was 36.6% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 40.3% in 2020.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.1% in 1961.
- How does Japan rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within?
- Japan ranks 32nd out of 203 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan 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.