Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Korea
Korea: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within was 32.9% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Korea, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
Korea recorded 32.9% for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.3% on the previous year and up 35.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Korea peaked at 33.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.3%, in 1964.
Korea ranks 45th of 203 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Korea, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 4.2% | — |
| 1961 | 3.1% | -25.0% |
| 1962 | 3.4% | +9.0% |
| 1963 | 3.0% | -13.1% |
| 1964 | 2.3% | -20.6% |
| 1965 | 2.9% | +22.0% |
| 1966 | 5.3% | +85.3% |
| 1967 | 4.6% | -14.3% |
| 1968 | 5.3% | +16.0% |
| 1969 | 5.7% | +7.1% |
| 1970 | 6.3% | +11.3% |
| 1971 | 6.4% | +2.1% |
| 1972 | 5.9% | -8.0% |
| 1973 | 8.2% | +39.3% |
| 1974 | 6.1% | -26.4% |
| 1975 | 4.9% | -19.4% |
| 1976 | 5.8% | +19.3% |
| 1977 | 5.8% | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 5.0% | -13.5% |
| 1979 | 6.1% | +21.5% |
| 1980 | 6.3% | +3.5% |
| 1981 | 6.2% | -1.7% |
| 1982 | 7.0% | +12.7% |
| 1983 | 6.1% | -13.5% |
| 1984 | 7.0% | +14.8% |
| 1985 | 7.9% | +14.2% |
| 1986 | 6.1% | -23.1% |
| 1987 | 6.3% | +3.7% |
| 1988 | 5.9% | -7.5% |
| 1989 | 6.0% | +3.3% |
| 1990 | 6.3% | +3.6% |
| 1991 | 10.5% | +68.3% |
| 1992 | 11.1% | +5.7% |
| 1993 | 11.8% | +6.1% |
| 1994 | 11.5% | -2.5% |
| 1995 | 11.5% | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 12.0% | +4.9% |
| 1997 | 13.7% | +14.0% |
| 1998 | 14.7% | +7.4% |
| 1999 | 15.6% | +6.2% |
| 2000 | 16.8% | +7.4% |
| 2001 | 18.4% | +9.3% |
| 2002 | 20.1% | +9.3% |
| 2003 | 20.1% | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 20.9% | +4.3% |
| 2005 | 22.5% | +7.6% |
| 2006 | 23.1% | +2.6% |
| 2007 | 24.8% | +7.6% |
| 2008 | 24.8% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 24.7% | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 25.1% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 24.6% | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 23.4% | -5.0% |
| 2013 | 24.2% | +3.3% |
| 2014 | 25.0% | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 29.1% | +16.4% |
| 2016 | 30.6% | +5.1% |
| 2017 | 29.8% | -2.3% |
| 2018 | 29.7% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 31.4% | +5.7% |
| 2020 | 33.5% | +6.8% |
| 2021 | 32.1% | -4.1% |
| 2022 | 31.5% | -2.0% |
| 2023 | 32.9% | +4.3% |
Korea compared with similar countries
- Korea's 32.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.5%, 7.4× the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Korea's 32.9% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 34.3%, 96% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Korea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | +85.3% | 2.9% | 5.3% |
| 1991 | +68.3% | 6.3% | 10.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.0% | 2.3% | 5.7% | 10 |
| 1970s | 6.1% | 4.9% | 8.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.5% | 5.9% | 7.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.9% | 6.3% | 15.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.6% | 16.8% | 24.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.3% | 23.4% | 31.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.5% | 31.5% | 33.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Korea
More private sector data for Korea
- Merchandise trade 71.6% (2025)
- Food imports 6.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 60.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 631.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.6% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 87.3% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 709.33 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 13,724 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3788 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 3.76 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Korea?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Korea was 32.9% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within recorded in Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 33.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within recorded in Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.3% in 1964.
- How does Korea rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within?
- Korea ranks 45th out of 203 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within rising or falling in Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Korea 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.