Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in South Asia
South Asia: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within was 3.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in South Asia, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
South Asia recorded 3.9% for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in 2023.
The figure is down 11.3% on the previous year and up 18.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in South Asia peaked at 7.0% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 1.9%, in 1989.
That places South Asia 39th out of 46 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom 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 South Asia, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 4.5% | — |
| 1961 | 3.6% | -19.0% |
| 1962 | 4.2% | +13.8% |
| 1963 | 3.5% | -16.9% |
| 1964 | 3.4% | -0.5% |
| 1965 | 4.0% | +17.1% |
| 1966 | 2.7% | -33.0% |
| 1967 | 2.6% | -3.7% |
| 1968 | 2.8% | +6.7% |
| 1969 | 4.3% | +55.8% |
| 1970 | 3.7% | -14.4% |
| 1971 | 3.0% | -18.5% |
| 1972 | 3.0% | -1.1% |
| 1973 | 5.2% | +74.5% |
| 1974 | 3.8% | -27.6% |
| 1975 | 3.3% | -12.4% |
| 1976 | 3.5% | +7.5% |
| 1977 | 2.9% | -18.5% |
| 1978 | 2.7% | -5.5% |
| 1979 | 3.1% | +11.9% |
| 1980 | 2.2% | -26.7% |
| 1981 | 3.0% | +35.4% |
| 1982 | 2.2% | -28.4% |
| 1983 | 2.4% | +9.7% |
| 1984 | 2.7% | +14.5% |
| 1985 | 2.4% | -12.1% |
| 1986 | 2.5% | +4.6% |
| 1987 | 2.4% | -4.4% |
| 1988 | 2.6% | +10.3% |
| 1989 | 1.9% | -26.2% |
| 1990 | 2.4% | +24.5% |
| 1991 | 3.6% | +50.3% |
| 1992 | 4.0% | +8.6% |
| 1993 | 4.2% | +4.8% |
| 1994 | 4.1% | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 4.9% | +19.3% |
| 1996 | 5.4% | +9.1% |
| 1997 | 4.2% | -21.2% |
| 1998 | 5.2% | +22.3% |
| 1999 | 4.0% | -23.3% |
| 2000 | 5.6% | +40.6% |
| 2001 | 6.7% | +19.8% |
| 2002 | 6.2% | -7.2% |
| 2003 | 6.5% | +5.3% |
| 2004 | 7.0% | +6.8% |
| 2005 | 5.7% | -17.6% |
| 2006 | 4.2% | -27.7% |
| 2007 | 3.9% | -6.1% |
| 2008 | 3.3% | -15.9% |
| 2009 | 3.2% | -2.2% |
| 2010 | 3.4% | +6.5% |
| 2011 | 3.4% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 3.1% | -8.6% |
| 2013 | 3.3% | +5.5% |
| 2014 | 3.9% | +17.6% |
| 2015 | 4.4% | +15.1% |
| 2016 | 5.0% | +12.9% |
| 2017 | 4.7% | -6.8% |
| 2018 | 4.9% | +5.2% |
| 2019 | 4.7% | -5.2% |
| 2020 | 5.1% | +9.1% |
| 2021 | 5.2% | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 4.4% | -15.5% |
| 2023 | 3.9% | -11.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.6% | 2.6% | 4.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.4% | 2.7% | 5.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.4% | 1.9% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.2% | 2.4% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.2% | 3.2% | 7.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.1% | 3.1% | 5.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.6% | 3.9% | 5.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Asia
More private sector data for South Asia
- Merchandise trade 30.0% (2025)
- Food imports 5.6% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 47.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 864.53 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 11.8% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 67.0% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 510.58 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 301.72 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1115 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.04 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in South Asia?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in South Asia was 3.9% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within recorded in South Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.0% in 2004.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within recorded in South Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.9% in 1989.
- How does South Asia rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within?
- South Asia ranks 39th out of 46 groups with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within rising or falling in South Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Asia 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.