Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Tonga
Tonga: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within was 30.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Tonga, 1979–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
In 2023, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Tonga stood at 30.1%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 15.2% on the previous year and up 66.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Tonga peaked at 36.9% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 6.3%, in 1981.
That places Tonga 53rd out of 203 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Tonga, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 7.6% | — |
| 1980 | 6.8% | -11.4% |
| 1981 | 6.3% | -6.4% |
| 1982 | 9.7% | +53.0% |
| 1983 | 8.1% | -16.8% |
| 1984 | 8.4% | +3.8% |
| 1985 | 6.9% | -17.7% |
| 1986 | 8.4% | +22.2% |
| 1987 | 10.7% | +27.7% |
| 1988 | 15.6% | +45.2% |
| 1989 | 12.9% | -17.1% |
| 1990 | 15.8% | +22.5% |
| 1991 | 18.1% | +14.1% |
| 1992 | 18.2% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 13.2% | -27.3% |
| 1994 | 8.3% | -36.8% |
| 1995 | 8.4% | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 7.7% | -9.0% |
| 1997 | 8.9% | +16.9% |
| 1998 | 8.1% | -9.9% |
| 1999 | 21.4% | +165.1% |
| 2000 | 19.3% | -9.9% |
| 2001 | 17.4% | -9.5% |
| 2002 | 18.2% | +4.6% |
| 2003 | 23.9% | +31.3% |
| 2004 | 26.9% | +12.4% |
| 2005 | 30.2% | +12.3% |
| 2006 | 36.9% | +22.0% |
| 2007 | 18.1% | -50.8% |
| 2008 | 16.7% | -8.1% |
| 2009 | 17.1% | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 18.7% | +9.6% |
| 2011 | 20.4% | +9.2% |
| 2012 | 18.1% | -11.1% |
| 2013 | 18.0% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 20.6% | +14.4% |
| 2015 | 32.3% | +56.2% |
| 2016 | 27.2% | -15.8% |
| 2017 | 21.5% | -20.9% |
| 2018 | 21.8% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 20.4% | -6.6% |
| 2020 | 23.3% | +14.6% |
| 2021 | 26.4% | +13.3% |
| 2022 | 26.1% | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 30.1% | +15.2% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 30.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 16.6%, 1.8× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 30.1% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 34.3%, 88% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Tonga 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | +165.1% | 8.1% | 21.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7.6% | 7.6% | 7.6% | 1 |
| 1980s | 9.4% | 6.3% | 15.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.8% | 7.7% | 21.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.5% | 16.7% | 36.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.9% | 18.0% | 32.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.5% | 23.3% | 30.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
- 50 Montenegro 31.6% compare
- 51 Vanuatu 30.5% compare
- 52 American Samoa 30.2% compare
- 54 Guatemala 29.2% compare
- 55 Tajikistan 28.7% compare
- 56 French Polynesia 28.3% compare
More private sector data for Tonga
- Merchandise trade 39.5% (2025)
- Food imports 27.5% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 53.8% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 255.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 30.9% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 67.5% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 13.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 125.31 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0191 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 44.44 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Tonga?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within in Tonga was 30.1% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within recorded in Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 36.9% in 2006.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.3% in 1981.
- How does Tonga rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within?
- Tonga ranks 53rd out of 203 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is up 66.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tonga 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 — 45 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.