Merchandise trade in Arab World
Arab World: Merchandise trade was 53.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Arab World, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Arab World recorded 53.7% for merchandise trade in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 28.9% on the previous year and down 19.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Arab World peaked at 82.7% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 38.3%, in 1990.
That places Arab World 7th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Arab World, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 45.9% | — |
| 1961 | 42.6% | -7.2% |
| 1962 | 43.0% | +0.9% |
| 1963 | 48.0% | +11.5% |
| 1964 | 47.1% | -1.7% |
| 1965 | 45.1% | -4.3% |
| 1966 | 47.0% | +4.2% |
| 1967 | 44.0% | -6.4% |
| 1968 | 43.9% | -0.2% |
| 1969 | 44.0% | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 45.1% | +2.6% |
| 1971 | 48.2% | +7.0% |
| 1972 | 48.8% | +1.1% |
| 1973 | 54.1% | +11.0% |
| 1974 | 73.2% | +35.2% |
| 1975 | 69.1% | -5.6% |
| 1976 | 67.1% | -2.9% |
| 1977 | 68.4% | +2.0% |
| 1978 | 65.9% | -3.7% |
| 1979 | 69.1% | +4.9% |
| 1980 | 72.7% | +5.3% |
| 1981 | 73.9% | +1.6% |
| 1982 | 67.3% | -9.0% |
| 1983 | 58.2% | -13.6% |
| 1984 | 54.3% | -6.7% |
| 1985 | 49.4% | -8.9% |
| 1986 | 42.0% | -15.0% |
| 1987 | 42.9% | +2.0% |
| 1988 | 47.7% | +11.2% |
| 1989 | 49.7% | +4.3% |
| 1990 | 38.3% | -22.9% |
| 1991 | 49.5% | +29.0% |
| 1992 | 54.5% | +10.2% |
| 1993 | 51.6% | -5.4% |
| 1994 | 50.5% | -2.1% |
| 1995 | 54.3% | +7.6% |
| 1996 | 58.0% | +6.7% |
| 1997 | 55.8% | -3.8% |
| 1998 | 50.7% | -9.1% |
| 1999 | 50.5% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 55.9% | +10.8% |
| 2001 | 54.8% | -2.0% |
| 2002 | 57.0% | +4.0% |
| 2003 | 61.7% | +8.2% |
| 2004 | 69.3% | +12.3% |
| 2005 | 73.8% | +6.5% |
| 2006 | 73.7% | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 77.5% | +5.0% |
| 2008 | 82.7% | +6.8% |
| 2009 | 72.6% | -12.2% |
| 2010 | 73.8% | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 77.8% | +5.4% |
| 2012 | 80.5% | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 79.6% | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 74.1% | -6.8% |
| 2015 | 66.8% | -9.8% |
| 2016 | 62.4% | -6.7% |
| 2017 | 65.1% | +4.4% |
| 2018 | 67.5% | +3.7% |
| 2019 | 66.5% | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 60.7% | -8.7% |
| 2021 | 68.6% | +13.0% |
| 2022 | 73.5% | +7.2% |
| 2023 | 74.0% | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 75.5% | +2.1% |
| 2025 | 53.7% | -28.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 45.1% | 42.6% | 48.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 60.9% | 45.1% | 73.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 55.8% | 42.0% | 73.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 51.4% | 38.3% | 58.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 67.9% | 54.8% | 82.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 71.4% | 62.4% | 80.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 67.7% | 53.7% | 75.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Arab World
More private sector data for Arab World
- Food imports 11.7% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 60.2% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 1.48 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 3.6% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 16.3% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 1.59 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 3,163 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.4193 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.39 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 2,937 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Arab World?
- Merchandise trade in Arab World was 53.7% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Arab World?
- The highest recorded value was 82.7% in 2008.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Arab World?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.3% in 1990.
- How does Arab World rank for merchandise trade?
- Arab World ranks 7th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Arab World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Arab World data come from?
- The figures come from World Trade Organization (WTO), published as part of Merchandise trade (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
General merchandise trade includes goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.