Merchandise trade in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Merchandise trade was 25.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Bangladesh, 1972–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise trade in Bangladesh is 25.8%, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and down 32.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Bangladesh peaked at 47.2% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 8.5%, in 1975.
That places Bangladesh 186th out of 204 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 54 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 15.0% | — |
| 1973 | 16.6% | +10.8% |
| 1974 | 11.4% | -31.4% |
| 1975 | 8.5% | -25.6% |
| 1976 | 13.4% | +57.8% |
| 1977 | 17.0% | +27.0% |
| 1978 | 15.5% | -8.6% |
| 1979 | 16.5% | +6.3% |
| 1980 | 18.5% | +12.3% |
| 1981 | 17.2% | -6.9% |
| 1982 | 17.5% | +1.3% |
| 1983 | 16.4% | -6.0% |
| 1984 | 19.9% | +21.0% |
| 1985 | 15.9% | -19.9% |
| 1986 | 15.7% | -1.0% |
| 1987 | 15.6% | -1.1% |
| 1988 | 16.3% | +4.7% |
| 1989 | 17.2% | +5.6% |
| 1990 | 16.7% | -2.8% |
| 1991 | 16.5% | -1.6% |
| 1992 | 18.4% | +11.6% |
| 1993 | 19.7% | +7.2% |
| 1994 | 22.3% | +13.2% |
| 1995 | 26.9% | +20.4% |
| 1996 | 24.3% | -9.6% |
| 1997 | 25.1% | +3.2% |
| 1998 | 25.2% | +0.7% |
| 1999 | 27.0% | +6.9% |
| 2000 | 28.6% | +6.1% |
| 2001 | 28.0% | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 26.9% | -3.7% |
| 2003 | 29.0% | +7.5% |
| 2004 | 31.2% | +7.9% |
| 2005 | 33.4% | +6.8% |
| 2006 | 38.8% | +16.2% |
| 2007 | 39.0% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 42.8% | +9.8% |
| 2009 | 36.0% | -15.9% |
| 2010 | 40.8% | +13.2% |
| 2011 | 47.2% | +15.6% |
| 2012 | 44.5% | -5.7% |
| 2013 | 44.1% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 41.4% | -6.3% |
| 2015 | 38.1% | -7.8% |
| 2016 | 30.0% | -21.2% |
| 2017 | 30.2% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 31.0% | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 28.0% | -9.7% |
| 2020 | 23.1% | -17.6% |
| 2021 | 29.9% | +29.6% |
| 2022 | 30.3% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 25.4% | -16.3% |
| 2024 | 25.6% | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 25.8% | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 14.2% | 8.5% | 17.0% | 8 |
| 1980s | 17.0% | 15.6% | 19.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.2% | 16.5% | 27.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 33.4% | 26.9% | 42.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.5% | 28.0% | 47.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.7% | 23.1% | 30.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More private sector data for Bangladesh
- Food imports 13.0% (2018)
- Manufactures imports 67.0% (2018)
- Merchandise imports 69.37 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 3.4% (2018)
- Manufactures exports 94.5% (2018)
- Merchandise exports 48.17 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 274.16 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1056 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.95 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 394.87 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Bangladesh?
- Merchandise trade in Bangladesh was 25.8% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 47.2% in 2011.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.5% in 1975.
- How does Bangladesh rank for merchandise trade?
- Bangladesh ranks 186th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is down 32.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bangladesh 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 — 54 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.