Merchandise trade in Benin
Benin: Merchandise trade was 36.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Benin, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise trade in Benin is 36.4%, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 11.8% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Benin peaked at 54.1% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 14.2%, in 1966.
That places Benin 157th out of 204 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Benin, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 21.7% | — |
| 1961 | 17.0% | -21.6% |
| 1962 | 16.1% | -5.3% |
| 1963 | 18.1% | +12.7% |
| 1964 | 16.3% | -10.0% |
| 1965 | 16.6% | +1.5% |
| 1966 | 14.2% | -14.3% |
| 1967 | 20.6% | +44.9% |
| 1968 | 22.1% | +7.2% |
| 1969 | 24.8% | +12.4% |
| 1970 | 29.1% | +17.3% |
| 1971 | 35.5% | +22.2% |
| 1972 | 31.2% | -12.2% |
| 1973 | 30.7% | -1.5% |
| 1974 | 32.6% | +6.2% |
| 1975 | 32.5% | -0.4% |
| 1976 | 34.9% | +7.5% |
| 1977 | 39.9% | +14.1% |
| 1978 | 36.4% | -8.7% |
| 1979 | 30.9% | -15.2% |
| 1980 | 28.0% | -9.1% |
| 1981 | 44.7% | +59.4% |
| 1982 | 38.5% | -13.9% |
| 1983 | 35.1% | -8.7% |
| 1984 | 43.3% | +23.2% |
| 1985 | 50.7% | +17.1% |
| 1986 | 43.0% | -15.1% |
| 1987 | 39.0% | -9.4% |
| 1988 | 49.0% | +25.7% |
| 1989 | 42.5% | -13.2% |
| 1990 | 28.2% | -33.7% |
| 1991 | 28.7% | +1.9% |
| 1992 | 53.9% | +87.4% |
| 1993 | 42.0% | -22.0% |
| 1994 | 51.9% | +23.6% |
| 1995 | 53.7% | +3.6% |
| 1996 | 50.1% | -6.8% |
| 1997 | 48.7% | -2.7% |
| 1998 | 46.6% | -4.4% |
| 1999 | 31.8% | -31.6% |
| 2000 | 28.6% | -10.3% |
| 2001 | 27.2% | -4.8% |
| 2002 | 28.0% | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 26.8% | -4.2% |
| 2004 | 23.6% | -11.8% |
| 2005 | 24.3% | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 27.9% | +14.9% |
| 2007 | 37.8% | +35.2% |
| 2008 | 36.5% | -3.4% |
| 2009 | 33.8% | -7.4% |
| 2010 | 35.0% | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 33.1% | -5.4% |
| 2012 | 33.9% | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 39.9% | +17.5% |
| 2014 | 48.1% | +20.6% |
| 2015 | 37.3% | -22.5% |
| 2016 | 39.3% | +5.5% |
| 2017 | 45.0% | +14.4% |
| 2018 | 54.1% | +20.4% |
| 2019 | 48.5% | -10.3% |
| 2020 | 41.8% | -13.9% |
| 2021 | 46.1% | +10.3% |
| 2022 | 49.5% | +7.5% |
| 2023 | 47.3% | -4.6% |
| 2024 | 41.2% | -12.8% |
| 2025 | 36.4% | -11.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 18.7% | 14.2% | 24.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 33.4% | 29.1% | 39.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 41.4% | 28.0% | 50.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 43.6% | 28.2% | 53.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 29.4% | 23.6% | 37.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 41.4% | 33.1% | 54.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.7% | 36.4% | 49.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More private sector data for Benin
- Food imports 33.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 50.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 4.95 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 39.7% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 7.4% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 3.99 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 269.2 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1623 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -0.8946 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 334.2 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Benin?
- Merchandise trade in Benin was 36.4% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 54.1% in 2018.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.2% in 1966.
- How does Benin rank for merchandise trade?
- Benin ranks 157th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Benin 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.