Merchandise trade in Bhutan
Bhutan: Merchandise trade was 83.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Bhutan, 1980–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise trade in Bhutan is 83.3%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 27.0% on the previous year and up 13.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Bhutan peaked at 95.6% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 52.1%, in 1980.
That places Bhutan 46th out of 204 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 52.1% | — |
| 1981 | 63.2% | +21.4% |
| 1982 | 60.1% | -5.0% |
| 1983 | 56.2% | -6.6% |
| 1984 | 56.7% | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 64.9% | +14.4% |
| 1986 | 66.4% | +2.3% |
| 1987 | 58.5% | -11.9% |
| 1988 | 74.2% | +26.8% |
| 1989 | 60.4% | -18.5% |
| 1990 | 52.5% | -13.2% |
| 1991 | 60.8% | +15.8% |
| 1992 | 79.5% | +30.9% |
| 1993 | 68.6% | -13.7% |
| 1994 | 61.0% | -11.0% |
| 1995 | 74.0% | +21.3% |
| 1996 | 75.1% | +1.5% |
| 1997 | 72.4% | -3.7% |
| 1998 | 66.6% | -8.0% |
| 1999 | 74.6% | +12.1% |
| 2000 | 60.3% | -19.1% |
| 2001 | 59.9% | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 55.4% | -7.4% |
| 2003 | 58.6% | +5.7% |
| 2004 | 80.8% | +37.9% |
| 2005 | 74.8% | -7.3% |
| 2006 | 88.5% | +18.2% |
| 2007 | 95.6% | +8.1% |
| 2008 | 80.8% | -15.6% |
| 2009 | 77.0% | -4.7% |
| 2010 | 87.5% | +13.6% |
| 2011 | 86.9% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 77.3% | -11.0% |
| 2013 | 74.8% | -3.3% |
| 2014 | 72.5% | -3.0% |
| 2015 | 73.6% | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 64.8% | -12.0% |
| 2017 | 61.8% | -4.6% |
| 2018 | 64.0% | +3.6% |
| 2019 | 60.5% | -5.5% |
| 2020 | 63.1% | +4.3% |
| 2021 | 72.4% | +14.8% |
| 2022 | 77.1% | +6.5% |
| 2023 | 64.9% | -15.9% |
| 2024 | 65.6% | +1.1% |
| 2025 | 83.3% | +27.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 61.3% | 52.1% | 74.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 68.5% | 52.5% | 79.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 73.2% | 55.4% | 95.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 72.4% | 60.5% | 87.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 71.0% | 63.1% | 83.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
- 43 Solomon Islands 83.8% compare
- 44 Bulgaria 83.5% compare
- 45 Micronesia (country) 83.5% compare
- 47 Bosnia and Herzegovina 83.3% compare
- 48 Guinea 82.7% compare
- 49 Faroe Islands 80.8% compare
More private sector data for Bhutan
- Food imports 11.4% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 70.4% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 2.18 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 5.9% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 58.7% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 800.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,004 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2235 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 7.1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 2,738 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Bhutan?
- Merchandise trade in Bhutan was 83.3% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 95.6% in 2007.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was 52.1% in 1980.
- How does Bhutan rank for merchandise trade?
- Bhutan ranks 46th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan 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 — 46 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.