Merchandise trade in Central African Republic
Central African Republic: Merchandise trade was 27.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Merchandise trade in Central African Republic, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Central African Republic recorded 27.0% for merchandise trade in 2025.
The figure is up 13.6% on the previous year and up 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Central African Republic peaked at 44.6% in 1967 and was at its lowest, 15.8%, in 1991.
Central African Republic ranks 182nd of 204 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Central African Republic, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 30.3% | — |
| 1961 | 29.2% | -3.6% |
| 1962 | 31.3% | +7.2% |
| 1963 | 37.1% | +18.4% |
| 1964 | 41.5% | +12.0% |
| 1965 | 35.2% | -15.3% |
| 1966 | 41.8% | +18.7% |
| 1967 | 44.6% | +6.6% |
| 1968 | 39.6% | -11.1% |
| 1969 | 39.4% | -0.7% |
| 1970 | 33.8% | -14.0% |
| 1971 | 32.3% | -4.7% |
| 1972 | 31.7% | -1.8% |
| 1973 | 32.8% | +3.5% |
| 1974 | 33.4% | +1.8% |
| 1975 | 30.6% | -8.3% |
| 1976 | 25.7% | -16.1% |
| 1977 | 28.6% | +11.2% |
| 1978 | 21.1% | -26.1% |
| 1979 | 21.4% | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 24.7% | +15.5% |
| 1981 | 25.0% | +1.3% |
| 1982 | 30.7% | +22.7% |
| 1983 | 23.8% | -22.5% |
| 1984 | 27.1% | +13.8% |
| 1985 | 23.7% | -12.6% |
| 1986 | 20.8% | -12.4% |
| 1987 | 27.8% | +34.0% |
| 1988 | 26.2% | -5.9% |
| 1989 | 23.0% | -12.0% |
| 1990 | 19.0% | -17.4% |
| 1991 | 15.8% | -16.8% |
| 1992 | 17.8% | +12.8% |
| 1993 | 18.4% | +3.0% |
| 1994 | 34.1% | +85.4% |
| 1995 | 31.0% | -9.0% |
| 1996 | 28.6% | -7.9% |
| 1997 | 32.4% | +13.4% |
| 1998 | 30.7% | -5.3% |
| 1999 | 27.7% | -9.7% |
| 2000 | 30.3% | +9.4% |
| 2001 | 26.7% | -12.0% |
| 2002 | 26.8% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 21.5% | -19.7% |
| 2004 | 22.4% | +4.0% |
| 2005 | 22.6% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 24.7% | +9.0% |
| 2007 | 25.1% | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 22.6% | -10.1% |
| 2009 | 18.9% | -16.4% |
| 2010 | 20.5% | +8.9% |
| 2011 | 20.5% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 21.0% | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 19.4% | -7.2% |
| 2014 | 26.7% | +37.0% |
| 2015 | 25.5% | -4.4% |
| 2016 | 28.2% | +10.6% |
| 2017 | 30.3% | +7.6% |
| 2018 | 34.7% | +14.4% |
| 2019 | 34.3% | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 27.5% | -19.7% |
| 2021 | 24.2% | -12.2% |
| 2022 | 24.6% | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 23.7% | -3.7% |
| 2024 | 23.8% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 27.0% | +13.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 37.0% | 29.2% | 44.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 29.1% | 21.1% | 33.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 25.3% | 20.8% | 30.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 25.6% | 15.8% | 34.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 24.2% | 18.9% | 30.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.1% | 19.4% | 34.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.1% | 23.7% | 27.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Central African Republic
More private sector data for Central African Republic
- Food imports 20.9% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 51.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 573.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 0.2% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 71.8% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 255.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 46.25 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0832 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 110.74 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 103.93 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Central African Republic?
- Merchandise trade in Central African Republic was 27.0% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Central African Republic?
- The highest recorded value was 44.6% in 1967.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Central African Republic?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.8% in 1991.
- How does Central African Republic rank for merchandise trade?
- Central African Republic ranks 182nd out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Central African Republic?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Central African Republic 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.