Merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income): Merchandise trade was 49.0% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income), 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) is 49.0%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.8% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) peaked at 68.6% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 6.9%, in 1969.
Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) ranks 13th of 47 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 10.4% | — |
| 1961 | 10.7% | +2.5% |
| 1962 | 11.2% | +4.8% |
| 1963 | 10.2% | -9.0% |
| 1964 | 8.5% | -16.8% |
| 1965 | 8.7% | +2.1% |
| 1966 | 8.6% | -1.0% |
| 1967 | 7.7% | -10.0% |
| 1968 | 7.2% | -6.7% |
| 1969 | 6.9% | -4.5% |
| 1970 | 8.6% | +25.1% |
| 1971 | 11.4% | +32.9% |
| 1972 | 11.9% | +3.7% |
| 1973 | 13.1% | +10.4% |
| 1974 | 15.0% | +14.6% |
| 1975 | 13.3% | -11.1% |
| 1976 | 13.8% | +3.3% |
| 1977 | 12.9% | -6.6% |
| 1978 | 10.4% | -18.8% |
| 1979 | 8.2% | -21.7% |
| 1980 | 15.7% | +92.2% |
| 1981 | 19.2% | +21.9% |
| 1982 | 22.7% | +18.3% |
| 1983 | 24.2% | +6.8% |
| 1984 | 29.8% | +23.3% |
| 1985 | 28.7% | -3.8% |
| 1986 | 24.5% | -14.6% |
| 1992 | 26.7% | +8.8% |
| 1993 | 27.8% | +4.2% |
| 1994 | 37.1% | +33.5% |
| 1995 | 35.8% | -3.5% |
| 1996 | 40.0% | +11.7% |
| 1997 | 40.6% | +1.5% |
| 1998 | 37.6% | -7.4% |
| 1999 | 38.0% | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 44.1% | +16.1% |
| 2001 | 51.5% | +16.8% |
| 2002 | 50.4% | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 51.7% | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 54.7% | +5.8% |
| 2005 | 52.0% | -4.9% |
| 2006 | 55.1% | +5.9% |
| 2007 | 56.4% | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 60.7% | +7.6% |
| 2009 | 50.2% | -17.2% |
| 2010 | 51.4% | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 58.8% | +14.3% |
| 2012 | 57.9% | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 54.2% | -6.4% |
| 2014 | 53.3% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 48.3% | -9.4% |
| 2016 | 47.7% | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 54.4% | +13.9% |
| 2018 | 60.6% | +11.4% |
| 2019 | 59.5% | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 58.1% | -2.2% |
| 2021 | 64.3% | +10.7% |
| 2022 | 68.6% | +6.7% |
| 2023 | 60.2% | -12.3% |
| 2024 | 53.1% | -11.7% |
| 2025 | 49.0% | -7.8% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | +92.2% | 8.2% | 15.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.0% | 6.9% | 11.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 11.9% | 8.2% | 15.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 23.5% | 15.7% | 29.8% | 7 |
| 1990s | 35.5% | 26.7% | 40.6% | 8 |
| 2000s | 52.7% | 44.1% | 60.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 54.6% | 47.7% | 60.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 58.9% | 49.0% | 68.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
More private sector data for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
- Food imports 8.4% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 64.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 796.25 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 17.5% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 52.5% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 584.92 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 2,309 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2077 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 2.23 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 3,144 current US$ per person (2025)
All data for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- Merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) was 49.0% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 68.6% in 2022.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.9% in 1969.
- How does Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) rank for merchandise trade?
- Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) ranks 13th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 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 — 61 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.