Merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia
Europe & Central Asia: Merchandise trade was 62.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Europe & Central Asia recorded 62.2% for merchandise trade in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.8% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia peaked at 74.7% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 27.2%, in 1962.
That places Europe & Central Asia 8th out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 28.7% | — |
| 1961 | 27.9% | -2.8% |
| 1962 | 27.2% | -2.3% |
| 1963 | 27.4% | +0.6% |
| 1964 | 27.7% | +1.3% |
| 1965 | 27.9% | +0.5% |
| 1966 | 28.0% | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 27.5% | -1.7% |
| 1968 | 29.1% | +5.9% |
| 1969 | 30.6% | +5.2% |
| 1970 | 31.8% | +3.7% |
| 1971 | 31.6% | -0.6% |
| 1972 | 31.5% | -0.2% |
| 1973 | 34.2% | +8.4% |
| 1974 | 40.8% | +19.3% |
| 1975 | 36.8% | -9.6% |
| 1976 | 39.5% | +7.2% |
| 1977 | 39.8% | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 38.3% | -3.6% |
| 1979 | 40.1% | +4.5% |
| 1980 | 41.7% | +4.0% |
| 1981 | 42.7% | +2.6% |
| 1982 | 42.5% | -0.6% |
| 1983 | 42.4% | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 45.2% | +6.6% |
| 1985 | 45.8% | +1.3% |
| 1986 | 40.3% | -12.0% |
| 1987 | 39.6% | -1.6% |
| 1988 | 39.7% | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 41.5% | +4.6% |
| 1990 | 40.1% | -3.3% |
| 1991 | 38.7% | -3.6% |
| 1992 | 36.6% | -5.5% |
| 1993 | 36.6% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 40.1% | +9.6% |
| 1995 | 42.1% | +5.0% |
| 1996 | 43.0% | +2.0% |
| 1997 | 45.2% | +5.3% |
| 1998 | 46.3% | +2.3% |
| 1999 | 48.9% | +5.8% |
| 2000 | 55.2% | +12.7% |
| 2001 | 54.6% | -1.0% |
| 2002 | 52.9% | -3.2% |
| 2003 | 52.3% | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 54.2% | +3.6% |
| 2005 | 56.5% | +4.3% |
| 2006 | 59.8% | +5.8% |
| 2007 | 60.1% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 62.2% | +3.4% |
| 2009 | 53.4% | -14.1% |
| 2010 | 59.0% | +10.5% |
| 2011 | 63.2% | +7.1% |
| 2012 | 63.7% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 62.7% | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 61.7% | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 61.3% | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 61.1% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 63.7% | +4.2% |
| 2018 | 65.6% | +2.9% |
| 2019 | 64.5% | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 62.1% | -3.7% |
| 2021 | 67.1% | +8.0% |
| 2022 | 74.7% | +11.4% |
| 2023 | 67.5% | -9.7% |
| 2024 | 63.3% | -6.2% |
| 2025 | 62.2% | -1.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 28.2% | 27.2% | 30.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 36.4% | 31.5% | 40.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 42.2% | 39.6% | 45.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 41.8% | 36.6% | 48.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 56.1% | 52.3% | 62.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 62.7% | 59.0% | 65.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 66.1% | 62.1% | 74.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia
More private sector data for Europe & Central Asia
- Food imports 10.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 68.9% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 10.09 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 10.6% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 72.8% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 9.97 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 10,690 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3089 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.75 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 10,816 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia?
- Merchandise trade in Europe & Central Asia was 62.2% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 74.7% in 2022.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.2% in 1962.
- How does Europe & Central Asia rank for merchandise trade?
- Europe & Central Asia ranks 8th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia 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.