Merchandise trade in Germany
Germany: Merchandise trade was 65.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Germany, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise trade in Germany is 65.5%, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Germany peaked at 77.6% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 24.2%, in 1962.
Germany ranks 74th of 204 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Germany, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 25.5% | — |
| 1961 | 24.5% | -3.9% |
| 1962 | 24.2% | -1.3% |
| 1963 | 24.6% | +1.8% |
| 1964 | 25.1% | +1.8% |
| 1965 | 26.4% | +5.1% |
| 1966 | 26.7% | +1.5% |
| 1967 | 27.1% | +1.3% |
| 1968 | 28.9% | +6.6% |
| 1969 | 30.2% | +4.7% |
| 1970 | 29.6% | -2.0% |
| 1971 | 29.2% | -1.6% |
| 1972 | 29.0% | -0.7% |
| 1973 | 30.6% | +5.8% |
| 1974 | 35.6% | +16.2% |
| 1975 | 33.5% | -5.8% |
| 1976 | 36.5% | +9.0% |
| 1977 | 36.4% | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 35.6% | -2.4% |
| 1979 | 37.5% | +5.4% |
| 1980 | 39.9% | +6.6% |
| 1981 | 42.3% | +6.0% |
| 1982 | 42.6% | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 41.7% | -2.1% |
| 1984 | 44.6% | +7.1% |
| 1985 | 46.6% | +4.4% |
| 1986 | 41.3% | -11.2% |
| 1987 | 40.1% | -3.0% |
| 1988 | 40.8% | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 43.5% | +6.6% |
| 1990 | 43.7% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 42.3% | -3.3% |
| 1992 | 39.2% | -7.3% |
| 1993 | 34.8% | -11.2% |
| 1994 | 36.5% | +5.0% |
| 1995 | 38.1% | +4.4% |
| 1996 | 39.2% | +3.1% |
| 1997 | 43.2% | +10.1% |
| 1998 | 45.2% | +4.5% |
| 1999 | 46.0% | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 53.3% | +16.0% |
| 2001 | 53.8% | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 52.6% | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 53.5% | +1.7% |
| 2004 | 57.0% | +6.5% |
| 2005 | 60.4% | +6.0% |
| 2006 | 66.1% | +9.5% |
| 2007 | 68.2% | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 69.1% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 58.8% | -14.9% |
| 2010 | 66.7% | +13.4% |
| 2011 | 71.4% | +6.9% |
| 2012 | 71.1% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 69.0% | -2.9% |
| 2014 | 68.1% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 69.4% | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 67.6% | -2.7% |
| 2017 | 69.3% | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 70.2% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 68.8% | -2.0% |
| 2020 | 64.8% | -5.8% |
| 2021 | 69.8% | +7.7% |
| 2022 | 77.6% | +11.2% |
| 2023 | 69.5% | -10.5% |
| 2024 | 66.0% | -5.1% |
| 2025 | 65.5% | -0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 26.3% | 24.2% | 30.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 33.3% | 29.0% | 37.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 42.3% | 39.9% | 46.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 40.8% | 34.8% | 46.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 59.3% | 52.6% | 69.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 69.2% | 66.7% | 71.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 68.8% | 64.8% | 77.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Germany
- 71 Burkina Faso 67.5% compare
- 72 El Salvador 66.1% compare
- 73 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 66.1% compare
- 75 Azerbaijan 65.1% compare
- 76 Greenland 63.2% compare
- 77 Ireland 62.7% compare
More private sector data for Germany
- Food imports 9.2% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 73.4% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 1.54 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 6.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 84.1% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 1.76 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 21,130 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3493 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 5.24 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 18,479 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Germany?
- Merchandise trade in Germany was 65.5% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 77.6% in 2022.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.2% in 1962.
- How does Germany rank for merchandise trade?
- Germany ranks 74th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Germany 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.