Merchandise trade in Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC)
Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC): Merchandise trade was 45.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC), 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, merchandise trade in Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) stood at 45.6%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.8% on the previous year and down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) peaked at 52.9% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 22.7%, in 1991.
That places Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) 14th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC), year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 28.9% | — |
| 1961 | 28.1% | -2.9% |
| 1962 | 26.2% | -6.7% |
| 1963 | 24.6% | -6.0% |
| 1964 | 28.9% | +17.4% |
| 1965 | 27.3% | -5.5% |
| 1966 | 27.3% | -0.1% |
| 1967 | 28.5% | +4.5% |
| 1968 | 29.1% | +2.2% |
| 1969 | 28.7% | -1.5% |
| 1970 | 30.2% | +5.1% |
| 1971 | 29.7% | -1.4% |
| 1972 | 27.4% | -7.7% |
| 1973 | 29.0% | +5.8% |
| 1974 | 33.6% | +15.8% |
| 1975 | 30.5% | -9.2% |
| 1976 | 31.3% | +2.5% |
| 1977 | 31.8% | +1.8% |
| 1978 | 29.9% | -6.2% |
| 1979 | 30.9% | +3.4% |
| 1980 | 34.9% | +13.1% |
| 1981 | 31.8% | -8.8% |
| 1982 | 28.6% | -10.2% |
| 1983 | 27.6% | -3.4% |
| 1984 | 26.4% | -4.4% |
| 1985 | 25.8% | -2.2% |
| 1986 | 29.6% | +14.6% |
| 1987 | 29.4% | -0.5% |
| 1988 | 28.3% | -4.0% |
| 1989 | 29.7% | +5.2% |
| 1990 | 26.9% | -9.4% |
| 1991 | 22.7% | -15.9% |
| 1992 | 31.5% | +39.0% |
| 1993 | 30.2% | -3.9% |
| 1994 | 36.9% | +21.9% |
| 1995 | 38.1% | +3.3% |
| 1996 | 37.8% | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 36.5% | -3.5% |
| 1998 | 36.9% | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 36.7% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 35.2% | -4.2% |
| 2001 | 38.4% | +9.2% |
| 2002 | 38.2% | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 39.2% | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 42.6% | +8.6% |
| 2005 | 44.8% | +5.2% |
| 2006 | 45.2% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 45.1% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 47.4% | +4.9% |
| 2009 | 42.1% | -11.1% |
| 2010 | 46.2% | +9.7% |
| 2011 | 52.2% | +13.2% |
| 2012 | 52.9% | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 49.9% | -5.6% |
| 2014 | 48.1% | -3.7% |
| 2015 | 45.7% | -4.9% |
| 2016 | 42.2% | -7.6% |
| 2017 | 42.3% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 43.6% | +3.0% |
| 2019 | 41.2% | -5.6% |
| 2020 | 39.1% | -4.9% |
| 2021 | 42.8% | +9.3% |
| 2022 | 45.6% | +6.6% |
| 2023 | 45.6% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 44.0% | -3.7% |
| 2025 | 45.6% | +3.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 27.7% | 24.6% | 29.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 30.4% | 27.4% | 33.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 29.2% | 25.8% | 34.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 33.4% | 22.7% | 38.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 41.8% | 35.2% | 47.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 46.4% | 41.2% | 52.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.8% | 39.1% | 45.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC)
- 11 Netherlands 139.5% compare
- 12 Czechia 137.3% compare
- 13 Hungary 133.1% compare
- 14 Cambodia 127.1% compare
- 15 Lao People's Democratic Republic 124.1% compare
- 16 Thailand 118.6% compare
- 17 American Samoa 117.7% compare
More private sector data for Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC)
- Food imports 14.9% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 59.9% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 306.76 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 27.0% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 14.1% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 279.71 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 289.81 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2176 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 20.37 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 317.84 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC)?
- Merchandise trade in Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) was 45.6% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC)?
- The highest recorded value was 52.9% in 2012.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC)?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.7% in 1991.
- How does Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) rank for merchandise trade?
- Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) ranks 14th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) 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.