Merchandise trade in High income
High income: Merchandise trade was 45.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in High income, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise trade in High income is 45.2%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.9% on the previous year and down 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in High income peaked at 52.3% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 16.6%, in 1962.
High income ranks 17th of 45 groups 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 High income, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 16.9% | — |
| 1961 | 16.8% | -1.0% |
| 1962 | 16.6% | -1.2% |
| 1963 | 16.9% | +1.7% |
| 1964 | 17.3% | +2.9% |
| 1965 | 17.5% | +0.9% |
| 1966 | 17.7% | +1.2% |
| 1967 | 17.5% | -1.1% |
| 1968 | 18.3% | +4.5% |
| 1969 | 19.1% | +4.4% |
| 1970 | 20.2% | +5.8% |
| 1971 | 20.4% | +0.8% |
| 1972 | 20.9% | +2.6% |
| 1973 | 23.7% | +13.6% |
| 1974 | 30.1% | +26.9% |
| 1975 | 27.8% | -7.8% |
| 1976 | 29.2% | +5.2% |
| 1977 | 29.4% | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 28.6% | -2.6% |
| 1979 | 31.4% | +9.8% |
| 1980 | 34.1% | +8.5% |
| 1981 | 33.1% | -2.8% |
| 1982 | 31.2% | -5.7% |
| 1983 | 29.5% | -5.7% |
| 1984 | 30.4% | +3.3% |
| 1985 | 29.5% | -3.2% |
| 1986 | 27.3% | -7.3% |
| 1987 | 28.0% | +2.4% |
| 1988 | 28.5% | +1.9% |
| 1989 | 29.5% | +3.3% |
| 1990 | 30.0% | +1.9% |
| 1991 | 29.1% | -3.1% |
| 1992 | 28.6% | -1.5% |
| 1993 | 28.0% | -2.3% |
| 1994 | 29.8% | +6.4% |
| 1995 | 31.9% | +7.3% |
| 1996 | 33.0% | +3.4% |
| 1997 | 34.4% | +4.3% |
| 1998 | 34.3% | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 35.0% | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 38.1% | +9.0% |
| 2001 | 36.8% | -3.5% |
| 2002 | 36.6% | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 37.8% | +3.5% |
| 2004 | 40.6% | +7.4% |
| 2005 | 42.9% | +5.6% |
| 2006 | 45.9% | +7.1% |
| 2007 | 47.6% | +3.7% |
| 2008 | 50.4% | +5.8% |
| 2009 | 41.5% | -17.7% |
| 2010 | 46.5% | +12.1% |
| 2011 | 50.5% | +8.6% |
| 2012 | 50.2% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 50.3% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 49.5% | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 46.2% | -6.6% |
| 2016 | 44.4% | -3.9% |
| 2017 | 46.4% | +4.3% |
| 2018 | 47.8% | +3.0% |
| 2019 | 45.9% | -3.9% |
| 2020 | 43.4% | -5.4% |
| 2021 | 48.1% | +10.6% |
| 2022 | 52.3% | +8.9% |
| 2023 | 47.4% | -9.4% |
| 2024 | 46.0% | -2.8% |
| 2025 | 45.2% | -1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 17.5% | 16.6% | 19.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 26.2% | 20.2% | 31.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 30.1% | 27.3% | 34.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 31.4% | 28.0% | 35.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 41.8% | 36.6% | 50.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.8% | 44.4% | 50.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.1% | 43.4% | 52.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near High income
More private sector data for High income
- Food imports 8.9% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 71.2% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 18.36 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 8.7% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 67.8% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 17.55 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 12,325 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2282 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 7.52 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 12,896 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in High income?
- Merchandise trade in High income was 45.2% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in High income?
- The highest recorded value was 52.3% in 2022.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in High income?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.6% in 1962.
- How does High income rank for merchandise trade?
- High income ranks 17th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in High income?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this 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 — 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.