Merchandise trade in Ireland
Ireland: Merchandise trade was 62.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Ireland, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, merchandise trade in Ireland stood at 62.7%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.8% on the previous year and down 5.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Ireland peaked at 128.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 53.1%, in 1960.
Ireland ranks 77th 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 Ireland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 53.1% | — |
| 1961 | 57.5% | +8.3% |
| 1962 | 53.8% | -6.4% |
| 1963 | 56.2% | +4.3% |
| 1964 | 53.4% | -4.9% |
| 1965 | 54.7% | +2.3% |
| 1966 | 54.0% | -1.2% |
| 1967 | 54.4% | +0.8% |
| 1968 | 58.4% | +7.3% |
| 1969 | 59.1% | +1.2% |
| 1970 | 62.4% | +5.5% |
| 1971 | 61.8% | -0.9% |
| 1972 | 58.7% | -5.0% |
| 1973 | 65.8% | +12.0% |
| 1974 | 82.0% | +24.6% |
| 1975 | 73.5% | -10.3% |
| 1976 | 79.5% | +8.2% |
| 1977 | 87.1% | +9.6% |
| 1978 | 87.5% | +0.4% |
| 1979 | 92.9% | +6.3% |
| 1980 | 89.9% | -3.3% |
| 1981 | 88.5% | -1.6% |
| 1982 | 82.7% | -6.5% |
| 1983 | 85.5% | +3.3% |
| 1984 | 96.1% | +12.4% |
| 1985 | 95.8% | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 84.6% | -11.7% |
| 1987 | 87.4% | +3.3% |
| 1988 | 90.8% | +3.9% |
| 1989 | 97.1% | +6.9% |
| 1990 | 90.1% | -7.2% |
| 1991 | 90.4% | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 90.9% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 95.7% | +5.3% |
| 1994 | 104.4% | +9.1% |
| 1995 | 111.4% | +6.7% |
| 1996 | 109.1% | -2.1% |
| 1997 | 109.9% | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 119.2% | +8.4% |
| 1999 | 119.3% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 128.2% | +7.4% |
| 2001 | 122.0% | -4.8% |
| 2002 | 109.4% | -10.3% |
| 2003 | 89.1% | -18.6% |
| 2004 | 85.7% | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 84.1% | -1.9% |
| 2006 | 78.3% | -6.9% |
| 2007 | 76.0% | -2.9% |
| 2008 | 76.1% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 75.5% | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 79.7% | +5.5% |
| 2011 | 79.8% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 79.1% | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 77.7% | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 76.2% | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 66.3% | -13.0% |
| 2016 | 69.4% | +4.7% |
| 2017 | 66.2% | -4.7% |
| 2018 | 68.8% | +4.0% |
| 2019 | 66.5% | -3.4% |
| 2020 | 64.2% | -3.4% |
| 2021 | 58.6% | -8.7% |
| 2022 | 65.9% | +12.4% |
| 2023 | 63.3% | -3.9% |
| 2024 | 63.2% | -0.2% |
| 2025 | 62.7% | -0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 55.5% | 53.1% | 59.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 75.1% | 58.7% | 92.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 89.8% | 82.7% | 97.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 104.0% | 90.1% | 119.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 92.4% | 75.5% | 128.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 73.0% | 66.2% | 79.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 63.0% | 58.6% | 65.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 74 Germany 65.5% compare
- 75 Azerbaijan 65.1% compare
- 76 Greenland 63.2% compare
- 78 Portugal 62.1% compare
- 79 Papua New Guinea 62.0% compare
- 80 Montenegro 61.8% compare
More private sector data for Ireland
- Food imports 9.4% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 82.7% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 159.22 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 7.9% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 90.7% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 293.42 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 53,501 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.4066 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 21.65 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 29,031 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Ireland?
- Merchandise trade in Ireland was 62.7% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 128.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.1% in 1960.
- How does Ireland rank for merchandise trade?
- Ireland ranks 77th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland 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.