Merchandise trade in Japan
Japan: Merchandise trade was 33.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Japan, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise trade in Japan is 33.7%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 2.7% on the previous year and up 20.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Japan peaked at 37.0% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 13.0%, in 1993.
That places Japan 164th out of 204 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Japan, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 17.7% | — |
| 1961 | 17.2% | -2.7% |
| 1962 | 15.9% | -7.4% |
| 1963 | 16.0% | +0.9% |
| 1964 | 16.4% | +1.9% |
| 1965 | 16.7% | +2.2% |
| 1966 | 16.7% | -0.0% |
| 1967 | 16.3% | -2.3% |
| 1968 | 16.2% | -0.8% |
| 1969 | 16.5% | +1.7% |
| 1970 | 17.2% | +4.5% |
| 1971 | 17.4% | +1.3% |
| 1972 | 16.0% | -8.5% |
| 1973 | 16.7% | +4.8% |
| 1974 | 23.5% | +40.3% |
| 1975 | 20.9% | -11.0% |
| 1976 | 21.6% | +3.5% |
| 1977 | 20.3% | -6.3% |
| 1978 | 16.8% | -16.8% |
| 1979 | 19.3% | +14.4% |
| 1980 | 23.6% | +22.3% |
| 1981 | 23.2% | -1.8% |
| 1982 | 22.8% | -1.5% |
| 1983 | 21.1% | -7.6% |
| 1984 | 22.3% | +5.6% |
| 1985 | 21.1% | -5.1% |
| 1986 | 15.6% | -26.0% |
| 1987 | 14.5% | -7.2% |
| 1988 | 14.2% | -2.3% |
| 1989 | 15.2% | +7.5% |
| 1990 | 16.1% | +5.5% |
| 1991 | 14.8% | -7.9% |
| 1992 | 14.1% | -4.8% |
| 1993 | 13.0% | -7.6% |
| 1994 | 13.2% | +1.0% |
| 1995 | 13.8% | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 15.1% | +9.6% |
| 1997 | 16.6% | +9.6% |
| 1998 | 16.1% | -2.9% |
| 1999 | 15.5% | -3.6% |
| 2000 | 17.0% | +9.8% |
| 2001 | 17.0% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 17.8% | +4.7% |
| 2003 | 18.7% | +5.3% |
| 2004 | 20.6% | +10.5% |
| 2005 | 22.8% | +10.3% |
| 2006 | 26.4% | +15.8% |
| 2007 | 28.9% | +9.6% |
| 2008 | 29.9% | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 21.2% | -29.1% |
| 2010 | 25.2% | +18.7% |
| 2011 | 26.7% | +6.1% |
| 2012 | 26.6% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 29.4% | +10.4% |
| 2014 | 30.1% | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 28.1% | -6.8% |
| 2016 | 24.5% | -12.7% |
| 2017 | 27.2% | +11.0% |
| 2018 | 28.8% | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 27.2% | -5.7% |
| 2020 | 24.6% | -9.5% |
| 2021 | 29.2% | +18.6% |
| 2022 | 37.0% | +26.9% |
| 2023 | 34.3% | -7.3% |
| 2024 | 34.6% | +0.9% |
| 2025 | 33.7% | -2.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 16.6% | 15.9% | 17.7% | 10 |
| 1970s | 19.0% | 16.0% | 23.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 19.4% | 14.2% | 23.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.8% | 13.0% | 16.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.0% | 17.0% | 29.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.4% | 24.5% | 30.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.2% | 24.6% | 37.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Japan
- 161 New Zealand 35.7% compare
- 162 Dominican Republic 35.6% compare
- 163 Bahamas 35.6% compare
- 165 Equatorial Guinea 33.5% compare
- 166 Nigeria 33.3% compare
- 167 Algeria 33.3% compare
More private sector data for Japan
- Food imports 9.8% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 59.9% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 755.55 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.3% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 80.6% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 738.34 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 5,985 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1665 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 4.43 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 6,124 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Japan?
- Merchandise trade in Japan was 33.7% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 37.0% in 2022.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.0% in 1993.
- How does Japan rank for merchandise trade?
- Japan ranks 164th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan 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.