Merchandise trade in South Korea
South Korea: Merchandise trade was 71.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in South Korea, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise trade in South Korea is 71.6%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 2.1% on the previous year and up 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in South Korea peaked at 82.6% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 9.5%, in 1960.
South Korea ranks 63rd 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 South Korea, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 9.5% | — |
| 1961 | 14.7% | +55.4% |
| 1962 | 16.9% | +15.0% |
| 1963 | 16.1% | -4.5% |
| 1964 | 15.0% | -7.0% |
| 1965 | 20.2% | +34.9% |
| 1966 | 24.4% | +20.7% |
| 1967 | 26.9% | +10.1% |
| 1968 | 31.1% | +15.7% |
| 1969 | 31.6% | +1.5% |
| 1970 | 31.0% | -1.8% |
| 1971 | 34.6% | +11.4% |
| 1972 | 37.7% | +9.1% |
| 1973 | 53.0% | +40.6% |
| 1974 | 57.0% | +7.4% |
| 1975 | 55.2% | -3.1% |
| 1976 | 54.3% | -1.7% |
| 1977 | 53.4% | -1.7% |
| 1978 | 52.4% | -1.8% |
| 1979 | 52.0% | -0.8% |
| 1980 | 59.8% | +15.0% |
| 1981 | 63.8% | +6.7% |
| 1982 | 57.7% | -9.6% |
| 1983 | 56.5% | -2.1% |
| 1984 | 60.0% | +6.2% |
| 1985 | 59.2% | -1.4% |
| 1986 | 55.3% | -6.6% |
| 1987 | 58.0% | +4.9% |
| 1988 | 54.8% | -5.6% |
| 1989 | 48.7% | -11.0% |
| 1990 | 46.2% | -5.2% |
| 1991 | 45.0% | -2.5% |
| 1992 | 43.2% | -4.1% |
| 1993 | 40.9% | -5.2% |
| 1994 | 41.4% | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 44.4% | +7.2% |
| 1996 | 44.4% | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 47.7% | +7.4% |
| 1998 | 56.8% | +19.2% |
| 1999 | 51.1% | -10.0% |
| 2000 | 55.7% | +9.0% |
| 2001 | 51.4% | -7.8% |
| 2002 | 48.4% | -5.8% |
| 2003 | 51.2% | +5.7% |
| 2004 | 58.1% | +13.6% |
| 2005 | 56.2% | -3.4% |
| 2006 | 58.0% | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 59.7% | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 78.5% | +31.6% |
| 2009 | 69.8% | -11.1% |
| 2010 | 74.7% | +7.0% |
| 2011 | 82.6% | +10.5% |
| 2012 | 79.9% | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 74.9% | -6.2% |
| 2014 | 70.6% | -5.8% |
| 2015 | 62.6% | -11.4% |
| 2016 | 57.1% | -8.8% |
| 2017 | 61.5% | +7.8% |
| 2018 | 62.5% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 59.7% | -4.5% |
| 2020 | 56.2% | -5.9% |
| 2021 | 64.8% | +15.4% |
| 2022 | 78.6% | +21.3% |
| 2023 | 69.1% | -12.1% |
| 2024 | 70.1% | +1.5% |
| 2025 | 71.6% | +2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 20.7% | 9.5% | 31.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 48.1% | 31.0% | 57.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 57.4% | 48.7% | 63.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 46.1% | 40.9% | 56.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 58.7% | 48.4% | 78.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 68.6% | 57.1% | 82.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 68.4% | 56.2% | 78.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More private sector data for South Korea
- Food imports 6.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 60.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 631.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.6% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 87.3% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 709.33 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 13,724 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3788 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 3.76 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 12,226 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in South Korea?
- Merchandise trade in South Korea was 71.6% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 82.6% in 2011.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.5% in 1960.
- How does South Korea rank for merchandise trade?
- South Korea ranks 63rd out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea 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.