Merchandise trade (% of GDP) in Libya
Libya: Merchandise trade was 102.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Libya, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise trade in Libya is 102.7%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 2.3% on the previous year and up 40.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Libya peaked at 130.4% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 31.8%, in 2000.
Libya ranks 24th of 204 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Libya, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 44.3% | — |
| 1961 | 37.2% | -16.1% |
| 1962 | 55.3% | +48.9% |
| 1963 | 68.7% | +24.1% |
| 1964 | 74.0% | +7.7% |
| 1965 | 61.5% | -16.8% |
| 1966 | 60.5% | -1.6% |
| 1967 | 60.3% | -0.4% |
| 1968 | 65.3% | +8.3% |
| 1969 | 64.8% | -0.8% |
| 1970 | 63.3% | -2.4% |
| 1971 | 64.6% | +2.1% |
| 1972 | 63.2% | -2.1% |
| 1973 | 67.3% | +6.6% |
| 1974 | 72.9% | +8.3% |
| 1975 | 70.5% | -3.3% |
| 1976 | 66.8% | -5.2% |
| 1977 | 67.7% | +1.3% |
| 1978 | 65.5% | -3.3% |
| 1979 | 70.0% | +6.9% |
| 1980 | 70.0% | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 65.9% | -6.0% |
| 1982 | 60.4% | -8.3% |
| 1983 | 55.0% | -9.0% |
| 1984 | 58.9% | +7.2% |
| 1985 | 52.1% | -11.7% |
| 1986 | 52.4% | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 47.7% | -8.9% |
| 1988 | 51.6% | +8.2% |
| 1989 | 51.7% | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 67.6% | +30.7% |
| 1991 | 51.7% | -23.5% |
| 1992 | 44.6% | -13.8% |
| 1993 | 42.7% | -4.2% |
| 1994 | 42.6% | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 53.5% | +25.5% |
| 1996 | 56.5% | +5.6% |
| 1997 | 49.2% | -12.8% |
| 1998 | 42.7% | -13.3% |
| 1999 | 34.0% | -20.5% |
| 2000 | 31.8% | -6.4% |
| 2001 | 32.6% | +2.7% |
| 2002 | 51.3% | +57.3% |
| 2003 | 52.8% | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 57.3% | +8.5% |
| 2005 | 55.4% | -3.3% |
| 2006 | 56.0% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 61.7% | +10.3% |
| 2008 | 65.8% | +6.6% |
| 2009 | 67.9% | +3.3% |
| 2010 | 99.6% | +46.6% |
| 2011 | 55.8% | -44.0% |
| 2012 | 88.1% | +57.9% |
| 2013 | 103.0% | +16.9% |
| 2014 | 89.7% | -13.0% |
| 2015 | 73.3% | -18.2% |
| 2016 | 63.2% | -13.8% |
| 2017 | 45.1% | -28.6% |
| 2018 | 58.3% | +29.4% |
| 2019 | 64.0% | +9.8% |
| 2020 | 41.7% | -34.9% |
| 2021 | 130.4% | +212.7% |
| 2022 | 127.9% | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 116.5% | -9.0% |
| 2024 | 100.4% | -13.8% |
| 2025 | 102.7% | +2.3% |
Libya compared with similar countries
- Libya's 102.7% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 56.8%, 1.8× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Libya's 102.7% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 70.6%, 1.5× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise trade in Libya changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +212.7% | 41.7% | 130.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 59.2% | 37.2% | 74.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 67.2% | 63.2% | 72.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 56.6% | 47.7% | 70.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 48.5% | 34.0% | 67.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 53.3% | 31.8% | 67.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 74.0% | 45.1% | 103.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 103.3% | 41.7% | 130.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Libya
More private sector data for Libya
- Food imports 21.6% (2019)
- Manufactures imports 62.7% (2019)
- Merchandise imports 19.31 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 0.1% (2019)
- Manufactures exports 0.6% (2019)
- Merchandise exports 30.09 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 4,034 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.6255 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -0.3511 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 2,589 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Libya?
- Merchandise trade in Libya was 102.7% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Libya?
- The highest recorded value was 130.4% in 2021.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Libya?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.8% in 2000.
- How does Libya rank for merchandise trade?
- Libya ranks 24th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Libya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 40.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Libya 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.