Merchandise trade in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD): Merchandise trade was 49.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD), 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) recorded 49.0% for merchandise trade in 2025.
That represents a change of up 7.9% on the previous year and up 31.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) peaked at 54.1% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 22.8%, in 1986.
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) ranks 11th of 47 groups 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 Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD), year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 38.8% | — |
| 1961 | 35.5% | -8.5% |
| 1962 | 33.2% | -6.7% |
| 1963 | 37.6% | +13.4% |
| 1964 | 38.4% | +2.2% |
| 1965 | 35.5% | -7.5% |
| 1966 | 35.6% | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 34.8% | -2.1% |
| 1968 | 32.6% | -6.4% |
| 1969 | 32.8% | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 32.1% | -2.1% |
| 1971 | 33.4% | +4.0% |
| 1972 | 31.4% | -6.0% |
| 1973 | 34.8% | +10.8% |
| 1974 | 47.7% | +37.1% |
| 1975 | 50.0% | +4.7% |
| 1976 | 45.1% | -9.8% |
| 1977 | 44.2% | -2.0% |
| 1978 | 43.8% | -0.8% |
| 1979 | 43.8% | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 48.1% | +10.0% |
| 1981 | 48.3% | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 42.7% | -11.6% |
| 1983 | 37.3% | -12.6% |
| 1984 | 33.8% | -9.4% |
| 1985 | 29.8% | -11.8% |
| 1986 | 22.8% | -23.3% |
| 1987 | 28.7% | +25.6% |
| 1988 | 33.4% | +16.6% |
| 1989 | 36.7% | +9.6% |
| 1990 | 28.8% | -21.5% |
| 1991 | 39.4% | +36.8% |
| 1992 | 39.2% | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 41.8% | +6.6% |
| 1994 | 39.9% | -4.5% |
| 1995 | 39.7% | -0.5% |
| 1996 | 40.3% | +1.5% |
| 1997 | 37.8% | -6.2% |
| 1998 | 34.7% | -8.1% |
| 1999 | 36.8% | +5.9% |
| 2000 | 38.8% | +5.6% |
| 2001 | 37.1% | -4.3% |
| 2002 | 39.8% | +7.1% |
| 2003 | 40.9% | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 46.1% | +12.8% |
| 2005 | 50.4% | +9.2% |
| 2006 | 50.7% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 49.1% | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 54.1% | +10.3% |
| 2009 | 44.0% | -18.8% |
| 2010 | 47.1% | +7.2% |
| 2011 | 44.5% | -5.7% |
| 2012 | 43.9% | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 44.8% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 43.7% | -2.3% |
| 2015 | 37.2% | -15.0% |
| 2016 | 33.6% | -9.6% |
| 2017 | 37.5% | +11.4% |
| 2018 | 42.9% | +14.5% |
| 2019 | 40.7% | -5.0% |
| 2020 | 35.2% | -13.6% |
| 2021 | 40.6% | +15.4% |
| 2022 | 46.1% | +13.5% |
| 2023 | 44.7% | -3.2% |
| 2024 | 45.5% | +1.8% |
| 2025 | 49.0% | +7.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 35.5% | 32.6% | 38.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 40.6% | 31.4% | 50.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 36.2% | 22.8% | 48.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 37.8% | 28.8% | 41.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 45.1% | 37.1% | 54.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 41.6% | 33.6% | 47.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.5% | 35.2% | 49.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)
More private sector data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)
- Food imports 18.5% (2019)
- Manufactures imports 57.9% (2019)
- Merchandise imports 572.64 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 10.2% (2017)
- Manufactures exports 36.9% (2017)
- Merchandise exports 464.75 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 620.91 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2197 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 765.06 current US$ per person (2025)
All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
- Merchandise trade in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) was 49.0% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
- The highest recorded value was 54.1% in 2008.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.8% in 1986.
- How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) rank for merchandise trade?
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) ranks 11th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) 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.