Merchandise trade in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Merchandise trade was 95.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Nicaragua, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, merchandise trade in Nicaragua stood at 95.9%.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and up 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Nicaragua peaked at 119.0% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 28.6%, in 1987.
Nicaragua ranks 30th 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 Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 59.4% | — |
| 1961 | 56.9% | -4.2% |
| 1962 | 68.0% | +19.4% |
| 1963 | 73.3% | +7.9% |
| 1964 | 75.5% | +2.9% |
| 1965 | 54.8% | -27.5% |
| 1966 | 53.4% | -2.5% |
| 1967 | 54.2% | +1.5% |
| 1968 | 50.1% | -7.6% |
| 1969 | 44.8% | -10.5% |
| 1970 | 48.6% | +8.4% |
| 1971 | 47.9% | -1.3% |
| 1972 | 53.2% | +10.9% |
| 1973 | 55.4% | +4.1% |
| 1974 | 62.0% | +12.0% |
| 1975 | 56.4% | -9.0% |
| 1976 | 58.5% | +3.7% |
| 1977 | 62.8% | +7.4% |
| 1978 | 58.4% | -7.1% |
| 1979 | 59.1% | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 62.4% | +5.5% |
| 1981 | 60.9% | -2.4% |
| 1982 | 48.2% | -20.9% |
| 1983 | 45.6% | -5.3% |
| 1984 | 39.6% | -13.2% |
| 1985 | 47.2% | +19.2% |
| 1986 | 38.3% | -18.9% |
| 1987 | 28.6% | -25.3% |
| 1988 | 39.5% | +38.1% |
| 1989 | 91.4% | +131.6% |
| 1990 | 95.9% | +4.9% |
| 1991 | 68.7% | -28.3% |
| 1992 | 60.1% | -12.5% |
| 1993 | 57.6% | -4.3% |
| 1994 | 31.1% | -45.9% |
| 1995 | 34.8% | +11.9% |
| 1996 | 37.6% | +8.0% |
| 1997 | 46.2% | +22.8% |
| 1998 | 44.5% | -3.5% |
| 1999 | 49.6% | +11.3% |
| 2000 | 52.5% | +5.9% |
| 2001 | 50.5% | -3.9% |
| 2002 | 53.0% | +5.0% |
| 2003 | 57.9% | +9.4% |
| 2004 | 66.0% | +14.0% |
| 2005 | 72.9% | +10.4% |
| 2006 | 78.9% | +8.2% |
| 2007 | 83.2% | +5.4% |
| 2008 | 85.5% | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 76.2% | -10.9% |
| 2010 | 91.8% | +20.6% |
| 2011 | 107.3% | +16.8% |
| 2012 | 108.8% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 104.5% | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 101.6% | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 93.3% | -8.2% |
| 2016 | 79.9% | -14.4% |
| 2017 | 93.4% | +17.0% |
| 2018 | 94.9% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 95.4% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 90.1% | -5.5% |
| 2021 | 117.3% | +30.2% |
| 2022 | 119.0% | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 102.7% | -13.7% |
| 2024 | 96.4% | -6.2% |
| 2025 | 95.9% | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 59.0% | 44.8% | 75.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 56.2% | 47.9% | 62.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 50.1% | 28.6% | 91.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 52.6% | 31.1% | 95.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 67.7% | 50.5% | 85.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 97.1% | 79.9% | 108.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 103.6% | 90.1% | 119.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
More private sector data for Nicaragua
- Food imports 16.6% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 68.6% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 12.43 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 42.6% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 37.0% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 8.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,269 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3999 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 18.23 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 1,774 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Nicaragua?
- Merchandise trade in Nicaragua was 95.9% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 119.0% in 2022.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.6% in 1987.
- How does Nicaragua rank for merchandise trade?
- Nicaragua ranks 30th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nicaragua 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.