Merchandise trade in Nigeria
Nigeria: Merchandise trade was 33.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Merchandise trade in Nigeria, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, merchandise trade in Nigeria stood at 33.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 11.1% on the previous year and up 73.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Nigeria peaked at 66.4% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 8.7%, in 1998.
That places Nigeria 166th out of 204 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 25.4% | — |
| 1961 | 24.8% | -2.3% |
| 1962 | 21.1% | -14.9% |
| 1963 | 21.3% | +0.7% |
| 1964 | 23.6% | +11.1% |
| 1965 | 25.9% | +9.4% |
| 1966 | 23.8% | -8.0% |
| 1967 | 25.0% | +5.3% |
| 1968 | 21.7% | -13.2% |
| 1969 | 23.9% | +10.0% |
| 1970 | 18.3% | -23.4% |
| 1971 | 36.3% | +97.9% |
| 1972 | 30.0% | -17.2% |
| 1973 | 35.1% | +17.0% |
| 1974 | 48.2% | +37.3% |
| 1975 | 49.9% | +3.6% |
| 1976 | 51.7% | +3.5% |
| 1977 | 63.6% | +23.1% |
| 1978 | 62.3% | -2.1% |
| 1979 | 58.3% | -6.4% |
| 1980 | 66.4% | +13.9% |
| 1981 | 23.5% | -64.5% |
| 1982 | 19.8% | -16.0% |
| 1983 | 23.3% | +17.7% |
| 1984 | 28.9% | +24.0% |
| 1985 | 29.1% | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 16.8% | -42.3% |
| 1987 | 21.4% | +27.7% |
| 1988 | 23.3% | +9.1% |
| 1989 | 32.2% | +38.1% |
| 1990 | 35.6% | +10.3% |
| 1991 | 35.7% | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 38.7% | +8.5% |
| 1993 | 30.7% | -20.7% |
| 1994 | 19.9% | -35.1% |
| 1995 | 14.6% | -26.8% |
| 1996 | 12.2% | -16.6% |
| 1997 | 12.3% | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 8.7% | -29.0% |
| 1999 | 37.9% | +334.7% |
| 2000 | 42.9% | +13.1% |
| 2001 | 40.3% | -6.2% |
| 2002 | 26.9% | -33.3% |
| 2003 | 33.3% | +24.0% |
| 2004 | 38.9% | +16.8% |
| 2005 | 40.5% | +4.3% |
| 2006 | 35.8% | -11.8% |
| 2007 | 36.5% | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 40.1% | +10.1% |
| 2009 | 30.7% | -23.4% |
| 2010 | 34.9% | +13.7% |
| 2011 | 41.5% | +18.8% |
| 2012 | 35.7% | -13.9% |
| 2013 | 28.2% | -21.1% |
| 2014 | 28.1% | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 19.3% | -31.5% |
| 2016 | 17.0% | -11.6% |
| 2017 | 20.2% | +18.5% |
| 2018 | 24.6% | +21.8% |
| 2019 | 17.6% | -28.2% |
| 2020 | 11.9% | -32.4% |
| 2021 | 16.2% | +36.0% |
| 2022 | 19.1% | +17.7% |
| 2023 | 21.5% | +12.5% |
| 2024 | 37.5% | +74.7% |
| 2025 | 33.3% | -11.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 23.7% | 21.1% | 25.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 45.4% | 18.3% | 63.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 28.5% | 16.8% | 66.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 24.6% | 8.7% | 38.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 36.6% | 26.9% | 42.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.7% | 17.0% | 41.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.2% | 11.9% | 37.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More private sector data for Nigeria
- Food imports 11.0% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 46.0% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 41.45 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 6.0% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 3.5% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 55.47 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 233.52 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1907 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 4.03 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 174.51 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Nigeria?
- Merchandise trade in Nigeria was 33.3% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 66.4% in 1980.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.7% in 1998.
- How does Nigeria rank for merchandise trade?
- Nigeria ranks 166th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 73.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria 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.