Merchandise trade in North America
North America: Merchandise trade was 20.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in North America, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
North America recorded 20.6% for merchandise trade in 2025.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and down 12.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in North America peaked at 26.8% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 7.9%, in 1962.
That places North America 45th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in North America, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 8.2% | — |
| 1961 | 8.0% | -2.6% |
| 1962 | 7.9% | -1.0% |
| 1963 | 8.0% | +0.4% |
| 1964 | 8.4% | +5.3% |
| 1965 | 8.4% | +0.4% |
| 1966 | 8.8% | +5.0% |
| 1967 | 8.8% | -0.3% |
| 1968 | 9.4% | +6.4% |
| 1969 | 9.5% | +1.2% |
| 1970 | 10.0% | +6.0% |
| 1971 | 10.0% | -0.3% |
| 1972 | 10.7% | +7.0% |
| 1973 | 12.6% | +17.1% |
| 1974 | 16.3% | +30.1% |
| 1975 | 15.3% | -6.2% |
| 1976 | 15.9% | +3.5% |
| 1977 | 16.1% | +1.4% |
| 1978 | 16.6% | +3.1% |
| 1979 | 18.2% | +9.9% |
| 1980 | 19.6% | +7.3% |
| 1981 | 18.6% | -4.8% |
| 1982 | 16.4% | -11.9% |
| 1983 | 15.5% | -5.5% |
| 1984 | 16.8% | +8.3% |
| 1985 | 15.8% | -6.0% |
| 1986 | 15.8% | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 16.4% | +3.8% |
| 1988 | 17.6% | +7.1% |
| 1989 | 17.7% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 17.7% | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 17.5% | -1.4% |
| 1992 | 17.8% | +1.9% |
| 1993 | 18.2% | +2.2% |
| 1994 | 19.4% | +6.4% |
| 1995 | 20.8% | +7.6% |
| 1996 | 21.0% | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 21.7% | +3.6% |
| 1998 | 21.1% | -2.7% |
| 1999 | 21.5% | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 23.3% | +8.5% |
| 2001 | 21.2% | -9.2% |
| 2002 | 20.3% | -4.1% |
| 2003 | 20.6% | +1.5% |
| 2004 | 22.2% | +7.6% |
| 2005 | 23.3% | +5.2% |
| 2006 | 24.4% | +4.5% |
| 2007 | 25.0% | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 26.5% | +6.3% |
| 2009 | 20.9% | -21.4% |
| 2010 | 24.2% | +16.1% |
| 2011 | 26.8% | +10.7% |
| 2012 | 26.6% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 25.9% | -2.9% |
| 2014 | 25.7% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 23.5% | -8.6% |
| 2016 | 22.1% | -5.6% |
| 2017 | 22.7% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 23.2% | +2.5% |
| 2019 | 22.0% | -5.3% |
| 2020 | 20.2% | -8.4% |
| 2021 | 22.2% | +9.9% |
| 2022 | 23.4% | +5.8% |
| 2023 | 21.1% | -10.1% |
| 2024 | 20.8% | -1.4% |
| 2025 | 20.6% | -0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.5% | 7.9% | 9.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 14.2% | 10.0% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 17.0% | 15.5% | 19.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.7% | 17.5% | 21.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.8% | 20.3% | 26.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.3% | 22.0% | 26.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.4% | 20.2% | 23.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near North America
- 42 Serbia 84.6% compare
- 43 Solomon Islands 83.8% compare
- 44 Bulgaria 83.5% compare
- 45 Micronesia (country) 83.5% compare
- 46 Bhutan 83.3% compare
- 47 Bosnia and Herzegovina 83.3% compare
- 48 Guinea 82.7% compare
More private sector data for North America
- Food imports 7.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 77.9% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 4.09 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 10.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 52.8% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 2.74 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 7,145 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0828 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 4.2 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 10,652 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in North America?
- Merchandise trade in North America was 20.6% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 26.8% in 2011.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.9% in 1962.
- How does North America rank for merchandise trade?
- North America ranks 45th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North America 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.