Merchandise trade in OECD members
OECD members: Merchandise trade was 41.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in OECD members, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, merchandise trade in OECD members stood at 41.9%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in OECD members peaked at 48.4% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 15.9%, in 1962.
OECD members ranks 32nd of 45 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in OECD members, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 16.3% | — |
| 1961 | 16.2% | -1.0% |
| 1962 | 15.9% | -1.7% |
| 1963 | 16.2% | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 16.6% | +3.0% |
| 1965 | 16.8% | +0.7% |
| 1966 | 16.9% | +1.0% |
| 1967 | 16.7% | -1.4% |
| 1968 | 17.5% | +4.6% |
| 1969 | 18.2% | +4.2% |
| 1970 | 19.2% | +5.7% |
| 1971 | 19.3% | +0.3% |
| 1972 | 19.7% | +2.3% |
| 1973 | 22.4% | +13.3% |
| 1974 | 27.7% | +23.8% |
| 1975 | 25.6% | -7.6% |
| 1976 | 26.7% | +4.3% |
| 1977 | 26.8% | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 26.3% | -2.2% |
| 1979 | 28.6% | +8.9% |
| 1980 | 30.5% | +6.8% |
| 1981 | 29.3% | -3.9% |
| 1982 | 28.0% | -4.5% |
| 1983 | 26.7% | -4.7% |
| 1984 | 27.8% | +4.0% |
| 1985 | 27.1% | -2.3% |
| 1986 | 25.5% | -6.2% |
| 1987 | 25.9% | +1.8% |
| 1988 | 26.2% | +1.3% |
| 1989 | 27.1% | +3.1% |
| 1990 | 27.8% | +2.6% |
| 1991 | 26.6% | -4.2% |
| 1992 | 26.2% | -1.5% |
| 1993 | 25.2% | -3.9% |
| 1994 | 26.8% | +6.2% |
| 1995 | 28.8% | +7.6% |
| 1996 | 29.8% | +3.5% |
| 1997 | 31.1% | +4.4% |
| 1998 | 31.5% | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 32.2% | +2.3% |
| 2000 | 34.8% | +8.0% |
| 2001 | 33.8% | -2.8% |
| 2002 | 33.5% | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 34.6% | +3.2% |
| 2004 | 37.0% | +7.0% |
| 2005 | 38.9% | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 41.7% | +7.2% |
| 2007 | 43.3% | +3.9% |
| 2008 | 45.7% | +5.5% |
| 2009 | 37.4% | -18.1% |
| 2010 | 41.8% | +11.6% |
| 2011 | 45.6% | +9.0% |
| 2012 | 45.1% | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 45.0% | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 44.5% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 41.8% | -6.1% |
| 2016 | 40.4% | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 42.4% | +4.8% |
| 2018 | 43.7% | +3.1% |
| 2019 | 42.0% | -3.8% |
| 2020 | 39.7% | -5.6% |
| 2021 | 43.7% | +10.3% |
| 2022 | 48.4% | +10.6% |
| 2023 | 43.5% | -10.1% |
| 2024 | 41.8% | -3.9% |
| 2025 | 41.9% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 16.7% | 15.9% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 24.2% | 19.2% | 28.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 27.4% | 25.5% | 30.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 28.6% | 25.2% | 32.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 38.1% | 33.5% | 45.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 43.2% | 40.4% | 45.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.1% | 39.7% | 48.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near OECD members
More private sector data for OECD members
- Food imports 9.1% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 70.6% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 15.86 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 9.5% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 69.2% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 14.51 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 10,347 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.28 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 11,313 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in OECD members?
- Merchandise trade in OECD members was 41.9% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in OECD members?
- The highest recorded value was 48.4% in 2022.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in OECD members?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.9% in 1962.
- How does OECD members rank for merchandise trade?
- OECD members ranks 32nd out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in OECD members?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this OECD members 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.