Merchandise trade in Rwanda
Rwanda: Merchandise trade was 45.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Rwanda, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Rwanda recorded 45.9% for merchandise trade in 2025.
That represents a change of down 24.8% on the previous year and up 28.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Rwanda peaked at 61.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 12.5%, in 1963.
That places Rwanda 123rd out of 204 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 15.1% | — |
| 1961 | 13.9% | -7.9% |
| 1962 | 13.6% | -2.4% |
| 1963 | 12.5% | -8.1% |
| 1964 | 18.5% | +47.7% |
| 1965 | 21.5% | +16.5% |
| 1966 | 26.5% | +23.2% |
| 1967 | 21.3% | -19.6% |
| 1968 | 21.5% | +0.8% |
| 1969 | 20.1% | -6.3% |
| 1970 | 24.6% | +21.9% |
| 1971 | 24.7% | +0.5% |
| 1972 | 21.9% | -11.2% |
| 1973 | 23.0% | +5.2% |
| 1974 | 30.5% | +32.2% |
| 1975 | 24.7% | -19.1% |
| 1976 | 29.2% | +18.3% |
| 1977 | 28.8% | -1.3% |
| 1978 | 28.7% | -0.3% |
| 1979 | 27.9% | -2.7% |
| 1980 | 25.1% | -10.2% |
| 1981 | 25.9% | +3.3% |
| 1982 | 26.8% | +3.3% |
| 1983 | 27.0% | +0.9% |
| 1984 | 26.6% | -1.4% |
| 1985 | 25.0% | -6.2% |
| 1986 | 27.7% | +10.6% |
| 1987 | 21.6% | -21.9% |
| 1988 | 20.0% | -7.6% |
| 1989 | 17.5% | -12.3% |
| 1990 | 15.6% | -10.8% |
| 1991 | 20.9% | +33.7% |
| 1992 | 17.4% | -16.4% |
| 1993 | 20.2% | +15.7% |
| 1994 | 36.8% | +82.1% |
| 1995 | 22.4% | -39.0% |
| 1996 | 23.0% | +2.6% |
| 1997 | 20.8% | -9.6% |
| 1998 | 17.3% | -16.6% |
| 1999 | 14.5% | -16.3% |
| 2000 | 12.7% | -12.4% |
| 2001 | 18.7% | +46.8% |
| 2002 | 15.9% | -14.7% |
| 2003 | 15.1% | -5.4% |
| 2004 | 16.1% | +6.7% |
| 2005 | 20.3% | +26.4% |
| 2006 | 22.5% | +11.0% |
| 2007 | 23.6% | +4.7% |
| 2008 | 28.2% | +19.4% |
| 2009 | 27.5% | -2.2% |
| 2010 | 28.6% | +3.7% |
| 2011 | 36.8% | +28.9% |
| 2012 | 38.3% | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 39.0% | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 39.3% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 35.7% | -9.1% |
| 2016 | 34.7% | -2.7% |
| 2017 | 36.9% | +6.4% |
| 2018 | 38.9% | +5.4% |
| 2019 | 41.2% | +5.8% |
| 2020 | 45.6% | +10.6% |
| 2021 | 45.3% | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 47.8% | +5.6% |
| 2023 | 52.0% | +8.6% |
| 2024 | 61.1% | +17.5% |
| 2025 | 45.9% | -24.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 18.5% | 12.5% | 26.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 26.4% | 21.9% | 30.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 24.3% | 17.5% | 27.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 20.9% | 14.5% | 36.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.1% | 12.7% | 28.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 36.9% | 28.6% | 41.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 49.6% | 45.3% | 61.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
- 120 Kazakhstan 46.8% compare
- 121 Philippines 46.2% compare
- 122 Luxembourg 46.0% compare
- 124 Sierra Leone 45.9% compare
- 125 Burundi 45.2% compare
- 126 Uzbekistan 44.5% compare
More private sector data for Rwanda
- Food imports 22.4% (2022)
- Manufactures imports 50.0% (2022)
- Merchandise imports 5.07 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 27.2% (2022)
- Manufactures exports 10.4% (2022)
- Merchandise exports 2.45 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 168.16 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1496 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -23.46 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 347.99 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Rwanda?
- Merchandise trade in Rwanda was 45.9% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 61.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.5% in 1963.
- How does Rwanda rank for merchandise trade?
- Rwanda ranks 123rd out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Rwanda 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.