Merchandise trade in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Merchandise trade was 44.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Merchandise trade in Saudi Arabia, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise trade in Saudi Arabia is 44.2%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 3.0% on the previous year and down 18.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Saudi Arabia peaked at 84.6% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 40.6%, in 2020.
Saudi Arabia ranks 127th of 204 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 64.4% | — |
| 1961 | 63.4% | -1.5% |
| 1962 | 63.6% | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 65.2% | +2.6% |
| 1964 | 66.7% | +2.2% |
| 1965 | 71.8% | +7.8% |
| 1966 | 76.8% | +6.9% |
| 1967 | 72.4% | -5.7% |
| 1968 | 59.6% | -17.6% |
| 1969 | 62.2% | +4.2% |
| 1970 | 57.0% | -8.3% |
| 1971 | 64.8% | +13.8% |
| 1972 | 68.6% | +5.8% |
| 1973 | 73.3% | +6.9% |
| 1974 | 84.6% | +15.4% |
| 1975 | 72.4% | -14.4% |
| 1976 | 73.4% | +1.3% |
| 1977 | 78.3% | +6.7% |
| 1978 | 76.2% | -2.7% |
| 1979 | 78.6% | +3.1% |
| 1980 | 84.6% | +7.7% |
| 1981 | 84.2% | -0.5% |
| 1982 | 78.1% | -7.2% |
| 1983 | 65.8% | -15.7% |
| 1984 | 59.6% | -9.6% |
| 1985 | 49.2% | -17.4% |
| 1986 | 45.2% | -8.1% |
| 1987 | 50.5% | +11.8% |
| 1988 | 52.3% | +3.6% |
| 1989 | 52.0% | -0.7% |
| 1990 | 58.2% | +12.1% |
| 1991 | 58.1% | -0.1% |
| 1992 | 61.3% | +5.4% |
| 1993 | 53.1% | -13.3% |
| 1994 | 48.8% | -8.1% |
| 1995 | 54.5% | +11.7% |
| 1996 | 55.8% | +2.3% |
| 1997 | 53.9% | -3.3% |
| 1998 | 46.9% | -13.0% |
| 1999 | 48.7% | +3.9% |
| 2000 | 56.9% | +16.8% |
| 2001 | 53.9% | -5.2% |
| 2002 | 55.2% | +2.5% |
| 2003 | 62.5% | +13.2% |
| 2004 | 67.0% | +7.2% |
| 2005 | 73.1% | +9.1% |
| 2006 | 74.6% | +2.0% |
| 2007 | 77.8% | +4.3% |
| 2008 | 82.5% | +6.0% |
| 2009 | 67.1% | -18.6% |
| 2010 | 67.8% | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 72.9% | +7.6% |
| 2012 | 72.3% | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 70.7% | -2.3% |
| 2014 | 65.6% | -7.2% |
| 2015 | 54.5% | -16.8% |
| 2016 | 47.0% | -13.9% |
| 2017 | 48.1% | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 48.7% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 46.7% | -4.1% |
| 2020 | 40.6% | -13.0% |
| 2021 | 43.7% | +7.5% |
| 2022 | 48.5% | +11.1% |
| 2023 | 43.2% | -10.9% |
| 2024 | 42.9% | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 44.2% | +3.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 66.6% | 59.6% | 76.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 72.7% | 57.0% | 84.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 62.1% | 45.2% | 84.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 53.9% | 46.9% | 61.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 67.1% | 53.9% | 82.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 59.4% | 46.7% | 72.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.9% | 40.6% | 48.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More private sector data for Saudi Arabia
- Food imports 13.0% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 70.5% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 254.06 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.9% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 15.9% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 310.67 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 8,403 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2433 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 1.69 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 6,871 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Saudi Arabia?
- Merchandise trade in Saudi Arabia was 44.2% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 84.6% in 1980.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.6% in 2020.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for merchandise trade?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 127th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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.