Merchandise trade (% of GDP) in Tanzania
Tanzania: Merchandise trade (% of GDP) was 27.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Tanzania, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Tanzania recorded 27.5% for merchandise trade in 2025.
That represents a change of down 4.9% on the previous year and down 16.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Tanzania peaked at 44.8% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 7.5%, in 1984.
That places Tanzania 181st out of 204 countries 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 (% of GDP) in Tanzania, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 10.0% | — |
| 1961 | 8.8% | -11.8% |
| 1962 | 8.4% | -5.6% |
| 1963 | 8.4% | +1.2% |
| 1964 | 10.7% | +26.9% |
| 1965 | 10.6% | -1.3% |
| 1966 | 11.5% | +8.3% |
| 1967 | 10.5% | -8.1% |
| 1968 | 10.2% | -3.4% |
| 1969 | 9.4% | -7.3% |
| 1970 | 20.0% | +111.9% |
| 1971 | 21.3% | +6.6% |
| 1972 | 21.0% | -1.6% |
| 1973 | 20.9% | -0.4% |
| 1974 | 23.2% | +11.3% |
| 1975 | 20.1% | -13.6% |
| 1976 | 16.7% | -17.0% |
| 1977 | 16.2% | -2.9% |
| 1978 | 17.5% | +8.2% |
| 1979 | 16.3% | -6.6% |
| 1980 | 15.5% | -5.4% |
| 1981 | 13.6% | -11.8% |
| 1982 | 11.6% | -14.8% |
| 1983 | 8.5% | -26.6% |
| 1984 | 7.5% | -12.3% |
| 1985 | 10.2% | +37.4% |
| 1986 | 12.0% | +16.8% |
| 1987 | 15.6% | +30.0% |
| 1988 | 14.8% | -4.8% |
| 1989 | 21.1% | +42.4% |
| 1990 | 22.0% | +4.0% |
| 1991 | 26.0% | +18.6% |
| 1992 | 28.8% | +10.6% |
| 1993 | 31.5% | +9.3% |
| 1994 | 30.9% | -1.9% |
| 1995 | 30.9% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 23.0% | -25.5% |
| 1997 | 18.7% | -18.6% |
| 1998 | 16.8% | -10.4% |
| 1999 | 16.5% | -1.5% |
| 2000 | 16.9% | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 18.9% | +11.9% |
| 2002 | 18.7% | -1.1% |
| 2003 | 22.0% | +17.6% |
| 2004 | 25.2% | +14.8% |
| 2005 | 27.0% | +7.0% |
| 2006 | 32.8% | +21.6% |
| 2007 | 34.2% | +4.2% |
| 2008 | 38.7% | +13.2% |
| 2009 | 31.9% | -17.5% |
| 2010 | 37.3% | +16.6% |
| 2011 | 44.8% | +20.3% |
| 2012 | 41.4% | -7.6% |
| 2013 | 36.5% | -11.9% |
| 2014 | 33.3% | -8.8% |
| 2015 | 33.0% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 27.7% | -15.9% |
| 2017 | 23.3% | -16.0% |
| 2018 | 23.1% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 23.7% | +2.6% |
| 2020 | 21.9% | -7.4% |
| 2021 | 23.2% | +5.9% |
| 2022 | 27.8% | +19.6% |
| 2023 | 26.6% | -4.3% |
| 2024 | 28.9% | +8.7% |
| 2025 | 27.5% | -4.9% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 27.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 52.4%, 52% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 27.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 44.5%, 62% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise trade (% of GDP) in Tanzania changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | +111.9% | 9.4% | 20.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.9% | 8.4% | 11.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 19.3% | 16.2% | 23.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 13.0% | 7.5% | 21.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 24.5% | 16.5% | 31.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 26.6% | 16.9% | 38.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.4% | 23.1% | 44.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.0% | 21.9% | 28.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More private sector data for Tanzania
- Food imports 8.2% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 73.7% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 14.81 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 2.70 billion current US$ (2024)
- Food exports 31.0% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 11.4% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 9.96 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 6.80 billion current US$ (2024)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 141.13 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1104 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Tanzania?
- Merchandise trade in Tanzania was 27.5% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 44.8% in 2011.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.5% in 1984.
- How does Tanzania rank for merchandise trade?
- Tanzania ranks 181st out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tanzania 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.