Merchandise trade in Tonga
Tonga: Merchandise trade was 39.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Merchandise trade in Tonga, 1975–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, merchandise trade in Tonga stood at 39.5%.
The figure is down 16.0% on the previous year and down 23.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Tonga peaked at 84.5% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 38.1%, in 2000.
Tonga ranks 145th of 204 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 51 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Tonga, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 70.8% | — |
| 1976 | 59.9% | -15.3% |
| 1977 | 79.1% | +32.0% |
| 1978 | 74.6% | -5.7% |
| 1979 | 80.6% | +8.1% |
| 1980 | 84.5% | +4.8% |
| 1981 | 77.1% | -8.7% |
| 1982 | 80.6% | +4.5% |
| 1983 | 70.6% | -12.3% |
| 1984 | 77.8% | +10.2% |
| 1985 | 76.6% | -1.6% |
| 1986 | 68.9% | -10.0% |
| 1987 | 66.1% | -4.1% |
| 1988 | 60.0% | -9.3% |
| 1989 | 59.2% | -1.3% |
| 1990 | 64.3% | +8.5% |
| 1991 | 54.5% | -15.3% |
| 1992 | 54.7% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 55.6% | +1.6% |
| 1994 | 42.3% | -23.8% |
| 1995 | 43.6% | +2.9% |
| 1996 | 38.7% | -11.1% |
| 1997 | 38.6% | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 39.7% | +2.8% |
| 1999 | 42.7% | +7.5% |
| 2000 | 38.1% | -10.8% |
| 2001 | 44.2% | +16.0% |
| 2002 | 56.9% | +28.8% |
| 2003 | 55.4% | -2.7% |
| 2004 | 52.0% | -6.1% |
| 2005 | 50.0% | -3.8% |
| 2006 | 43.1% | -13.8% |
| 2007 | 50.6% | +17.3% |
| 2008 | 51.4% | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 49.0% | -4.7% |
| 2010 | 45.5% | -7.1% |
| 2011 | 50.0% | +9.8% |
| 2012 | 45.6% | -8.7% |
| 2013 | 47.6% | +4.3% |
| 2014 | 54.0% | +13.4% |
| 2015 | 51.9% | -3.9% |
| 2016 | 59.4% | +14.5% |
| 2017 | 54.4% | -8.5% |
| 2018 | 49.2% | -9.4% |
| 2019 | 51.0% | +3.5% |
| 2020 | 48.2% | -5.5% |
| 2021 | 50.5% | +4.7% |
| 2022 | 50.5% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 47.7% | -5.5% |
| 2024 | 47.0% | -1.6% |
| 2025 | 39.5% | -16.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 73.0% | 59.9% | 80.6% | 5 |
| 1980s | 72.2% | 59.2% | 84.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 47.5% | 38.6% | 64.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 49.1% | 38.1% | 56.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 50.9% | 45.5% | 59.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 47.2% | 39.5% | 50.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More private sector data for Tonga
- Food imports 27.5% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 53.8% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 255.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 30.9% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 67.5% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 13.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 125.31 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0191 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 44.44 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 2,458 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Tonga?
- Merchandise trade in Tonga was 39.5% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 84.5% in 1980.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.1% in 2000.
- How does Tonga rank for merchandise trade?
- Tonga ranks 145th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tonga 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 — 51 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.