Merchandise trade in World
World: Merchandise trade was 43.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in World, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
World recorded 43.9% for merchandise trade in 2025.
The figure is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in World peaked at 51.0% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 17.0%, in 1962.
World ranks 24th 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 World, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 17.5% | — |
| 1961 | 17.2% | -1.7% |
| 1962 | 17.0% | -1.5% |
| 1963 | 17.2% | +1.1% |
| 1964 | 17.6% | +2.3% |
| 1965 | 17.5% | -0.0% |
| 1966 | 17.8% | +1.4% |
| 1967 | 17.6% | -1.0% |
| 1968 | 18.2% | +3.5% |
| 1969 | 18.8% | +3.2% |
| 1970 | 19.8% | +5.3% |
| 1971 | 20.0% | +1.1% |
| 1972 | 20.4% | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 23.1% | +13.1% |
| 1974 | 29.4% | +27.1% |
| 1975 | 27.4% | -6.7% |
| 1976 | 28.6% | +4.3% |
| 1977 | 28.9% | +0.9% |
| 1978 | 28.3% | -2.0% |
| 1979 | 31.0% | +9.6% |
| 1980 | 33.9% | +9.6% |
| 1981 | 32.6% | -3.9% |
| 1982 | 30.7% | -5.9% |
| 1983 | 29.2% | -5.0% |
| 1984 | 30.0% | +3.0% |
| 1985 | 28.9% | -3.6% |
| 1986 | 26.8% | -7.2% |
| 1987 | 27.8% | +3.7% |
| 1988 | 28.6% | +2.8% |
| 1989 | 29.6% | +3.5% |
| 1990 | 30.0% | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 29.4% | -1.7% |
| 1992 | 29.2% | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 28.7% | -1.9% |
| 1994 | 30.4% | +5.8% |
| 1995 | 32.4% | +6.8% |
| 1996 | 33.3% | +2.6% |
| 1997 | 34.6% | +3.9% |
| 1998 | 34.3% | -0.9% |
| 1999 | 35.3% | +3.1% |
| 2000 | 38.6% | +9.4% |
| 2001 | 37.4% | -3.2% |
| 2002 | 37.6% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 39.2% | +4.2% |
| 2004 | 42.3% | +8.0% |
| 2005 | 44.6% | +5.4% |
| 2006 | 47.3% | +6.1% |
| 2007 | 48.5% | +2.5% |
| 2008 | 51.0% | +5.1% |
| 2009 | 41.6% | -18.3% |
| 2010 | 46.1% | +10.7% |
| 2011 | 49.6% | +7.5% |
| 2012 | 49.0% | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 48.6% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 47.5% | -2.2% |
| 2015 | 44.0% | -7.5% |
| 2016 | 41.9% | -4.7% |
| 2017 | 43.6% | +3.9% |
| 2018 | 45.2% | +3.7% |
| 2019 | 43.2% | -4.2% |
| 2020 | 41.2% | -4.7% |
| 2021 | 45.5% | +10.6% |
| 2022 | 49.3% | +8.3% |
| 2023 | 45.0% | -8.7% |
| 2024 | 44.3% | -1.6% |
| 2025 | 43.9% | -0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 17.6% | 17.0% | 18.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 25.7% | 19.8% | 31.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 29.8% | 26.8% | 33.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 31.8% | 28.7% | 35.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 42.8% | 37.4% | 51.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 45.9% | 41.9% | 49.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 44.9% | 41.2% | 49.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near World
More private sector data for World
- Food imports 8.9% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 67.4% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 26.69 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 9.1% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 69.3% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 26.39 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 3,212 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.223 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 7.17 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 3,249 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in World?
- Merchandise trade in World was 43.9% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 51.0% in 2008.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.0% in 1962.
- How does World rank for merchandise trade?
- World ranks 24th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World 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.