Merchandise trade in Zambia
Zambia: Merchandise trade was 91.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Merchandise trade in Zambia, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, merchandise trade in Zambia stood at 91.7%.
That represents a change of up 2.9% on the previous year and up 34.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Zambia peaked at 107.8% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 40.3%, in 1997.
Zambia ranks 33rd of 204 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 81.9% | — |
| 1961 | 82.5% | +0.8% |
| 1962 | 75.1% | -9.0% |
| 1963 | 74.5% | -0.7% |
| 1964 | 83.8% | +12.4% |
| 1965 | 77.8% | -7.1% |
| 1966 | 83.6% | +7.4% |
| 1967 | 81.6% | -2.4% |
| 1968 | 77.3% | -5.3% |
| 1969 | 78.4% | +1.4% |
| 1970 | 82.6% | +5.4% |
| 1971 | 107.8% | +30.5% |
| 1972 | 70.7% | -34.4% |
| 1973 | 68.9% | -2.5% |
| 1974 | 75.4% | +9.4% |
| 1975 | 71.2% | -5.5% |
| 1976 | 63.6% | -10.7% |
| 1977 | 62.3% | -2.0% |
| 1978 | 52.4% | -15.8% |
| 1979 | 63.3% | +20.7% |
| 1980 | 67.9% | +7.3% |
| 1981 | 58.4% | -14.0% |
| 1982 | 57.5% | -1.5% |
| 1983 | 50.8% | -11.6% |
| 1984 | 50.8% | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 63.8% | +25.6% |
| 1986 | 70.0% | +9.6% |
| 1987 | 74.6% | +6.5% |
| 1988 | 54.0% | -27.6% |
| 1989 | 56.4% | +4.4% |
| 1990 | 76.9% | +36.4% |
| 1991 | 56.3% | -26.8% |
| 1992 | 48.7% | -13.4% |
| 1993 | 49.9% | +2.5% |
| 1994 | 41.6% | -16.7% |
| 1995 | 45.7% | +9.9% |
| 1996 | 52.0% | +13.9% |
| 1997 | 40.3% | -22.6% |
| 1998 | 60.3% | +49.6% |
| 1999 | 55.4% | -8.1% |
| 2000 | 49.4% | -10.7% |
| 2001 | 50.5% | +2.2% |
| 2002 | 49.1% | -2.9% |
| 2003 | 52.1% | +6.2% |
| 2004 | 59.9% | +15.0% |
| 2005 | 52.4% | -12.5% |
| 2006 | 53.6% | +2.3% |
| 2007 | 61.4% | +14.4% |
| 2008 | 56.7% | -7.5% |
| 2009 | 53.1% | -6.3% |
| 2010 | 61.8% | +16.3% |
| 2011 | 69.0% | +11.6% |
| 2012 | 71.2% | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 75.6% | +6.1% |
| 2014 | 71.5% | -5.4% |
| 2015 | 68.4% | -4.3% |
| 2016 | 65.2% | -4.7% |
| 2017 | 61.8% | -5.2% |
| 2018 | 70.3% | +13.8% |
| 2019 | 61.0% | -13.3% |
| 2020 | 72.8% | +19.4% |
| 2021 | 81.4% | +11.8% |
| 2022 | 70.8% | -13.1% |
| 2023 | 74.5% | +5.3% |
| 2024 | 89.1% | +19.5% |
| 2025 | 91.7% | +2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 79.6% | 74.5% | 83.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 71.8% | 52.4% | 107.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 60.4% | 50.8% | 74.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 52.7% | 40.3% | 76.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 53.8% | 49.1% | 61.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 67.6% | 61.0% | 75.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.1% | 70.8% | 91.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More private sector data for Zambia
- Food imports 7.8% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 64.4% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 13.17 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 8.7% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 14.1% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 13.31 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 607.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.461 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 18.07 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 601.03 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Zambia?
- Merchandise trade in Zambia was 91.7% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 107.8% in 1971.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.3% in 1997.
- How does Zambia rank for merchandise trade?
- Zambia ranks 33rd out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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.