Merchandise trade in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Merchandise trade was 38.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Zimbabwe, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Zimbabwe recorded 38.7% for merchandise trade in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.1% on the previous year and down 16.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Zimbabwe peaked at 105.4% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 16.7%, in 2017.
Zimbabwe ranks 151st of 204 countries 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 Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 40.3% | — |
| 1961 | 41.7% | +3.2% |
| 1962 | 40.1% | -3.8% |
| 1963 | 37.9% | -5.3% |
| 1964 | 60.3% | +58.9% |
| 1965 | 63.9% | +6.0% |
| 1966 | 43.1% | -32.5% |
| 1967 | 41.0% | -4.9% |
| 1968 | 40.3% | -1.8% |
| 1969 | 36.9% | -8.3% |
| 1970 | 39.7% | +7.4% |
| 1971 | 39.5% | -0.6% |
| 1972 | 37.1% | -6.1% |
| 1973 | 39.1% | +5.4% |
| 1974 | 43.4% | +11.0% |
| 1975 | 42.6% | -1.7% |
| 1976 | 36.9% | -13.4% |
| 1977 | 36.3% | -1.5% |
| 1978 | 36.1% | -0.6% |
| 1979 | 38.3% | +6.0% |
| 1980 | 42.8% | +11.9% |
| 1981 | 38.7% | -9.6% |
| 1982 | 34.1% | -11.9% |
| 1983 | 30.1% | -11.7% |
| 1984 | 35.5% | +17.7% |
| 1985 | 38.0% | +7.2% |
| 1986 | 39.1% | +3.0% |
| 1987 | 39.0% | -0.3% |
| 1988 | 37.6% | -3.5% |
| 1989 | 38.2% | +1.4% |
| 1990 | 40.7% | +6.5% |
| 1991 | 41.5% | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 54.0% | +30.2% |
| 1993 | 51.6% | -4.5% |
| 1994 | 59.8% | +16.0% |
| 1995 | 67.2% | +12.2% |
| 1996 | 60.9% | -9.4% |
| 1997 | 66.0% | +8.4% |
| 1998 | 75.1% | +13.8% |
| 1999 | 58.5% | -22.1% |
| 2000 | 56.6% | -3.2% |
| 2001 | 43.1% | -23.9% |
| 2002 | 59.3% | +37.6% |
| 2003 | 59.0% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 70.4% | +19.4% |
| 2005 | 72.9% | +3.5% |
| 2006 | 75.8% | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 105.4% | +39.2% |
| 2008 | 93.3% | -11.6% |
| 2009 | 82.6% | -11.4% |
| 2010 | 70.9% | -14.2% |
| 2011 | 81.5% | +15.0% |
| 2012 | 63.2% | -22.4% |
| 2013 | 58.2% | -7.8% |
| 2014 | 50.9% | -12.5% |
| 2015 | 46.6% | -8.6% |
| 2016 | 42.2% | -9.4% |
| 2017 | 16.7% | -60.3% |
| 2018 | 30.6% | +82.8% |
| 2019 | 27.2% | -11.0% |
| 2020 | 31.4% | +15.2% |
| 2021 | 33.0% | +5.0% |
| 2022 | 37.4% | +13.4% |
| 2023 | 45.8% | +22.6% |
| 2024 | 40.8% | -11.0% |
| 2025 | 38.7% | -5.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 44.5% | 36.9% | 63.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 38.9% | 36.1% | 43.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 37.3% | 30.1% | 42.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 57.5% | 40.7% | 75.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 71.8% | 43.1% | 105.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 48.8% | 16.7% | 81.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.8% | 31.4% | 45.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
- 148 Dominica 39.1% compare
- 149 Angola 38.8% compare
- 150 French Polynesia 38.7% compare
- 152 Samoa 38.1% compare
- 153 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 37.6% compare
- 154 Saint Kitts and Nevis 37.5% compare
More private sector data for Zimbabwe
- Food imports 19.0% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 58.3% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 10.11 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 21.6% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 6.7% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 9.71 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 572.66 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1895 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 30.61 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 596.55 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Zimbabwe?
- Merchandise trade in Zimbabwe was 38.7% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 105.4% in 2007.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.7% in 2017.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for merchandise trade?
- Zimbabwe ranks 151st out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.