Africa Western and Central: Manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Africa Western and Central's manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports) fell 5.61 percentage points on 2023 (from 54.33% to 48.72%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1974 to 2023), the average change was −0.66 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.09 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 6.57 percentage points in 2012 and the biggest yearly fall was 13.39 percentage points in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 1.67 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 74% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Manufactures comprise commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 5 (chemicals), 6 (basic manufactures), 7 (machinery and transport equipment), and 8 (miscellaneous manufactured goods), excluding division 68 (non-ferrous metals). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise imports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a non-resident and a 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.

Limitations: Previous editions contained data based on the SITC revision 1. Data for earlier years in previous editions may differ because of the change in methodology. Concordance tables are available to convert data reported in one system to another.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 47 values

Manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 41.09% (2019)
• Algeria — 64.61% (2024)
• Bahrain — 57.35% (2024)
• Djibouti — 51.87% (2023)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 50.41% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 57.55% (2023)
• Iraq — 76.32% (2024)
• Israel — 75.15% (2025)
• Jordan — 56.85% (2024)
• Kuwait

More private sector & trade data for Africa Western and Central

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 43.1% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$163.34 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$204.1 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 7.26% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 53.47% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 33.98% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Africa Western and Central's manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports)?

48.72% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1962?

It is down 23.48 percentage points from 72.21% in 1962. The highest value was 77.96% in 1970 and the lowest 48.72% in 2024.

Is the latest change in manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports) unusual for Africa Western and Central?

In 2024, Africa Western and Central's manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports) fell 5.61 percentage points on 2023 (from 54.33% to 48.72%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1974 to 2023), the average change was −0.66 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.09 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TM.VAL.MANF.ZS.UN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division; World Integrated Trade Solution system (WITS); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.