Arab World: Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Arab World's merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) rose 7.3% on 2022 (from US$1.01 trillion to US$1.09 trillion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +8.3% and a typical year strayed about 13.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 66.8% in 1974 and the biggest yearly fall was 32.2% in 1962. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$29.03 billion a year. A straight line explains 47% 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

Merchandise imports by the reporting economy are the total merchandise imports by the reporting economy from the rest of the world, as reported in the IMF's Direction of trade database. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

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

All 64 values

Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — US$4.08 billion (2023)
• Algeria — US$42.56 billion (2023)
• Bahrain — US$15.25 billion (2023)
• Djibouti — US$5.32 billion (2023)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — US$73.57 billion (2023)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — US$52.73 billion (2023)
• Iraq — US$54.76 billion (2023)
• Israel — US$81.21 billion (2023)
• Jordan — US$25.43 billion (2023)

More private sector & trade data for Arab World

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 53.72% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$1.48 trillion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$1.59 trillion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 13.17% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 51.61% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 44.85% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 23.09% (2023)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Arab World's merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$)?

US$1.09 trillion in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 30,319% from US$3.57 billion in 1960 (9.5% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$1.09 trillion in 2023 and the lowest US$2.3 billion in 1962.

Is the latest change in merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) unusual for Arab World?

In 2023, Arab World's merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) rose 7.3% on 2022 (from US$1.01 trillion to US$1.09 trillion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +8.3% and a typical year strayed about 13.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TM.VAL.MRCH.WL.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB); Direction of Trade database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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.

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