Central African Republic: Manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Central African Republic's manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports) fell 14.54 percentage points on 2023 (from 65.66% to 51.12%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.59 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.7 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 24.04 percentage points in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was 20.37 percentage points in 2004. 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 2.44 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 64% 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

In 2024, Central African Republic had the 26th highest value of the 36 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Central African Republic in the 2024 ranking

• Jordan — 22nd of 36: 56.85%
• Grenada — 23rd of 36: 56.18%
• Seychelles — 24th of 36: 51.81%
• Cabo Verde — 26th of 36: 50.76%
• Benin — 27th of 36: 50.1%
• Samoa — 28th of 36: 47.95%

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 50 values

Manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports) in nearby economies

• Angola — 66.81% (2025)
• Benin — 50.1% (2024)
• Botswana — 61.75% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 46.87% (2024)
• Burundi — 61.13% (2023)
• Cabo Verde — 50.76% (2024)
• Cameroon — 51.56% (2023)
• Comoros — 46.53% (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 62.63% (2024)
• Congo, Rep.

More private sector & trade data for Central African Republic

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 27% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$573 million (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$255 million (2025)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 38.39% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$736.21 million (2023)
• Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports) — 84.35% (2023)
• Merchandise exports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise exports)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

What is Central African Republic's manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports)?

51.12% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1962?

It is down 25.36 percentage points from 76.48% in 1962. The highest value was 82.87% in 2015 and the lowest 35.55% in 2004.

How does Central African Republic rank?

26th highest of 36 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports) unusual for Central African Republic?

In 2024, Central African Republic's manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports) fell 14.54 percentage points on 2023 (from 65.66% to 51.12%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.59 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.7 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.

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