Cuba: Fuel imports (% of merchandise imports)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 11.51 percentage points from 19.39% in 2016. Since 1989 it is down 1.52 percentage points from 32.41% in 1989. The World Bank has no value for 18 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2021, Cuba's fuel imports (% of merchandise imports) rose 8.58 percentage points on 2020 (from 22.31% to 30.9%).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2020), the average change was −1.24 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations above 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 8.58 percentage points in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 25.94 percentage points in 2006. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those 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.

Closest to Cuba in the 2021 ranking

• Kiribati — 2nd of 3: 12.54%
• Russian Federation — 3rd of 3: 0.78%

What this measures

Fuels comprise the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) section 3 (mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials). 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 15 values

Fuel imports (% of merchandise imports) in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — 0.68% (2024)
• Argentina — 4.02% (2025)
• Aruba — 5.91% (2023)
• Bahamas, The — 16.28% (2024)
• Barbados — 16.71% (2025)
• Belize — 13.78% (2025)
• Bolivia — 29.72% (2025)
• Brazil — 11.09% (2025)
• Chile — 15.51% (2025)
• Colombia — 8.25% (2025)
• Costa Rica

More private sector & trade data for Cuba

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$8.75 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$1.62 billion (2025)
• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 8.32% (2020)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 1.31% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 52.19% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 29.78% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 23.31% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise imports)

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Questions people ask

What is Cuba's fuel imports (% of merchandise imports)?

30.9% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1989?

It is down 1.52 percentage points from 32.41% in 1989. The highest value was 32.41% in 1989 and the lowest 0.1% in 2006.

Is the latest change in fuel imports (% of merchandise imports) unusual for Cuba?

In 2021, Cuba's fuel imports (% of merchandise imports) rose 8.58 percentage points on 2020 (from 22.31% to 30.9%). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2020), the average change was −1.24 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, 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).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TM.VAL.FUEL.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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