Iran, Islamic Rep.'s merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) was 50.61% in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 6.15 percentage points from 56.76% in 2013.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 50.61% | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 56.06% | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 56.76% | 2013 |
| Highest | 96.5% | 1978 |
| Lowest | 47.82% | 2019 |
| Average since 2014 | 53.15% | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 92.59% | 1960 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Iran, Islamic Rep.'s merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) fell 0.69 percentage points on 2022 (from 51.3% to 50.61%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −1.29 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.75 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above 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 6.53 percentage points in 1990 and the biggest yearly fall was 8.74 percentage points in 2013. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 26% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2023, Iran, Islamic Rep. had the 133rd highest value of the 205 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Iran, Islamic Rep. | 50.61% | 2023 |
| World | 65.06% | 2023 |
| Upper middle income | 61.73% | 2023 |
Closest to Iran, Islamic Rep. in the 2023 ranking
- Guatemala — 130th of 205: 51.88%
- Ecuador — 131st of 205: 51.84%
- Libya — 132nd of 205: 51.53%
- São Tomé and Principe — 134th of 205: 50.15%
- Azerbaijan — 135th of 205: 50.09%
- Panama — 136th of 205: 50%
What this measures
Merchandise imports from high-income economies are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise imports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.
Limitations: Data on exports and imports are from the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Direction of Trade database and should be broadly consistent with data from other sources, such as the United Nations Statistics Division's Commodity Trade (Comtrade) database. All high-income economies and major low- and middle-income economies report trade data to the IMF on a timely basis, covering about 85 percent of trade for recent years. Trade data for less timely reporters and for countries that do not report are estimated using reports of trading partner countries. Therefore, data on trade between developing and high-income economies should be generally complete.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 61 values
| Year | Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 50.61 |
| 2022 | 51.3 |
| 2021 | 54.52 |
| 2020 | 52.13 |
| 2019 | 47.82 |
| 2018 | 56.06 |
| 2017 | 56.7 |
| 2016 | 52.67 |
| 2015 | 53.81 |
| 2014 | 55.85 |
Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) in nearby economies
- Afghanistan — 13.33% (2023)
- Algeria — 53.3% (2023)
- Bahrain — 62.55% (2023)
- Djibouti — 37.49% (2023)
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — 62.24% (2023)
- Iraq — 26.9% (2023)
- Israel — 73.85% (2023)
- Jordan — 56.3% (2023)
More private sector & trade data for Iran, Islamic Rep.
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 49.32% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$65.63 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$113.23 billion (2025)
- Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 30.34% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 48.54% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in South Asia (% of total merchandise imports) — 3.32% (2023)
- Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.00113% (2023)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Iran, Islamic Rep.'s merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports)?
- 50.61% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is down 41.98 percentage points from 92.59% in 1960. The highest value was 96.5% in 1978 and the lowest 47.82% in 2019.
- How does Iran, Islamic Rep. rank?
- 133rd highest of 205 economies with data for 2023.
- Is the latest change in merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) unusual for Iran, Islamic Rep.?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TM.VAL.MRCH.HI.ZS, 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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