Japan: Exports of goods and services (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Japan's exports of goods and services (% of GDP) rose 0.92 percentage points on 2023 (from 21.06% to 21.98%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.41 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.49 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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 3.27 percentage points in 1974 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.75 percentage points in 2009. 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 upward, about 0.58 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 57% 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, Japan had the 24th highest value of the 33 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 Japan in the 2024 ranking

• Vanuatu — 21st of 33: 25.35%
• New Zealand — 22nd of 33: 24.71%
• Lebanon — 23rd of 33: 23.32%
• Bolivia — 25th of 33: 21.44%
• French Polynesia — 26th of 33: 18.32%
• Zimbabwe — 27th of 33: 18.06%

What this measures

Exports of goods includes changes in the economic ownership of goods from residents of the compiling economy to non-residents, irrespective of physical movement of goods across national borders. Exports of services includes services provided by residents to non-residents. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data.

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

All 55 values

Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• American Samoa — 46.96% (2022)
• Australia — 23.24% (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 71.57% (2025)
• Cambodia — 68.65% (2025)
• China — 21.07% (2025)
• Fiji — 54.41% (2024)
• French Polynesia — 18.32% (2024)
• Guam — 7.89% (2022)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 199.76% (2025)
• Indonesia — 22.85% (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Japan

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$1.37 trillion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$1.25 trillion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$4.44 trillion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 663.76 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$4.76 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 591.22 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$35,951 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 5.38 million (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$38,619 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 4.79 million (2025)
• GNI (current US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Japan's exports of goods and services (% of GDP)?

21.98% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 12.05 percentage points from 9.93% in 1970. The highest value was 21.98% in 2024 and the lowest 8.66% in 1994.

How does Japan rank?

24th highest of 33 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in exports of goods and services (% of GDP) unusual for Japan?

In 2024, Japan's exports of goods and services (% of GDP) rose 0.92 percentage points on 2023 (from 21.06% to 21.98%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.41 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.49 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above 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 NE.EXP.GNFS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; 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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