Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) was 4.38% in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 6.88 percentage points from 11.25% in 2013.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 4.38% | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 5.06% | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 11.25% | 2013 |
| Highest | 13.61% | 2006 |
| Lowest | -8.11% | 1991 |
| Average since 2014 | 2.86% | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | -2.44% | 1990 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) fell 3.79 percentage points on 2022 (from 8.17% to 4.38%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +0.45 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.05 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 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 5.91 percentage points in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 8.91 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 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 7% 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
See how every economy compares in the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan | 4.38% | 2023 |
| World | 0.98% | 2025 |
What this measures
The balance of international trade in goods and services is the difference between the exports and imports of goods and services. 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.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 34 values
| Year | External balance on goods and services (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 4.38 |
| 2022 | 8.17 |
| 2021 | 3.78 |
| 2020 | -1.81 |
| 2019 | 2.48 |
| 2018 | 5.06 |
| 2017 | 1.32 |
| 2016 | -0.9619 |
| 2015 | -0.8884 |
| 2014 | 7.1 |
| 2013 |
External balance on goods and services (% of GDP) in nearby economies
- Algeria — -5.31% (2025)
- Bahrain — 17.49% (2024)
- Djibouti — 14.69% (2025)
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — -11.69% (2025)
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — -8.73% (2025)
- Iraq — 2.39% (2024)
- Israel — 2.13% (2025)
- Kuwait — 17.52% (2024)
- Lebanon — -35.6% (2024)
- Libya
More economic policy & debt data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
- Portfolio equity, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — US$14.62 billion (2025)
- GDP (current US$) — US$5.14 trillion (2025)
- GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$4.58 trillion (2025)
- GDP per capita (current US$) — US$6,202 (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$5,535 (2025)
- GDP (annual % growth) — 2.74% (2025)
- GDP per capita (annual % growth) — 0.9% (2025)
- GNI (current US$) — US$5.14 trillion (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP)?
- 4.38% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1990?
- It is up 6.81 percentage points from -2.44% in 1990. The highest value was 13.61% in 2006 and the lowest -8.11% in 1991.
- Is the latest change in external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) unusual for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- In 2023, Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) fell 3.79 percentage points on 2022 (from 8.17% to 4.38%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +0.45 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.05 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 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 NE.RSB.GNFS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); 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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