Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan's imports of goods and services (% of GDP) was 38.36% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 3.49 percentage points from 34.86% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 38.36% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 34.38% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 34.86% | 2014 |
| Highest | 38.87% | 1982 |
| Lowest | 24.79% | 1972 |
| Average since 2015 | 34.61% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 26.01% | 1970 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan's imports of goods and services (% of GDP) rose 1.62 percentage points on 2023 (from 36.74% to 38.36%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.59 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 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 9.14 percentage points in 1975 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.54 percentage points in 1990. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 17% 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 | 38.36% | 2024 |
| World | 28.5% | 2025 |
What this measures
Imports of goods includes change in the economic ownership of goods from non-residents to residents of the compiling economy, irrespective of physical movement of goods across national borders. Imports of services includes services provided by non-residents to 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
| Year | Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 38.36 |
| 2023 | 36.74 |
| 2022 | 33.89 |
| 2021 | 32.32 |
| 2020 | 33.46 |
| 2019 | 34.38 |
| 2018 | 33.74 |
| 2017 | 34 |
| 2016 | 33.44 |
| 2015 | 35.78 |
| 2014 |
Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) in nearby economies
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 imports of goods and services (% of GDP)?
- 38.36% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1970?
- It is up 12.35 percentage points from 26.01% in 1970. The highest value was 38.87% in 1982 and the lowest 24.79% in 1972.
- Is the latest change in imports of goods and services (% of GDP) unusual for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- In 2024, Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan's imports of goods and services (% of GDP) rose 1.62 percentage points on 2023 (from 36.74% to 38.36%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.59 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 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.IMP.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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