Nepal: Trade (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Nepal's trade (% of GDP) rose 2.38 percentage points on 2024 (from 40.17% to 42.55%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.34 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.69 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 9.06 percentage points in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.69 percentage points in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 10% 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 2025, Nepal had the 115th highest value of the 137 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 Nepal in the 2025 ranking

• Chad — 112th of 137: 46.13%
• Australia — 113th of 137: 45.9%
• Indonesia — 114th of 137: 43.39%
• Sri Lanka — 116th of 137: 41.81%
• Comoros — 117th of 137: 40.89%
• Guinea-Bissau — 118th of 137: 40.88%

What this measures

Trade is the sum of 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 61 values

Trade (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Bangladesh — 27.95% (2025)
• Bhutan — 79.36% (2024)
• India — 46.27% (2025)
• Maldives — 156.47% (2024)
• Sri Lanka — 41.81% (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Nepal

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$21.1 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$19.98 billion (2025)
• Services, value added (current US$) — US$24.73 billion (2025)
• Services, value added (current LCU) — 3.37 trillion (2025)
• Services, value added (% of GDP) — 54.37% (2025)
• Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current US$) — US$40.02 billion (2025)
• Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current LCU) — 5.45 trillion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$45.49 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 6.2 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$36.54 billion (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Nepal's trade (% of GDP)?

42.55% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1965?

It is up 20.86 percentage points from 21.69% in 1965. The highest value was 64.04% in 1997 and the lowest 13.21% in 1970.

How does Nepal rank?

115th highest of 137 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in trade (% of GDP) unusual for Nepal?

In 2025, Nepal's trade (% of GDP) rose 2.38 percentage points on 2024 (from 40.17% to 42.55%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.34 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.69 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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.TRD.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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