Nicaragua: Food exports (% of merchandise exports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Nicaragua's food exports (% of merchandise exports) fell 1.23 percentage points on 2023 (from 43.82% to 42.59%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.92 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 11.13 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below 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 33 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 32.18 percentage points in 2008. 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 downward, about 0.41 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 35% 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, Nicaragua had the 12th highest value of the 36 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 Nicaragua in the 2024 ranking

• Ukraine — 8th of 36: 58.69%
• Honduras — 9th of 36: 53.5%
• Bahamas, The — 10th of 36: 52.2%
• Benin — 12th of 36: 39.66%
• Uganda — 13th of 36: 39.3%
• Costa Rica — 14th of 36: 32.33%

What this measures

Food comprises the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 0 (food and live animals), 1 (beverages and tobacco), and 4 (animal and vegetable oils and fats) and division 22 (oil seeds, oil nuts, and oil kernels). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise exports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e.

Limitations: Previous editions contained data based on the SITC revision 1. Data for earlier years in previous editions may differ because of the change in methodology. Concordance tables are available to convert data reported in one system to another.

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

All 54 values

Food exports (% of merchandise exports) in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — 84.7% (2024)
• Argentina — 50.15% (2025)
• Aruba — 67.32% (2023)
• Bahamas, The — 52.2% (2024)
• Barbados — 43.74% (2025)
• Belize — 95.34% (2025)
• Bolivia — 20.48% (2025)
• Brazil — 40.73% (2025)
• Chile — 21.88% (2025)
• Colombia — 25.37% (2025)
• Costa Rica

More private sector & trade data for Nicaragua

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 95.9% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$12.43 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$8.89 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 37.25% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise imports) — 50.79% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0% (2023)
• Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$8.06 billion (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise imports)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Nicaragua's food exports (% of merchandise exports)?

42.59% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1965?

It is up 2.79 percentage points from 39.8% in 1965. The highest value was 84.9% in 2000 and the lowest 37.57% in 1974.

How does Nicaragua rank?

12th highest of 36 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in food exports (% of merchandise exports) unusual for Nicaragua?

In 2024, Nicaragua's food exports (% of merchandise exports) fell 1.23 percentage points on 2023 (from 43.82% to 42.59%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.92 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 11.13 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below 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 TX.VAL.FOOD.ZS.UN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division; World Integrated Trade Solution system (WITS); 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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