Sri Lanka's merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) was 29.14% in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 3.26 percentage points from 25.88% in 2013.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 29.14% | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 28.23% | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 25.88% | 2013 |
| Highest | 34.26% | 2021 |
| Lowest | 5.9% | 1980 |
| Average since 2014 | 28.82% | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 16.15% | 1960 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Sri Lanka's merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) fell 1.58 percentage points on 2022 (from 30.72% to 29.14%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +0.54 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.68 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 20.45 percentage points in 2016 and the biggest yearly fall was 16.76 percentage points in 2015. 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 24% 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 2023, Sri Lanka had the 43rd highest value of the 204 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Sri Lanka | 29.14% | 2023 |
| World | 20.78% | 2023 |
| South Asia | 24.93% | 2023 |
| Upper middle income | 23.51% | 2023 |
Closest to Sri Lanka in the 2023 ranking
- Tonga — 40th of 204: 30.06%
- Kazakhstan — 41st of 204: 30.03%
- Chad — 42nd of 204: 29.58%
- French Polynesia — 44th of 204: 28.3%
- Djibouti — 45th of 204: 27.7%
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 46th of 204: 27.35%
What this measures
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia and Pacific are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from low- and middle-income economies in the East Asia and Pacific region according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise imports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 64 values
| Year | Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 29.14 |
| 2022 | 30.72 |
| 2021 | 34.26 |
| 2020 | 33.63 |
| 2019 | 31.78 |
| 2018 | 28.23 |
| 2017 | 28.43 |
| 2016 | 32.05 |
| 2015 | 11.61 |
| 2014 | 28.37 |
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) in nearby economies
- Bangladesh — 39.93% (2023)
- Bhutan — 3.49% (2023)
- India — 23.66% (2023)
- Maldives — 22.76% (2023)
- Nepal — 21.2% (2023)
More private sector & trade data for Sri Lanka
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 32.22% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$21.48 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$13.58 billion (2025)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 44.93% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 33.51% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in South Asia (% of total merchandise imports) — 21.56% (2023)
- Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.000296% (2023)
- Merchandise imports by the reporting economy (current US$)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Sri Lanka's merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports)?
- 29.14% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is up 12.99 percentage points from 16.15% in 1960. The highest value was 34.26% in 2021 and the lowest 5.9% in 1980.
- How does Sri Lanka rank?
- 43rd highest of 204 economies with data for 2023.
- Is the latest change in merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) unusual for Sri Lanka?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TM.VAL.MRCH.R1.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB); Direction of Trade database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
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