Sudan: Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Sudan's merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) fell 0 percentage points on 2022 (from 62.06% to 62.06%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.81 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 18.54 percentage points in 2006 and the biggest yearly fall was 11.25 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 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 3% 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, Sudan had the 95th highest value of the 205 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 Sudan in the 2023 ranking

• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 91st of 205: 62.24%
• Comoros — 92nd of 205: 62.18%
• Armenia — 93rd of 205: 62.13%
• India — 95th of 205: 61.44%
• Costa Rica — 96th of 205: 61.44%
• Lebanon — 97th of 205: 61.26%

What this measures

Merchandise imports from high-income economies are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from high-income economies 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.

Limitations: Data on exports and imports are from the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Direction of Trade database and should be broadly consistent with data from other sources, such as the United Nations Statistics Division's Commodity Trade (Comtrade) database. All high-income economies and major low- and middle-income economies report trade data to the IMF on a timely basis, covering about 85 percent of trade for recent years. Trade data for less timely reporters and for countries that do not report are estimated using reports of trading partner countries. Therefore, data on trade between developing and high-income economies should be generally complete.

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

All 64 values

Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) in nearby economies

• Angola — 57.5% (2023)
• Benin — 41.44% (2023)
• Botswana — 9.3% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 41.7% (2023)
• Burundi — 44.81% (2023)
• Cabo Verde — 83.8% (2023)
• Cameroon — 49.8% (2023)
• Central African Republic — 38.39% (2023)

More private sector & trade data for Sudan

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 14.96% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$6.2 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$2.8 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 27.15% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 33.93% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 7.12% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Middle East & North Africa (% of total merchandise imports) — 9.07% (2023)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Sudan's merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports)?

62.06% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is down 4.71 percentage points from 66.77% in 1960. The highest value was 89.57% in 1987 and the lowest 53.52% in 2016.

How does Sudan rank?

95th highest of 205 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) unusual for Sudan?

In 2023, Sudan's merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) fell 0 percentage points on 2022 (from 62.06% to 62.06%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.81 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 TM.VAL.MRCH.HI.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.

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