Syrian Arab Republic's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) was -21.88% in 2022, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 1.94 percentage points from -19.94% in 2012.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | -21.88% | 2022 |
| Five years earlier | -22.37% | 2017 |
| Ten years earlier | -19.94% | 2012 |
| Highest | 7.82% | 2002 |
| Lowest | -40.23% | 2014 |
| Average since 2013 | -24.26% | 2013–2022 |
| First recorded | -6.44% | 1960 |
What the numbers say
In 2022, Syrian Arab Republic's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) rose 7.22 percentage points on 2021 (from -29.1% to -21.88%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was −0.71 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 6.07 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 17.73 percentage points in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 12.29 percentage points in 2021. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2013 to 2022 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 26% 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Syrian Arab Republic | -21.88% | 2022 |
| World | 0.98% | 2025 |
| Low income | -10.32% | 2025 |
Closest to Syrian Arab Republic in the 2022 ranking
- Qatar — 1st of 6: 36.98%
- Virgin Islands (US) — 2nd of 6: -10.89%
- American Samoa — 4th of 6: -30.77%
- Northern Mariana Islands — 5th of 6: -48.63%
- Guam — 6th of 6: -56.09%
What this measures
The balance of international trade in goods and services is the difference between the 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 63 values
| Year | External balance on goods and services (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 2022 | -21.88 |
| 2021 | -29.1 |
| 2020 | -16.81 |
| 2019 | -15.98 |
| 2018 | -20.83 |
| 2017 | -22.37 |
| 2016 | -23.75 |
| 2015 | -22.5 |
| 2014 | -40.23 |
| 2013 | -29.15 |
| 2012 |
External balance on goods and services (% of GDP) in nearby economies
- Algeria — -5.31% (2025)
- Bahrain — 17.49% (2024)
- Djibouti — 14.69% (2025)
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — -11.69% (2025)
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — -8.73% (2025)
- Iraq — 2.39% (2024)
- Israel — 2.13% (2025)
- Kuwait — 17.52% (2024)
- Lebanon — -35.6% (2024)
- Libya
More economic policy & debt data for Syrian Arab Republic
- Grants, excluding technical cooperation (BoP, current US$) — US$8.91 billion (2023)
- Technical cooperation grants (BoP, current US$) — US$305.05 million (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Germany (current US$) — US$820.37 million (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Total (current US$) — US$2.65 billion (2023)
- Net official development assistance and official aid received (current US$) — US$9.21 billion (2023)
- Net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$) — US$9.21 billion (2023)
- Net official development assistance received (current US$) — US$9.21 billion (2023)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Syrian Arab Republic's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP)?
- -21.88% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is down 15.44 percentage points from -6.44% in 1960. The highest value was 7.82% in 2002 and the lowest -40.23% in 2014.
- Is the latest change in external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) unusual for Syrian Arab Republic?
- In 2022, Syrian Arab Republic's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) rose 7.22 percentage points on 2021 (from -29.1% to -21.88%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was −0.71 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 6.07 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.RSB.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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