United Arab Emirates's merchandise trade (% of GDP) was 208.15% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 62.47 percentage points from 145.68% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 208.15% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 156.22% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 145.68% | 2014 |
| Highest | 208.15% | 2024 |
| Lowest | 50.27% | 1986 |
| Average since 2015 | 167.25% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 115.16% | 1970 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, United Arab Emirates' merchandise trade (% of GDP) rose 9.01 percentage points on 2023 (from 199.15% to 208.15%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +3.84 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.6 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 19.89 percentage points in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 53.71 percentage points in 1973. 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 upward, about 7.52 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 88% 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, United Arab Emirates had the 2nd highest value of the 10 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | 208.15% | 2024 |
| World | 43.89% | 2025 |
| High income | 45.19% | 2025 |
Closest to United Arab Emirates in the 2024 ranking
- Faroe Islands — 2nd of 10: 80.78%
- Curaçao — 3rd of 10: 71.55%
- New Caledonia — 4th of 10: 41.09%
What this measures
General merchandise trade includes 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. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. 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 55 values
| Year | Merchandise trade (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 208.15 |
| 2023 | 199.15 |
| 2022 | 183.05 |
| 2021 | 182.91 |
| 2020 | 163.02 |
| 2019 | 156.22 |
| 2018 | 143.6 |
| 2017 | 141.64 |
| 2016 | 147.13 |
| 2015 | 147.63 |
| 2014 |
Merchandise trade (% of GDP) in nearby economies
- Afghanistan — 22.24% (2025)
- Algeria — 33.27% (2025)
- Bahrain — 87.63% (2025)
- Djibouti — 267.14% (2025)
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — 40.78% (2025)
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — 49.32% (2025)
- Iraq — 70.02% (2025)
- Israel — 25.29% (2025)
- Jordan — 71.19% (2025)
- Kuwait — 72.31% (2025)
- Lebanon — 85.88% (2025)
More private sector & trade data for United Arab Emirates
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$618.88 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$706.67 billion (2025)
- Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 8.27% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 40.32% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 56.4% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 26.06% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Middle East & North Africa (% of total merchandise imports)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is United Arab Emirates's merchandise trade (% of GDP)?
- 208.15% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1970?
- It is up 92.99 percentage points from 115.16% in 1970. The highest value was 208.15% in 2024 and the lowest 50.27% in 1986.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank?
- 2nd highest of 10 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in merchandise trade (% of GDP) unusual for United Arab Emirates?
- In 2024, United Arab Emirates' merchandise trade (% of GDP) rose 9.01 percentage points on 2023 (from 199.15% to 208.15%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +3.84 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.6 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 TG.VAL.TOTL.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Trade Organization (WTO); World Bank GDP estimates, World Bank (WB); World Development Indicators, 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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