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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Uruguay's merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) rose 1.85 percentage points on 2022 (from 27.87% to 29.72%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −0.65 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.43 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 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 11.97 percentage points in 1975 and the biggest yearly fall was 16.27 percentage points in 1976. 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 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.73 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 43% 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 2023, Uruguay had the 185th 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 Uruguay in the 2023 ranking

• Bangladesh — 182nd of 205: 34.01%
• Venezuela, RB — 183rd of 205: 32.73%
• Namibia — 184th of 205: 32.55%
• Chad — 186th of 205: 29.58%
• Congo, Rep. — 187th of 205: 28.41%
• Paraguay — 188th of 205: 27.51%

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

• Antigua and Barbuda — 79.42% (2023)
• Argentina — 35.96% (2023)
• Aruba — 81.64% (2023)
• Bahamas, The — 93.55% (2023)
• Barbados — 87.11% (2023)
• Belize — 54.97% (2023)
• Bolivia — 34.06% (2023)
• Brazil — 56.39% (2023)

More private sector & trade data for Uruguay

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 28.33% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$12.95 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$11.23 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 2.75% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 31.02% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 20.3% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise imports) — 39.26% (2023)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

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

29.72% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is down 37.36 percentage points from 67.07% in 1960. The highest value was 76.8% in 1962 and the lowest 23.93% in 2021.

How does Uruguay rank?

185th 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 Uruguay?

In 2023, Uruguay's merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) rose 1.85 percentage points on 2022 (from 27.87% to 29.72%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was −0.65 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.43 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 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.

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.