Yemen, Rep.: Food imports (% of merchandise imports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Yemen, Rep.'s food imports (% of merchandise imports) rose 2.2 percentage points on 2023 (from 41.75% to 43.95%).

Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2023), the average change was +0.78 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.98 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 11.1 percentage points in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.49 percentage points in 2002. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those 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, Yemen, Rep. had the 2nd highest value of the 36 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 Yemen, Rep. in the 2024 ranking

• Niger — 2nd of 36: 37.89%
• Benin — 3rd of 36: 33.27%
• Cabo Verde — 4th of 36: 32.56%

What this measures

Food comprises the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 0 (food and live animals), 1 (beverages and tobacco), and 4 (animal and vegetable oils and fats) and division 22 (oil seeds, oil nuts, and oil kernels). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise imports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a non-resident and a 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.

Limitations: Previous editions contained data based on the SITC revision 1. Data for earlier years in previous editions may differ because of the change in methodology. Concordance tables are available to convert data reported in one system to another.

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

All 20 values

Food imports (% of merchandise imports) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 26.92% (2019)
• Algeria — 28.2% (2024)
• Bahrain — 15.01% (2024)
• Djibouti — 38.56% (2023)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 19.05% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 26.1% (2023)
• Iraq — 14.24% (2024)
• Israel — 11.31% (2025)
• Jordan — 20.67% (2024)
• Kuwait — 16.04% (2025)
• Lebanon

More private sector & trade data for Yemen, Rep.

• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$4.65 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$196 million (2025)
• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 24.66% (2025)
• Import unit value index (2015 = 100) — 122.8 (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 39.28% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 54.67% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 41.47% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

What is Yemen, Rep.'s food imports (% of merchandise imports)?

43.95% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1975?

It is down 1.54 percentage points from 45.49% in 1975. The highest value was 45.9% in 2015 and the lowest 24.7% in 2008.

How does Yemen, Rep. rank?

2nd highest of 36 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in food imports (% of merchandise imports) unusual for Yemen, Rep.?

In 2024, Yemen, Rep.'s food imports (% of merchandise imports) rose 2.2 percentage points on 2023 (from 41.75% to 43.95%). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2023), the average change was +0.78 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.98 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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.FOOD.ZS.UN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division; World Integrated Trade Solution system (WITS); 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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