Least developed countries: UN classification | Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports)

Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to other low- and middle-income economies in the same World Bank region as a percentage of total merchandise exports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data. No figures are shown for high-income economies, because they are a separate category in the World Bank classification of economies. Development relevance: The relative importance of intraregional trade is higher for both landlocked countries and small countries with close trade links to the largest regional economy. For most low- and middle-income economies - especially smaller ones - there is a "geographic bias" favoring intraregional trade. Despite the broad trend toward globalization and the reduction of trade barriers, the relative share of intraregional trade increased for most economies between 1999 and 2010. This is due partly to trade-related advantages, such as proximity, lower transport costs, increased knowledge from repeated interaction, and cultural and historical affinity. The direction of trade is also influenced by preferential trade agreements that a country has made with other economies. Though formal agreements on trade liberalization do not automatically increase trade, they nevertheless affect the direction of trade between the participating economies. Limitations and exceptions: 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. But trade flows between many low- and middle-income economies - particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa - are not well recorded, and the value of trade among low- and middle-income economies may be understated.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Least developed countries: UN classification
Records
63
Source
Least developed countries: UN classification | Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports)
1960 8.64881703
1961 9.22639966
1962 8.59170861
1963 8.67662615
1964 9.05220614
1965 9.35726875
1966 7.05430593
1967 7.73476701
1968 7.80395987
1969 9.29894489
1970 9.78651698
1971 9.13579751
1972 12.38611251
1973 12.98394489
1974 12.60774228
1975 7.77768893
1976 6.31191758
1977 6.43065361
1978 7.840932
1979 7.9074
1980 8.49620677
1981 8.46977387
1982 8.22359667
1983 5.94453914
1984 6.46618871
1985 5.95118772
1986 6.19361336
1987 6.92485189
1988 5.38476728
1989 5.29836188
1990 5.42025986
1991 6.41339748
1992 7.29573169
1993 8.52045488
1994 9.20771297
1995 8.97895969
1996 8.74881682
1997 8.12579333
1998 9.44085395
1999 9.11559863
2000 13.99825159
2001 14.4592732
2002 15.13818527
2003 14.90467748
2004 15.40390849
2005 14.83500149
2006 14.71320507
2007 13.09306552
2008 12.96373064
2009 14.53267165
2010 14.3950054
2011 15.11947654
2012 15.44580167
2013 17.38830462
2014 18.93945366
2015 20.94175521
2016 21.86467067
2017 21.06156396
2018 20.29259534
2019 21.41770287
2020 23.10634672
2021
2022

Least developed countries: UN classification | Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports)

Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region are the sum of merchandise exports from the reporting economy to other low- and middle-income economies in the same World Bank region as a percentage of total merchandise exports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data. No figures are shown for high-income economies, because they are a separate category in the World Bank classification of economies. Development relevance: The relative importance of intraregional trade is higher for both landlocked countries and small countries with close trade links to the largest regional economy. For most low- and middle-income economies - especially smaller ones - there is a "geographic bias" favoring intraregional trade. Despite the broad trend toward globalization and the reduction of trade barriers, the relative share of intraregional trade increased for most economies between 1999 and 2010. This is due partly to trade-related advantages, such as proximity, lower transport costs, increased knowledge from repeated interaction, and cultural and historical affinity. The direction of trade is also influenced by preferential trade agreements that a country has made with other economies. Though formal agreements on trade liberalization do not automatically increase trade, they nevertheless affect the direction of trade between the participating economies. Limitations and exceptions: 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. But trade flows between many low- and middle-income economies - particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa - are not well recorded, and the value of trade among low- and middle-income economies may be understated.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Least developed countries: UN classification
Records
63
Source