Korea - Merchandise imports (current US$)

The value for Merchandise imports (current US$) in Korea was 467,633,000,000 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 535,202,000,000 in 2018 and a minimum value of 316,000,000 in 1961.

Definition: Merchandise imports show the c.i.f. value of goods received from the rest of the world valued in current U.S. dollars.

Source: World Trade Organization.

See also:

Year Value
1960 344,000,000
1961 316,000,000
1962 422,000,000
1963 560,000,000
1964 404,000,000
1965 463,000,000
1966 716,000,000
1967 996,000,000
1968 1,463,000,000
1969 1,824,000,000
1970 1,984,000,000
1971 2,394,000,000
1972 2,522,000,000
1973 4,240,000,000
1974 6,852,000,000
1975 7,274,000,000
1976 8,774,000,000
1977 10,811,000,000
1978 14,972,000,000
1979 20,339,000,000
1980 22,292,000,000
1981 26,131,000,000
1982 24,251,000,000
1983 26,192,000,000
1984 30,631,000,000
1985 31,136,000,000
1986 31,585,000,000
1987 41,020,000,000
1988 51,811,000,000
1989 61,465,000,000
1990 69,844,000,000
1991 81,525,000,000
1992 81,775,000,000
1993 83,800,000,000
1994 102,348,000,000
1995 135,119,000,000
1996 150,339,000,000
1997 144,616,000,000
1998 93,282,000,000
1999 119,752,000,000
2000 160,481,000,000
2001 141,098,000,000
2002 152,126,000,000
2003 178,827,000,000
2004 224,463,000,000
2005 261,238,000,000
2006 309,383,000,000
2007 356,846,000,000
2008 435,275,000,000
2009 323,085,000,000
2010 425,212,000,000
2011 524,413,000,000
2012 519,585,000,000
2013 515,584,000,000
2014 525,564,000,000
2015 436,499,000,000
2016 406,193,000,000
2017 478,478,000,000
2018 535,202,000,000
2019 503,343,000,000
2020 467,633,000,000

Limitations and Exceptions: The value of imports is generally recorded as the cost of the goods when purchased by the importer plus the cost of transport and insurance to the frontier of the importing country - the cost, insurance, and freight (c.i.f.) value, corresponding to the landed cost at the point of entry of foreign goods into the country. A few countries collect import data on a free on board (f.o.b.) basis and adjust them for freight and insurance costs. Countries may report trade according to the general or special system of trade. Under the general system imports include goods imported for domestic consumption and imports into bonded warehouses and free trade zones. Under the special system imports comprise goods imported for domestic consumption (including transformation and repair) and withdrawals for domestic consumption from bonded warehouses and free trade zones. Goods transported through a country en route to another are excluded. Data on imports of goods are derived from the same sources as data on exports. In principle, world exports and imports should be identical. Similarly, exports from an economy should equal the sum of imports by the rest of the world from that economy. But differences in timing and definitions result in discrepancies in reported values at all levels.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Merchandise trade data are from customs reports of goods moving into or out of an economy or from reports of financial transactions related to merchandise trade recorded in the balance of payments. Because of differences in timing and definitions, trade flow estimates from customs reports and balance of payments may differ. Several international agencies process trade data, each correcting unreported or misreported data, leading to other differences. The data on total imports of goods (merchandise) are from the World Trade Organization (WTO), which obtains data from national statistical offices and the IMF's International Financial Statistics, supplemented by the Comtrade database and publications or databases of regional organizations, specialized agencies, economic groups, and private sources (such as Eurostat, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and country reports of the Economist Intelligence Unit). Country websites and email contact have improved collection of up-to-date statistics, reducing the proportion of estimates. The WTO database now covers most major traders in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, which together with high-income countries account for nearly 95 percent of world trade. Reliability of data for countries in Europe and Central Asia has also improved.

Aggregation method: Gap-filled total

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Private Sector & Trade Indicators

Sub-Topic: Imports