OECD members - Merchandise imports (current US$)

The value for Merchandise imports (current US$) in OECD members was 10,958,600,000,000 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 12,192,400,000,000 in 2018 and a minimum value of 94,439,050,000 in 1960.

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 94,439,050,000
1961 99,380,000,000
1962 107,016,000,000
1963 117,367,000,000
1964 131,611,000,000
1965 144,085,000,000
1966 159,430,000,000
1967 167,626,000,000
1968 188,491,000,000
1969 216,077,000,000
1970 249,449,000,000
1971 276,852,000,000
1972 328,928,000,000
1973 452,792,000,000
1974 647,964,000,000
1975 653,457,000,000
1976 747,810,000,000
1977 845,085,000,000
1978 976,615,000,000
1979 1,249,730,000,000
1980 1,495,040,000,000
1981 1,441,460,000,000
1982 1,338,380,000,000
1983 1,313,480,000,000
1984 1,445,040,000,000
1985 1,482,600,000,000
1986 1,659,890,000,000
1987 1,964,090,000,000
1988 2,231,510,000,000
1989 2,423,420,000,000
1990 2,792,960,000,000
1991 2,831,420,000,000
1992 2,978,090,000,000
1993 2,859,630,000,000
1994 3,258,350,000,000
1995 3,843,470,000,000
1996 4,040,760,000,000
1997 4,161,210,000,000
1998 4,252,290,000,000
1999 4,485,450,000,000
2000 5,034,380,000,000
2001 4,825,060,000,000
2002 4,981,250,000,000
2003 5,758,240,000,000
2004 6,878,130,000,000
2005 7,703,940,000,000
2006 8,743,420,000,000
2007 9,881,161,000,000
2008 11,099,200,000,000
2009 8,354,250,000,000
2010 9,854,260,000,000
2011 11,606,300,000,000
2012 11,483,800,000,000
2013 11,510,400,000,000
2014 11,657,600,000,000
2015 10,330,100,000,000
2016 10,161,400,000,000
2017 11,140,200,000,000
2018 12,192,400,000,000
2019 11,843,500,000,000
2020 10,958,600,000,000

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