United Kingdom - Merchandise imports (current US$)

The value for Merchandise imports (current US$) in United Kingdom was 634,742,000,000 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 702,840,000,000 in 2012 and a minimum value of 12,729,000,000 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 13,034,000,000
1961 12,729,000,000
1962 12,958,000,000
1963 13,969,000,000
1964 15,966,000,000
1965 16,128,000,000
1966 16,663,000,000
1967 17,800,000,000
1968 18,960,000,000
1969 19,961,000,000
1970 21,871,000,000
1971 23,858,000,000
1972 27,661,000,000
1973 38,528,000,000
1974 54,190,000,000
1975 53,341,000,000
1976 55,744,000,000
1977 63,191,000,000
1978 75,813,000,000
1979 99,600,000,000
1980 115,545,000,000
1981 102,708,000,000
1982 99,646,000,000
1983 100,080,000,000
1984 104,725,000,000
1985 108,957,000,000
1986 126,330,000,000
1987 154,407,000,000
1988 189,340,000,000
1989 197,731,000,000
1990 222,977,000,000
1991 209,947,000,000
1992 221,551,000,000
1993 209,318,000,000
1994 234,076,000,000
1995 267,250,000,000
1996 287,332,000,000
1997 307,518,000,000
1998 321,231,000,000
1999 324,899,000,000
2000 339,643,000,000
2001 340,963,000,000
2002 360,333,000,000
2003 394,573,000,000
2004 469,732,000,000
2005 521,919,000,000
2006 615,683,000,000
2007 644,565,000,000
2008 668,600,000,000
2009 522,860,000,000
2010 592,271,000,000
2011 680,939,000,000
2012 702,840,000,000
2013 662,160,000,000
2014 694,126,000,000
2015 630,003,000,000
2016 636,731,000,000
2017 641,002,000,000
2018 672,267,000,000
2019 695,798,000,000
2020 634,742,000,000

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