Merchandise trade in North America
North America: Merchandise trade was 20.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in North America, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
North America recorded 20.6% for merchandise trade in 2025.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and down 12.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in North America peaked at 26.8% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 7.9%, in 1962.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.5% | 7.9% | 9.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 14.2% | 10.0% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 17.0% | 15.5% | 19.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.7% | 17.5% | 21.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.8% | 20.3% | 26.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.3% | 22.0% | 26.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.4% | 20.2% | 23.4% | 6 |
More private sector data for North America
- Merchandise exports 2.74 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Manufactures exports 52.8% (2024)
- Food exports 10.3% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 4.09 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Manufactures imports 77.9% (2024)
- Food imports 7.3% (2024)
- Commercial service exports 1.38 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Transport services 17.6% (2025)
- Computer, communications and other services 41.5% (2025)
- Commercial service imports 1.05 trillion current US$ (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in North America?
- Merchandise trade in North America was 20.6% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 26.8% in 2011.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.9% in 1962.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North America data come from?
- The figures come from World Trade Organization (WTO), published as part of Merchandise trade (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
General merchandise trade includes goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-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. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.