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Sustainable trade

Merchandise trade volumes 2020


Published 09 September 2020 | 1 minute read

Download the WTO's World Statistical Review 2020 report for the latest information about trade volumes. The report covers merchandise trade and international trade in services.

This WTO World Statistical Review 2020 report provides statistical data about world merchandise trade in 2019-2020. Merchandise trade is measured as the average of exports and imports.

World merchandise trade in volume

World merchandise trade in volume terms recorded a slight decline of 0.1% in 2019 after rising by 2.9% in the previous years. In value terms, trade declined by 3.0 percent compared with a 10.2 percent increase in 2018.

International trade in services

International trade in services increased by 2.1 percent in 2019, slowing substantially from its 8.4 percent rise in 2018.

Transport exports declined by 0.8 percent as merchandise trade faltered.

Other commercial services recorded the highest export growth (3.3 percent) among services sectors in 2019, buoyed by slowing, but continued, growth in the telecommunications, computer and information services sector.

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The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.

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