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PRESS/437 
11 April 2006 
 
(06-1630) 
WORLD TRADE 2005, PROSPECTS FOR 2006 
Trade picks up in mid-2005, but 2006 picture is uncertain 
World trade began 2005 with sluggish growth an d then regained momentum to end the year 
registering 6% growth in the volume of goods traded, WTO economists say. 
 
There are a number of uncertainties on the horizon for 2006, with signs of a stronger investment climate mixed with fragile prospects for consumption and employment, particularly in Europe, they 
say. WTO economists predict 7% growth in the volume of goods trade (i.e. in real terms, 
discounting price changes) and 3.5% growth in the world economy in 2006. A similar pattern can be seen for trade in goods and services measured in dollars even though the numbers are different 
because of higher energy prices, they say. 
 “The global trading system is undergoing a period of transition,” said WTO Director-General Pascal 
Lamy. “Shifting economic circumstances, major ad vances in technology and the emergence of new 
players on the global scene all underscore that we are on the cusp of big changes. Persistent imbalances, driven largely by macro-economic factors continue to be a cause for concern in some 
major economies. In such a climate of uncertainty, one thing is certain, Member governments 
must strengthen the global trading system by maki ng it more equitable and relevant for those who 
trade in the 21st century. There can be no doubt that the best way to do this would be to conclude 
this year an ambitious agreement in the Doha round of global trade negotiations.” 
Overview of major trade developments in 2005 
In 2005, world trade, as measured by merchandise exports, grew by 6% in real terms (at constant prices, i.e. volumes adjusted to take account of price changes), after an exceptional 9% expansion 
recorded in 2004. The slowdown reflected a weaker world economy, and was observable from mid-2004. However, this downward trend in trade grow th was arrested and reversed by the second 
quarter. (Data on trade in commercial services are not available in real terms.) 
 Trade growth in dollar value terms, which is affe cted by price changes, decelerated more strongly 
than real trade growth in 2005, as average do llar prices increased less rapidly (6.5% in 2005 
compared to 11% in 2004). The value of world merchandise exports rose by 13% in 2005, compared to 21% in 2004 and exceeded the $10 trillion mark for the first time. Commercial 
services exports are estimated to have increased by 11% at current prices (i.e. in nominal or 
dollar terms) to $2.4 trillion in 2005 (19% in 2004).  PRESS/437 
Page 2 of 17 
 
  
Fuelled by the rise in oil prices, Africa, th e Middle East, Central and South America and the 
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, the form er Soviet Union countries excluding the Baltic 
states) recorded strong merchandise export growth in 2005. All these regions are large net 
exporters of fuels. Africa and the Middle East re corded their highest shares in world merchandise 
exports in two decades, due to developments in the oil market over the last two years.   
Europe’s trade performance was sluggish in 2005, in  line with its overall economic performance. 
Export and import growth were weaker than in  all other regions in terms of both goods and 
services. The rise in North America’s merchandise and services exports remained slightly below the 
global expansion rate. 
Merchandise trade by sector 
Trade developments by sector showed a large variation, mostly due to relative price developments. Weak and stagnating prices for food, agricultural raw materials and manufactured 
goods contrasted with a further sharp rise in metals and fuels prices. Consequently, the share of fuels and other mining products in world merchandise trade rose to 16%, the highest level since 
1985. On the other hand, the share of agricultural products in world merchandise exports 
decreased to a historic record low of less than 9%.  
Within the manufacturing sector, the largest export value increases were observed for iron and 
steel products and for chemicals. Although global demand recovered somewhat for computers and other electronic products, the trade value of these categories expanded no faster than that of 
manufactured goods in general. In other words, el ectronic products have not regained the dynamic 
role they played in the expansion of trade in  manufactures throughout the 1990s. In the 1990s, 
the export value of electronic goods rose on average by 12% or twice as fast as all other 
manufactured goods. Available information in early 2006 points to a below average expansion of 
global trade in textiles and clothing in 2005.  
Services 
Among the broad commercial services categories (transportation, travel and other commercial services) expansion rates were rather similar in 2005, ranging from nearly 10% for travel to 12% 
for transportation services.  
 
The economic climate 
Exchange rate fluctuations were significant in 2005. In the course of the year, the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen depreciated vis-à-vis  the dollar, reversing the appreciation which had 
occurred throughout 2004. However, the annual 2005 averages of these exchange rates to the US 
dollar remained largely unchanged from the preced ing year. On the other hand, the currencies of a 
number of major natural resource exporting countries such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile and Mexico, appreciated between 3.5% and 17%. 
 
The marked rise in prices for fuels and other mining products has boosted the trade surplus of the oil exporting countries (regions) and deepened the trade deficit in many oil importing countries. 
The United States, which was already running large deficits in its trade balance (goods) and 
current account (goods and services) in 2004, experienced a further widening of these deficits in 2005. The US deficit in goods and services trade corresponded to slightly less than 6% of US gross 
domestic product (GDP). It was also about 6%  of world merchandise and commercial services 
exports.  PRESS/437 
Page 3 of 17 
 
 
Low interest rates in developed country markets contributed to an easing of the debt situation in 
many developing countries. The resurgence of fore ign direct investment (FDI) flows and the sharp 
rise in the stock markets worldwide are additional indicators that capital market developments were supporting the recovery of the global  economy and trade in the course of 2005. 
Growth: lower gear in 2005 
Following its strong expansion in 2004, the world economy slowed to 3.3% in 2005. This 
deceleration was very much in line with the projections made in early 2005. Only economic 
developments in Japan turned out to be much more favourable than predicted. Japanese GDP 
growth was 2.8% — the strongest performance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. At 6%, reported global trade growth for 2005 was slightly lower than what was predicted in April 2005.
1 
Growth in world merchandise trade was nearly twice as high as world output growth, and this 
corresponds to the prevailing trend over at least the last decade. It is also noteworthy that despite lower trade and output growth last year compared to 2004, the expansion in both was still faster 
than the average rates over the 1995-2005 period (see Chart 1). 
 Chart 1:  Growth in the volume of world merchandise trade and GDP, 1995-05 
Annual percentage change 
 
Source: WTO.  
Regions 
Europe’s four major economies (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) all recorded 
sluggish economic growth in 2005, ranging from near stagnation in Italy to a meagre 1.8% for the United Kingdom. Economic growth in the 10 ne w European Union members , however, was close 
to 4%, again much stronger than the average rate for the European Union. 
 North America’s GDP and real trade growth — 3.4% and a little more than 6% respectively — 
corresponded closely to the global averages. Lo wer economic growth in the United States 
                                              
 
1  This proximity of actual and predicted trade growth in 2005 occurred despite higher than projected 
increases in oil prices. Apparently, the model simulations on the impact of higher oil prices on global 
economic activity were — at least in the short run — too pessimistic. -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 
1995 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 2005 World GDP  
Merchandise exports  
Average export 
growth 
1995–2005  
Average GDP 
growth 
1995–2005  PRESS/437 
Page 4 of 17 
 
 contributed to a deceleration in merchandise imports, which for the first time since 1997 rose less 
than merchandise exports.  
 Economic growth in the developing regions re mained strong, although somewhat less dynamic 
than in the preceding year. In South and Central America (including the Caribbean), Africa and the 
Middle East, regional GDP growth rates averaged between 4% and 5%. Developing Asia did not escape the global trend towards more moderate growth, but at 6.5% in 2005, again recorded the 
strongest performance among all developing regi ons. China and India, the two most populous 
countries in the world, again reported outstanding GDP growth in 2005 (9.9% and 7.1% respectively). 
 
The strongest economic growth of all region s in 2005 was reported by the Commonwealth of 
Independent States. Substantial gains from sharply higher export earnings stimulated public and 
private expenditure and resulted in GDP growth  of 6.6%, or twice the global average. Not 
surprisingly, the region also showed by far the st rongest real increase in merchandise imports of 
all regions. 
 
In Canada and the United States, economic grow th was strong enough to reduce further the 
unemployment rate, while sluggish growth in Europe kept unemployment in the European Union 
(25) well above 8%. For developing countries, the unemployment data are much more scattered 
but with a labour force growth in most developing regions ranging between 2% and 3%, it is clear that only very high economic growth can provide employment growth sufficiently strong to reduce 
unemployment and underemployment in these regions.
2 
 
Policies and climate 
Monetary and fiscal policies in the major industrial countries aimed at stimulating sluggish economic activity, with low real interest rates and rising public sector deficits. However, higher energy costs had an adverse effect, limiting the rise in real incomes in the oil-importing countries 
and holding back the recovery. 
 Oil market developments contributed to the widening of the current account deficit of the United 
States and reduced the current account surplus of Europe, Japan and developing East Asia. Oil 
exporting regions/countries reported a further increase in their current account surplus in 2005 and increased substantially their foreign exchange reserves. 
 
In 2005, international capital flows to emerging ma rkets recorded an increase in net private flows 
and a decrease in net official flows, in particular to Latin America.
3 Global foreign direct investment 
(FDI) flows grew by nearly 30% in 2005, to about $900 billion, propelled by an increase in merger 
activities. Although the overall rise was largely attributable to developments in Europe, strong increases have also been observed in flows to Africa and the Middle East. China remained the 
major destination of FDI to the developing world, which at $60 billion represented the same level 
as in the preceding year.
4 
 
                                               
2  According to ILO estimates world employment increased by 1.5% in 2005, while the global unemployment 
rate remained unchanged from the preceding year. As labour fo rce growth increased faster than 
employment, the number of unemployed is estimated to have increased by slightly more than 1% in 2005 (ILO, Global Employment Trends Brief, January 2006). 
3  Institute of International Finance, Capital Flow s to Emerging Market Economies, January 19, 2006. 
4  UNCTAD, Press Release, January 23, 2006. PRESS/437 
Page 5 of 17 
 
 
Prices 
Domestic inflation rates, in particular core inflation, remained moderate in North America and Europe, while the deflation ended in Japan. In South America, the Middle East and developing Asia, consumer price inflation increased by less than one percentage point and remained in a 
range from 4% to 7%. 
 In contrast to the worldwide trend towards moderately higher domestic prices, the dollar prices of 
international traded goods increased by 6.5% in  2005, less than in the preceding year when the 
world export unit value index rose by 11%. The smaller increase in world trade prices last year was the net result of mixed developments within the major product groups. While prices of fuels 
surged by more than 35% in 2005, which was faster than in the preceding year, the prices of 
agricultural and manufactured goods rose by betw een 2% to 3%, a markedly lower increase than 
in the preceding year (Chart 2). 
 
Prices of minerals and non-ferrous metals were up by one-quarter in 2005, on the back of an increase of more than one-third in 2004. Over th e course of two years, the cumulative nominal 
price increase for the two product groups — fuels and minerals and non-ferrous metals — 
exceeded two-thirds. These price gains are substant ial both in nominal terms and relative terms. 
Prices for manufactured goods rose by only slightly more than 10% over this two-year period. 
These marked shifts in relative prices have strongly shaped nominal trade flows over the last two 
years.  
Chart 2: Export prices of selected primary products, 2004 and 2005  
Annual percentage change 
 
 
a Comprising coffee, cocoa beans and tea. 
Source: IMF, International Financial Statistics. 
Exchange rates 
Relative price developments in 2005 differed markedly from those observed in 2004 as the 
depreciation of the US dollar vis-à-vis  Japanese yen, the euro and the British pound was partly 
reversed. On an annual average basis, the yen and the pound depreciated slightly and the euro 
stagnated vis-à-vis  the dollar in 2005 in marked contrast to 2004 when the dollar depreciated 
against these three major currencies (Chart 3). 
 
The lifting of the long-standing peg of the Chines e Yuan to the US dollar resulted in a slight 
appreciation of the Yuan, which apparently did not have any impact on limiting the rise of China’s Bever ages a Minerals and 
non-ferrous 
metals Fuels 
-5 5 15 25 35 45 2004 
2005 
Food Agricultural 
raw materials PRESS/437 
Page 6 of 17 
 
 trade surplus in the second half of 2005. However,  the exchange rates of two groups of economies 
continued to strengthen vis-à-vis  the US dollar: first, countries which benefited from the strength 
in fuels and other commodity prices and second , a group of major high-income exporters of 
manufactures in East Asia (such as Chinese Taipei, the Republic of Korea and Singapore). 
 
On balance, exchange rate developments in 2005 tended to accentuate the impact of relative price developments on nominal trade flows and made little contribution to reducing the major current 
account imbalances. 
 Chart 3: Dollar changes vis-à-vis European and Asian currencies
a, 2001-05  
Indices, January 2001=100 
  
         
         
         
         
                  
         
                  
         
a Currency baskets weighted by trade values. European cu rrencies are those of Euro Area, the UK, Switzerland, 
Sweden, Norway, Bulgaria, Czech Rep, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,  Poland, Romania and Slovak Rep. 
b Trade weighted currency basket of the Korean won,  the Singapore dollar and Chinese Taipei dollar. 
 
 
Real merchandise trade developments by region 
In 2005, all regions except CIS contributed to the de celeration of world trade, as real merchandise 
imports of each region expanded less rapidly than  in the preceding year. However, imports of the 
oil-importing developed countries — Japan, the European Union and the United States — were 
particularly sluggish. These economies reported the lowest expansion of imports among the major 
regions in 2005. Most regions also recorded a slow er expansion of their exports, with the exception 
of Africa and the Middle East, whose exports are estimated to have risen slightly faster than 7% in 
2004.  
Europe 
As three-quarters of European trade is within Europe, total European exports and imports expanded at only about 3%, which was far less than the global average (Table 1). This is in line 
with Europe’s relatively low GDP growth in 2005. 
 
PRESS/437 
Page 7 of 17 
 
 
Table 1: GDP and merchandise trade by region, 2004-05  
Annual percentage at constant prices 
 
  GDP   Exports   Imports 
  2004 2005   2004 2005   2004 2005 
         
North America 4.1 3.4  8.0 6.0  10.5 6.5 
United States 4.2 3.5  8.5 7.0  11.0 5.5 
         South and Central America 
a 6.8 4.9  12.5 10.0  18.5 14.0 
         Europe 2.3 1.7  7.0 3.5  7.0 3.0 
European Union (25) 2.2 1.6  7.0 3.5  6.0 2.5 
         
Commonwealth of 
Independent States 8.0 6.6  13.0 4.5  16.0 16.5          Africa and Middle East 5.7 4.5  7.0 7.5  13.5 12.0          Asia 4.2 4.2  14.0 9.5  14.0 7.5 
China 10.1 9.9  24.0 25.0  21.5 11.5 Japan 
b 2.3 2.8  10.5 1.0  7.0 2.5 
         
World 3.9 3.3  9.5 6.0  ... ... 
a Including the Caribbean. 
b Trade volume data are based on Japa n’s customs statistics. National account data report a markedly stronger 
export and import growth in 2005. 
Source:  WTO. 
 
US 
US imports rose by 5.5% in real terms, which was not only less than world trade but also less than 
its own exports, which increased by 7%. For the fi rst time in eight years, US merchandise exports 
rose faster than world merchandise exports. The relative strength in US merchandise exports can 
be attributed to the recovery of agricultural pr oduct shipments and the strength in capital goods 
exports. On the import side, industrial supp lies (including crude oil and oil products) and 
automotive products recorded below average growth rates in 2005. 
 
China 
While Europe and the United States experience d markedly slower GDP growth in 2005 than in 
2004, China’s economy continued to grow very strongly, at nearly 10%. Despite this GDP growth rate, China’s import growth was nearly halved, to 11.5%, while real merchandise exports 
continued to expand by 25%, about as fast as in the preceding year. In 2004, real export and 
import growth rates were far more similar. Acco rding to Chinese customs, imports decreased in 
real terms for many semi-manufactured goods (e .g. textiles, non-ferrous metals) and special 
machinery, and stagnated for fuels and road motor vehicles. However, imports of computers, 
telecom equipment and electrical machinery continued to rise sharply.  
Others 
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and South and Central America recorded the highest GDP growth of all major regions and at the same time a double-digit import growth. Real 
merchandise import growth of 12% is estimated for Africa and the Middle East combined. 
 PRESS/437 
Page 8 of 17 
 
 The trade volume data presented in Chart 4 (and Ta ble 1) indicate that variations in real trade 
flows bear a correlation to relative price developments. The net exporters of fuels and other 
mining products such as CIS, Africa, the Middle East and South and Central America report an excess of import over export growth, while the ne t fuel importing regions, including Europe, Asia 
and the United States expanded their real merchandise exports faster than their merchandise 
imports in 2005.   
Chart 4: Real merchandise trade growth by region, 2005  
Annual percentage change 
 
 
Source: WTO.  
Nominal trade in 2005 
Longer term trends are best assessed in real terms (i.e. excluding price changes), as in the 
sections above. But the impact of prices can also be important for the revenue derived from trade, 
a country’s trade balance or a trader’s share in world trade. For these, nominal trade values (i.e. 
including price changes and exchange rates) matter. Moreover, in some areas such as commercial services trade, information in real terms is unavailable because there are no data at a global level. 
The following looks at the nominal situation. 
 In 2005, the value of world merchandise exports ro se by 13%, to $10.1 trillion and the value of 
world commercial services exports by 11%, to $2.4 trillion. For both merchandise and commercial 
services, this represented a marked deceleration in growth when compared to 2004. For the third 
year in a row, cross border commercial services exports expanded less rapidly than world 
merchandise exports (Table 2). 
 
Table 2: World exports of merchandise and commercial services, 2005  
Billion dollars and percentage 
 
  Value   Annual percentage change  
  2005   2000-05 2003 2004 2005 
       
Merchandise 10120  10 17 21 13 
Commercial services 2415  10 15 19 11 
              
Source:  WTO. Africa & Middle 
East 
Europe  North America  Asia CIS South and 
Central America  
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Imports  
Exports  World 
exports  PRESS/437 
Page 9 of 17 
 
 
 
Europe 
Europe, the largest trader among the major geographic regions, recorded the lowest export and import growth for both merchandise and commercial services of all regions in 2005. It was also 
Europe that experienced the steepest deceleration among all regions in trade growth measured in 
dollar terms in 2005 (Appendix Table 1 and Appendix Table 2). Most of this deceleration can be attributed to exchange rate developments. Meas ured in euro terms, Europe’s merchandise and 
commercial services both expanded by 7.5% in 2005, only moderately less than in 2004 (see 
Chart 5).  
Chart 5: Europe’s nominal merchandise and co mmercial services exports, 2003-05 
Annual percentage change, euro and dollar values 
 
   
 
North America 
North America’s merchandise and commercial services exports rose by 12% and 10% respectively, 
which was somewhat less than the corresponding global averages. Over the last five years, the growth of North America’s merchandise and commercial services exports was only about half the 
10% average annual growth rate observed globally. North America’s merchandise imports 
expanded by 6%.  
Others 
The Middle East, Africa and the CIS, the world’s la rgest net exporters of fuels, benefited from the 
further rise in fuel prices and increased their merchandise exports values between 29% and 36% 
in 2005. Sharply rising export revenues in 2004 and 2005 enabled these regions to expand their 
merchandise and services imports faster than the global average.  
South and Central America (and the Caribbean) not only recorded very high merchandise trade 
growth, of nearly one-quarter in 2005, but also the strongest expansion in commercial services trade of all regions. Strong economic growth , favourable commodity price developments and 
exchange rate appreciations contributed to th ese outstanding developments in the region’s 
nominal trade values in 2005.  Merchandise  
-5 0 5 10 15 20 25 
2003 2004 2005 Commercial services  
-5 0 5 10 15 20 25 
2003 2004 2005 Dollars  Euros PRESS/437 
Page 10 of 17 
 
 
Countries: goods 
Large differences are apparent in the trade performance of individual countries. Among the top 30 merchandise exporters, there is a marked contrast between the moderate export increases reported by several European countries (e.g. Fran ce and Spain) and the sharp rises reported for 
the oil-exporting countries. 
 Despite these large variations, the changes in the ranking of exporters was not much affected. The 
United Arab Emirates moved up three places in  the rankings, and Russia two places, to become 
respectively the 24th and 13th largest merchandise exporters in 2005. Saudi Arabia and Brazil moved up by one place to become the, 18th and 23rd largest exporters. 
 
On the import side, annual growth rates of the thirty leading importers varied between a low 4% recorded by Austria to a peak of 35% for India. Japan became the fourth largest importer, as its 
imports exceeded those of the United Kingdom and France. India, the Russian Federation, the 
United Arab Emirates and Brazil recorded higher rankings in world merchandise imports, along with larger shares (Appendix Table 3). 
 
Appendix Table 4 provides the ranking of leadin g traders in world merchandise trade when trade 
among the EU(25) is excluded. Considering the EU(25) as a single trader adds about 10 new 
entrants to the list of the top 30 exporters and plac es Hong Kong China, the Republic of Korea, the 
Russian Federation, Singapore and Mexico among the ten major merchandise exporters. Compared to 2004, two oil exporters, Kuwait and Nigeria, ar e newcomers among the top 30 in this listing.  
 
Countries: services 
For commercial services trade, the performance of the 20 leading exporters ranged from a minor decline in the exports of the United Kingdom to very high increases in the services exports (and 
imports) of China and India. Unfortunately, the ava ilable official data for China cover only the first 
six months of 2005, while for India the outstanding increases seem also to be affected by an 
improved coverage of transactions. Nevertheless, it is certain that India considerably improved its 
position in the ranking of services traders.  
While there is no change in the ranking of the top five commercial services exporters and 
importers, China is estimated to have improved its ranking slightly on both exports and imports, becoming the world’s eighth largest exporter and seventh largest importer. 
 
The slack in commercial services exports of the United Kingdom is mainly due to the increase in insurance claims a component of the “other commercial services” category. Among the leading 
services importers, Japan and the Netherlands only recorded a marginal increase in their 
commercial services imports in 2005. In both countries, the decline in travel expenditure abroad was the main cause (Appendix Table 5).  
Trade prospects for 2006 
The global economic situation at the beginning of 2006 remains full of uncertainties. In the developed countries, the broadly improved financial situation of the corporate sector and the rise 
in stock markets are indicators suggesting that the long awaited recovery of investment in Europe 
will eventually materialize and trigger broader ec onomic growth. However, the recovery of private 
consumption remains fragile if the employment situation does not improve and energy costs 
continue to rise. It is the strengthening of the European economy that most forecasters use as a 
base for their predictions of higher overall growth  in developed countries. While the US economy is PRESS/437 
Page 11 of 17 
 
 
expected to grow slightly less than in 2005, its ex pansion rate of 3% to 3.5% continues to exceed 
that of the European Union and Japan. 
 Confidence in projections of steadily improving economic growth in developed countries has been 
put in question as GDP growth slackened in the fourth quarter of 2005 in both the United States 
and the European Union (Chart 6).  
Assuming that economic growth in the OECD count ries gains momentum in the first half of 2006, 
and that the developing regions will sustain th eir high growth observed in 2005, the world 
economy is expected to grow by about 3.5% in 2006 — only a little faster than in 2005. 
 
World trade is expected to benefit from this slightly stronger economic growth — in particular in the European Union, and could advance by 7% in 2006. This estimate is supported by evidence 
from the Secretariat’s time series forecasting mo del which predicts trade growth of between 5.5% 
and 6% in the OECD area during 2006
5. 
 
Among the downside risks in this trade projection are that US demand could slow more strongly 
than expected under the impact of increased real interest rates and higher energy costs, and that 
the fledgling EU recovery does not materialize. A further rise in energy costs in 2006 cannot be 
excluded, as crude oil prices reached a new peak  in the first quarter of 2006, already exceeding 
the annual average of 2005 by 10%.   
 
 
                                              
 
5  Keck, A and Raubold, A, 2006, “Forecasting Trade: A Time Series Approach”, WTO Staff Working Paper 
(forthcoming)  PRESS/437 
Page 12 of 17 
 
 Chart 6: Real GDP and trade growth of OECD countries, 2004-05 
Percentage change on quarter to quarter basis
(at annual rates)
-5.0-2.50.02.55.07.510.012.515.0
Q1
2004Q1
2005
 
Percentage change on a year to year basis
-5.0-2.50.02.55.07.510.012.515.0
Q1
2004Q1
2005
 
 
Source: OECD, Olisnet. 
 Exports of goods and services GDP Imports of goods and services PRESS/437 
Page 13 of 17 
 
 
Appendix Table 1 
World merchandise trade by region and selected country, 2005 
(Billion dollars and percentage) 
 
 Exports   Imports 
 Value   Annual percentage change   Value    Annual percentage change  
  2005   2000-05 2003  2004 2005   2005   2000-05 2003 2004 2005 
              
World 10121 10 17 21 13  10481  10 17 22 13 
North America 1478 4 5 14 12  2285  6 8 16 14 
United States 904 3 5 13 10  1733  7 9 17 14 
Canada 360 5 8 16 14  320  6 8 14 14 Mexico 214 5 3 14 14  232  5 1 15 12 
South and Central America 
a  351 13 15 29 25  294  7 6 28 22 
Brazil 118 17 21 32 23  78  6 3 31 17 
Other South and Central 
America a 232 11 12 28 26  216  8 7 27 24 
Europe 4353 11 19 20 8  4521  10 20 20 9 
European Union (25) 3988 10 19 19 7  4120  10 20 20 8 
Germany 971 12 22 21 7  774  9 23 18 8 
France 459 7 18 15 2  496  8 21 18 5 United Kingdom 378 6 9 14 9  501  8 13 20 6 Italy 367 9 18 18 4  380  10 20 19 7 
Other Western Europe 
b 233 10 14 18 14  182  8 15 16 10 
Switzerland 126  9 15 18 6  121  8 15 16 9 
South-East Europe b 132  21 29 34 17  219  19 33 36 18 
CIS 342  19 27 36 29  216  21 27 31 25 
Russian Federation 245  18 27 35 34  125  23 25 28 28 
Africa 296  15 26 30 29  248  14 21 29 16 
South Africa 52  12 23 26 13  67  17 40 39 16 Africa less South Africa 244  16 26 31 33  181  13 16 26 16 
Oil exporters 
c 166  18 33 41 45  63  17 17 34 17 
Non oil exporters 78  11 18 18 12  118  11 15 22 16 
Middle East 529  15 20 30 36  318  15 15 26 19 
Asia 2773  11 19 25 15  2599  12 20 27 16 
Japan 596  4 13 20 5  516  6 14 19 14 China 762  25 35 35 28  660  24 40 36 18 Four East Asian traders 
d 731  9 19 25 12  676  8 15 27 14 
India 90  16 16 33 19  132  21 26 37 35 
Memorandum items:              
MERCOSUR (4) 163  14 19 28 20  113  5 11 38 18 ASEAN (10) 653  9 16 20 14  593  9 13 25 16 
EU (25) extra-trade 1328  11 17 21 10  1460  10 19 21 14 
EU (15) 3679  10 19 18 6  ...  ... ... ... ... EU (new members, 10) 309  20 29 34 16  ...  ... ... ... ... Developing economies 3443  13 19 27 22  3024  12 17 28 17 
Developing Asia 2050  13 21 27 18  1932  13 22 30 17 
a Includes the Caribbean. 
b For composition of the group see the Technical No tes of WTO, Internationa l Trade Statistics, 2005. 
c Algeria, Angola, Chad, Congo, Equatorial  Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria, Sudan. 
d Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, China, Republic of Korea, and Singapore. 
Source:  WTO. PRESS/437 
Page 14 of 17 
 
 Appendix Table 2 
World trade of commercial services by region and selected country, 2005  
(Billion dollars and percentage) 
 
  Exports     Imports 
 Value  Annual percentage change  Value   Annual percentage change  
  2005   2000-05  2003 2004  2005   2005   2000-05 2003 2004 2005 
              
World 2415  10 15 19 11  2361  10 14 18 11 
North America 420  5 5 11 10  373  7 8 15 10 
United States 353  5 5 11 10  289  7 8 15 10 
Canada 51  5 7 11 9  62  7 14 13 10 Mexico 16  3 0 12 12  22  5 3 10 12 
South and Central America 
a  68  8 10 16 20  70  5 4 14 22 
Brazil 15  11 9 21 28  22  7 6 12 38 
Other South and Central 
America a 53  7 10 14 17  48  4 3 15 15 
Europe 1233  11 19 19 7  1119  11 19 16 8 
European Union (25) 1104  11 19 19 7  1034  10 19 16 7 
Germany 143  12 20 15 7  199  8 19 13 4 
United Kingdom 183  9 15 23 -1  150  9 13 20 4 France 114  7 15 12 4  103  11 20 18 7 Italy 93  11 19 17 13  92  11 20 10 15 
Other Western Europe 
b 77  11 16 23 12  57  13 15 23 14 
Switzerland 45  10 15 24 9  25  10 11 25 7 
South-East Europe b 52  12 35 23 15  29  13 27 30 19 
CIS 40  18 16 23 20  58  20 17 24 18 
Russian Federation 24  20 20 25 20  38  18 16 23 15 
Africa 57  13 26 20 12  66  12 16 19 15 
South Africa 10  16 69 14 17  12  16 52 26 19 
Middle East 54  11 27 14 12  80  11 19 20 11 
Asia 543  12 10 26 19  595  10 10 25 15 
Japan 107  8 8 25 12  136  3 3 22 1 
China 81  22 18 34 31  85  19 19 31 19 
Four East Asian traders c 175  8 9 18 9  165  8 8 21 10 
India 68  33 21 66 76  67  29 23 53 73 
Memorandum items:              
MERCOSUR (4) 23  8 13 21 25  31  4 8 15 32 
ASEAN (10) 104  8 2 22 10  132  9 9 21 14 
a Includes the Caribbean. 
b For composition of country groups see the Technical Notes of WTO, International Trade Statistics, 2005. 
c Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, Republic of Korea and Singapore. 
Source : WTO. PRESS/437 
Page 15 of 17 
 
 
Appendix Table 3 
Leading exporters and importers in world merchandise trade, 2005  
(Billion dollars and percentage) 
 
Rank
2005 Rank 
2004 Exporters 
 Value 
 Share  
 Annual 
% 
change  Rank 
2005  Rank 2004
 Importers  Value 
 Share
 
 Annual 
% 
change  
                        
1 (1) Germany 970.7 9.3 7 1 (1) United States 1732.7 16.1 14 
2 (2) United States 904.3 8.7 10 2 (2) Germany 774.1 7.2 8 
3 (3) China 762.0 7.3 28 3 (3) China 660.1 6.1 18 
4 (4) Japan 595.8 5.7 5 4 (6) Japan 516.1 4.8 14 
5 (5) France 459.2 4.4 2 5 (5) United Kingdom 501.2 4.7 6 
6 (6) Netherlands 401.3 3.9 12 6 (4) France 495.8 4.6 5 
7 (8) United Kingdom 377.9 3.6 9 7 (7) Italy 379.7 3.5 7 
8 (7) Italy 366.8 3.5 4 8 (8) Netherlands 357.9 3.3 12 
9 (9) Canada 359.6 3.5 14 9 (9) Belgium 320.4 3.0 12 
10 (10) Belgium 329.6 3.2 7 10 (10) Canada 320.1 3.0 14 
            
11 (11) Hong Kong, China 292.3 2.8 10 11 (11) Hong Kong, China 300.6 2.8 10 
   domestic exports  20.3 0.2 2    retained imports a 28.6 0.3 5 
   re-exports 272.0 2.6 11       
12 (12) Korea, Republic of 284.7 2.7 12 12 (12) Spain 277.6 2.6 7 
13 (15) Russian Federation 245.3 2.4 34 13 (13) Korea, Republic of 261.0 2.4 16 
14 (13) Singapore 229.6 2.2 16 14 (14) Mexico 231.7 2.2 12 
   domestic exports 124.5 1.2 17       
   re-exports 105.1 1.0 14       
15 (14) Mexico 213.7 2.1 14 15 (15) Singapore 200.0 1.9 15 
         retained imports a 94.9 0.9 16 
16 (17) Taipei, Chinese 196.6 1.9 8 16 (16) Taipei, Chinese 185.9 1.7 10 
17 (16) Spain 186.1 1.8 2 17 (24) India 131.6 1.2 35 
18 (19) Saudi Arabiab 178.8 1.7 42 18 (19) Australia 125.3 1.2 15 
19 (18) Malaysia 140.9 1.4 11 19 (23) Russian Federation c 125.1 1.2 28 
20 (20) Sweden 129.9 1.3 5 20 (17) Austria 124.7 1.2 4 
            
21 (21) Switzerland 125.9 1.2 6 21 (18) Switzerland 121.2 1.1 9 
22 (22) Austria 123.3 1.2 4 22 (25) Thailand 118.2 1.1 25 
23 (24) Brazil 118.3 1.1 23 23 (22) Turkey 116.4 1.1 19 
24 (27) United Arab Emirates b 112.5 1.1 36 24 (20) Malaysia 114.6 1.1 9 
25 (25) Thailand 110.1 1.1 14 25 (21) Sweden 110.6 1.0 10 
26 (23) Ireland 109.5 1.1 5 26 (26) Poland 100.5 0.9 12 
27 (26) Australia 105.8 1.0 22 27 (29) Brazil 77.6 0.7 17 
28 (28) Norway 103.3 1.0 25 28 ( 30) United Arab Emirates b 77.0 0.7 25 
29 (30) India 89.8 0.9 19 29 (27) Czech Republic c 76.9 0.7 10 
30 (31) Poland 88.9 0.9 19 30 (28) Denmark 76.5 0.7 12 
  Total of above d 8712.7 83.8 -   Total of above d 9011.1 83.8 - 
  Worldd 10393.1 100.0 13   World d 10753.1 100.0 13 
a Retained imports are defined as imports less re-exports. 
b Secretariat estimates. 
c Imports are valued f.o.b. 
Source : WTO. 
 PRESS/437 
Page 16 of 17 
 
 Appendix Table 4 
Leading exporters and importers in world me rchandise trade (excluding intra-EU (25) 
trade), 2005  
(Billion dollars and percentage) 
 
Rank
2005  Rank 
2004 Exporters 
 Value 
 Share  
 Annual 
% 
change  Rank 
2005  Rank 
2004 Importers 
 Value 
 Share  
 Annual  
% 
change  
                       
1 (1) Extra-EU (25) exports 1327.8 17.2 10 1 (1) United States 1732.7 21.4 14 
2 (2) United States 904.3 11.7 10 2 (2) Extra-EU (25) imports 1460.2 18.0 14 
3 (3) China 762.0 9.9 28 3 (3) China 660.1 8.2 18 
4 (4) Japan 595.8 7.7 5 4 (4) Japan 516.1 6.4 14 
5 (5) Canada 359.6 4.6 14 5 (5) Canada 320.1 4.0 14 
6 (6) Hong Kong, China 292.3 3.8 10 6 (6) Hong Kong, China 300.6 3.7 10 
   domestic exports 20.3 0.3 2    retained imports a 28.6 0.4 5 
   re-exports 272.0 3.5 11       
7 (7) Korea, Republic of 284.7 3.7 12 7 (7) Korea, Republic of 261.0 3.2 16 
8 (10) Russian Federation 245.3 3.2 34 8 (8) Mexico 231.7 2.9 12 
9 (8) Singapore 229.6 3.0 16 9 (9) Singapore 200.0 2.5 15 
   domestic exports 124.5 1.6 17    retained imports a 94.9 1.2 16 
   re-exports 105.1 1.4 14       
10 (9) Mexico 213.7 2.8 14 10 (10) Taipei, Chinese 185.9 2.3 10 
            
11 (11) Taipei, Chinese 196.6 2.5 8 11 (16) India 131.6 1.6 35 
12 (13) Saudi Arabia b 178.8 2.3 42 12 (12) Australia 125.3 1.5 15 
13 (12) Malaysia 140.9 1.8 11 13 (15) Russian Federation c 125.1 1.5 28 
14 (14) Switzerland 125.9 1.6 6 14 (11) Switzerland 121.2 1.5 9 
15 (15) Brazil 118.3 1.5 23 15 (17) Thailand 118.2 1.5 25 
16 (18) United Arab Emirates b 112.5 1.5 36 16 (14) Turkey 116.4 1.4 19 
17 (16) Thailand 110.1 1.4 14 17 (13) Malaysia 114.6 1.4 9 
18 (17) Australia 105.8 1.4 22 18 (18) Brazil 77.6 1.0 17 
19 (19) Norway 103.3 1.3 25 19 ( 19) United Arab Emirates b 77.0 1.0 25 
20 (20) India 89.8 1.2 19 20 (21) Indonesia 68.7 0.8 25 
            
21 (21) Indonesia 86.3 1.1 20 21 (20) South Africa 66.5 0.8 16 
22 (22) Turkey 73.3 0.9 16 22 (23) Saudi Arabia b 56.1 0.7 26 
23 (24) Iran, Islamic Rep. of b 58.4 0.8 32 23 (22) Norway 54.9 0.7 13 
24 
 (26) 
 Bolivarian Rep. of 
Venezuela 56.2 
 0.7 
 45 
 24 
 (24) 
 Israel 
 46.9 
 0.6 
 9 
 
25 (23) South Africa 51.9 0.7 13 25 (25) Philippines 46.3 0.6 9 
26 (31) Algeria 44.4 0.6 42 26 (26) Iran, Islamic Rep. of b 41.6 0.5 18 
27 (33) Kuwait 44.0 0.6 54 27 (27) Romania 40.5 0.5 24 
28 (32) Nigeria b 43.5 0.6 40 28 (28) Viet Nam 36.9 0.5 15 
29 (27) Israel 42.6 0.6 10 29 (29) Ukraine 36.1 0.4 25 
30 (25) Philippines 41.2 0.5 4 30 (30) Chile 32.5 0.4 31 
            
  Total of above d 7038.9 91.0 -   Total of above d 7402.4 91.5 - 
  World (excl. intra-EU 
(25)) d          7733.3 100.0 16   World (excl. intra-EU 
(25)) d               8093.3 100.0 15 
a Retained imports are defined as imports less re-exports. 
b Secretariat estimates. 
c Imports are valued f.o.b. 
d Includes significant re-exports  or imports for re-export. 
Source : WTO. 
 PRESS/437 
Page 17 of 17 
 
 
Appendix Table 5 
Leading exporters and importers in world trade in commercial services, 2005  
(Billion dollars and percentage) 
 
Rank 
2005 Rank 
2004 Exporters 
 Value 
 Share  
 Annual 
% 
change  Rank 2005 Rank 
2004
 Importers  Value 
 Share
 
 Annual 
% 
change  
1 (1) United States  353.3 14.6 10 1 (1) United States  288.7 12.2 10 
2 (2) United Kingdom  183.4 7.6 -1 2 (2) Germany  198.6 8.4 4 
3 (3) Germany  142.9 5.9 7 3 (3) United Kingdom  150.1 6.4 4 
4 (4) France  113.7 4.7 4 4 (4) Japan  135.9 5.8 1 
5 (5) Japan  106.6 4.4 12 5 (5) France  102.9 4.4 7 
            
6 (7) Italy  93.4 3.9 13 6 (6) Italy  92.3 3.9 15 
7 (6) Spain  91.2 3.8 8 7 (8) China  85.3 3.6 ... 
8 (9) China  81.2 3.4 ... 8 (7) Netherlands  69.2 2.9 1 
9 (8) Netherlands  75.0 3.1 4 9 (9) Ireland  67.5 2.9 5 
10 (16) India  67.6 2.8 ... 10 (15) India  67.4 2.9 ... 
            
11 (10) Hong Kong, China  60.3 2.5 11 11 (11) Spain  65.3 2.8 15 
12 (13) Ireland  54.7 2.3 5 12 (10) Canada  62.3 2.6 10 
13 (12) Austria  53.8 2.2 11 13 (12) Korea, Republic of  58.0 2.5 17 
14 (11) Belgium  53.4 2.2 6 14 (14) Austria  51.7 2.2 12 
15 (14) Canada  50.6 2.1 9 15 (13) Belgium  51.2 2.2 6 
            
16 (18) Switzerland  45.2 1.9 9 16 (16) Singapore  44.0 1.9 9 
17 (19) Singapore  45.1 1.9 10 17 (19) Russian Federation  37.6 1.6 15 
18 (15) Korea, Republic of  43.5 1.8 9 18 (17) Denmark a 36.0 1.5 ... 
19 (17) Sweden  42.8 1.8 12 19 (18) Sweden  35.2 1.5 7 
20 (22) Luxembourg  39.6 1.6 20 20 ( 21) Hong Kong, China  31.6 1.3 5 
            
  Total of above  1795.0 74.4 -   Total of above  1730.0 73.3 - 
  World  2415.0 100.0 11   World  2360.0 100.0 11 
a Secretariat estimate. 
Note: Figures for a number of countries and territories have been estima ted by the Secretariat. Annual 
percentage changes and rankings are affected by cont inuity breaks in the series for a large number of 
economies, and by limitations in cross-country comparability.  
Source : WTO. 
 
 
END