UNCTAD · Commodity Export Dependence
Commodity export dependence by country
What share of a country's merchandise exports comes from raw commodities — farm produce, fuels and minerals?
Of the 191 countries compared in 2024, Chad had the highest reading, 99.771%, and Bangladesh had the lowest reading, 4.605%. In the middle country the figure was 67.170%.
Commodity export dependence · 2024
Context statistic
Highest of 191Chad
99.771%012024 · values only
The highest and the lowest
The three countries with the highest values of 191 compared, the three with the lowest, and the highest on each continent. This statistic has no better end, so no country is shown as leading.
- 1
- 2
- 3
Lowest in 2024
Bangladesh4.605%
China6.290%
Haiti6.739%
This statistic has no better end: the two ends describe size, not success.
02Every measured country
Commodity export dependence on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value. This statistic has no better end, so the shades describe size, not success.
- 4.605–29.117%
- 30.106–51.435%
- 51.656–78.989%
- 79.685–91.635%
- 91.867–99.771%
- No reading in 2024
- Africa
89.480%
the middle country, of 54 measured · 55 members
Chad99.771%
Tunisia21.836%Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Oceania
85.655%
the middle country, of 14 measured · 21 members
Papua New Guinea99.060%
Marshall Islands13.797%Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Americas
57.856%
the middle country, of 35 measured · 48 members
Suriname95.571%Haiti6.739%Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Asia
55.635%
the middle country, of 48 measured · 52 members
Iraq99.540%Bangladesh4.605%Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Europe
30.610%
the middle country, of 40 measured · 49 members
Norway88.247%
Andorra8.068%Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Every region
22 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Middle Africa
93.676%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Chad99.771%
São Tomé and Príncipe67.154%Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Western Africa
92.286%
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Guinea-Bissau97.950%
Senegal73.842%Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- Eastern Africa
88.929%
the middle country, of 18 measured · 19 members
South Sudan98.484%
Djibouti47.589%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Micronesia
88.793%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 7 members
Micronesia97.942%Marshall Islands13.797%Highest and lowest reading in Micronesia.
- Central Asia
84.460%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Turkmenistan88.164%
Uzbekistan64.314%Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- South America
83.788%
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
Suriname95.571%
Brazil75.884%Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- Northern Africa
74.422%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members
Libya98.580%Tunisia21.836%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Western Asia
70.538%
the middle country, of 18 measured · 19 members
Iraq99.540%
Israel20.955%Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Southern Africa
62.680%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Botswana93.952%
Eswatini40.909%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
- Central America
55.089%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members
Belize89.288%
Mexico17.695%Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Caribbean
49.561%
the middle country, of 13 measured · 24 members
Jamaica94.757%Haiti6.739%Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Southern Asia
48.083%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Afghanistan95.233%Bangladesh4.605%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- Northern Europe
35.465%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
Norway88.247%
Ireland9.725%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- South-eastern Asia
31.668%
the middle country, of 11 measured · 11 members
Timor-Leste94.819%
Vietnam13.509%Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Southern Europe
30.366%
the middle country, of 13 measured · 17 members
Montenegro71.814%Andorra8.068%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- Eastern Europe
29.888%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Russia75.670%
Czechia10.272%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Western Europe
22.609%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Netherlands37.850%
Germany13.245%Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Eastern Asia
13.846%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 8 members
Mongolia98.842%China6.290%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
Australia91.635%
New Zealand80.987%Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Melanesia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.
Papua New Guinea99.060%
Fiji83.454%Highest and lowest reading in Melanesia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
Canada55.750%
United States35.246%Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
- Polynesia
3 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu.
Tonga77.025%
Samoa47.247%Highest and lowest reading in Polynesia.
03The whole field at once
The spread
191 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 67.170%; a quarter are above 88.826%, and a quarter below 34.263%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 191 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. Neither end is ranked as better here. Rich resource exporters such as Australia and Norway are as commodity-dependent as some of the poorest countries, and the least dependent include large manufacturing exporters. The agricultural, energy and mining shares beside the headline show which kind of commodity a country relies on.
Showing 25 of 191 countries
Values for 2024. The change column compares 2024 with 2014 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
052014 → 2024
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Rose most
before → afterFell most
before → after
Palau87.205% → 34.087%−53.118
North Korea58.551% → 23.595%−34.956
Myanmar86.685% → 55.773%−30.911
Iran80.596% → 51.382%−29.214
Grenada75.983% → 54.290%−21.693
191 countries were measured in both 2014 and 2024.
06Across every edition
Commodity export dependence in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
99.861%
Commodity exports (% of merchandise exports, three-year average)
Lowest reading on record
4.605%
Commodity exports (% of merchandise exports, three-year average)
Biggest rise between editions
+45.199
22.609% → 67.808%
Biggest fall between editions
−53.118
87.205% → 34.087%
Biggest change since first measured
+45.199
22.609% → 67.808%
07The parts of the index
Inside the number
UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) publishes the parts the headline is built from. Each part’s highest and lowest country, and its middle value.
| Part | Highest | Lowest | Middle country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural commodities (% of merchandise exports)191 countries | Micronesia97.76 |  Qatar0.11 | 18.63 |
| Energy commodities (% of merchandise exports)191 countries | Iraq96.50 | 4 countries share 0.00 | 7.36 |
| Minerals, ores and metals (% of merchandise exports)191 countries | Botswana90.92 |  Tuvalu0.00 | 6.65 |
08The measure
About commodity export dependence
Commodity export dependence is the share of a country's merchandise exports that comes from raw commodities — farm produce, oil, gas and coal, and minerals, ores and metals. UNCTAD calls a country commodity-dependent when that share is above 60 per cent, because its export earnings then rise and fall with world commodity prices.
What the number is: Commodity exports (% of merchandise exports, three-year average).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Economy & Innovation and Mobility & Trade, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Economy & InnovationMobility & TradeWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where commodity export dependence is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Export Concentration IndexUNCTAD · 191 countries in commonρ 0.68
- Population Under Age 15UN DESA Population Division · 191 countries in commonρ 0.64
- Crude Birth RateUN DESA Population Division · 191 countries in commonρ 0.64
Moves against
Where commodity export dependence is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Economic Complexity IndexKeyGrowth Lab at Harvard University · 143 countries in commonρ −0.81
- ICT Goods ExportsKeyUNCTAD · 115 countries in commonρ −0.71
- Population Aged 65 and OverUN DESA Population Division · 191 countries in commonρ −0.65
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 312 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The data, edition by edition
The countries at either end
11Questions
Commodity export dependence: questions and answers
Which country has the highest commodity export dependence?
Chad, at 99.771%, among the 191 countries compared in 2024.
Which country has the lowest commodity export dependence?
Bangladesh, at 4.605%, among the 191 countries compared in 2024.
How many countries does the Commodity Export Dependence cover?
191 in 2024.
What is the world average commodity export dependence?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 191 compared in 2024, the figure was 67.170%.
Is this UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Commodity Export Dependence published?
This site holds 2 reference years, 2014–2024, all recalculated in UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s 2026 report on one method — not 2 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), under CC BY 3.0 IGO. Read from the data files behind UNCTAD's State of Commodity Dependence 2026 explorer, using the full-precision file its charts use rather than the rounded map labels. The three commodity-group shares are published to two decimals and kept as published. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Commodity Export Dependence — UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Read from the data files behind UNCTAD's State of Commodity Dependence 2026 explorer, using the full-precision file its charts use rather than the rounded map labels. The three commodity-group shares are published to two decimals and kept as published.
Newest edition
Report year 2024Data year 2024
Cite the source as: UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). State of Commodity Dependence 2026. Geneva: UNCTAD.
Licence: CC BY 3.0 IGO, checked 2026-09-29.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- This statistic has no better end, so the page describes higher and lower values and never calls a country a leader.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Commodity export dependence by country: Commodity Export Dependence, data from UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/commodity-dependence