- Goods and services traded globally reached more than $35 trillion in 2025
- This was a record high as the international commercial landscape is reshaped by geoeconomics, according to a report from the United Nations Trade and Development
- Fragmentation, regionalization and uneven integration are becoming more pronounced
- Countries are navigating geopolitical tensions, shifting trade policies and regulations, and structural changes in production
- Goods made up about 75% of total trade while services accounted for the rest
- Goods increased by 6.5% while services went up 9%
- Services have more than doubled since 2010, reflecting the rise of digital services, e-commerce and the recovery of travel and tourism
Goods and services traded globally reached more than $35 trillion in 2025, a record high as the international commercial landscape is reshaped by geoeconomics, according to a report from the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
In its Key Statistics and Trends in International Trade 2025, UNCTAD said fragmentation, regionalization and uneven integration are becoming more pronounced in global commerce as countries navigate geopolitical tensions, shifting trade policies and regulations, and structural changes in production.
“This changing landscape is more complex and less predictable than in previous decades,” the UN agency said.
Of the total global trade last year, goods made up about 75% while services accounted for the rest.
In terms of year-on-year growth, goods increased by 6.5% while services went up 9%, both driven by higher volumes rather than higher prices.
UNCTAD noted that services have more than doubled since 2010, reflecting the rise of digital services, e-commerce and the recovery of travel and tourism.
The 2025 growth comes after two years of decline and de-globalization. The report explains that globalization trends are often assessed by comparing global trade performance to global gross domestic product (GDP) performance.
“Although global values chains have continued to expand in recent years and more countries have become increasingly more integrated to the global economy, heightened geopolitical uncertainty has exposed vulnerabilities in the global trade system, resulting in a moderate decline in the trade-to-GDP ratio in 2023 and 2024. In contrast, preliminary data for 2025 indicates a strengthening of this ratio, supported by a robust trade performance in developing countries,” according to the latest edition of the annual report.
Another emerging pattern is near-shoring with trade between geographically closer economies growing at a slightly faster rate.
Changes and unpredictability in trade policies along with geopolitical tensions are also reshaping the flow of global trade.
“Developing economies are now the main drivers of global growth in trade in goods, especially through trade among themselves,” UNCTAD said.
Despite this uptrend, however, developed economies still dominate overall trade, accounting for 54% of global exports and 58% of global imports.
By sector, intermediate goods or unfinished products remained the largest category at 41% of total. Capital and consumer goods reached record level, processed goods expanded, and raw materials declined.
In more detail, machinery and precision instruments led manufacturing growth; agricultural trade was driven by coffee, tea, spices and prepared foods; and mineral fuels declined due mainly to falling prices.
Looking at trade networks, international integration declined across most manufacturing sectors since 2019, but integration has been strongest in developed economies and East Asia. Africa and Latin America continue to exhibit weak regional integration.
“To stay competitive and capture future gains, countries will need to adapt – by strengthening resilience, deepening regional ties where beneficial and positioning themselves within the evolving architecture of global trade,” UNCTAD said.
READ: Trade policy uncertainty looms over global markets – UNCTAD
