Korea, Rep. Trade Balance in Goods and Services: External Balance and Trade Openness

This article presents Korea, Rep.'s external balance on goods and services in current US dollars and as a share of GDP.

The external balance on goods and services in Korea, Rep. was $96.70 billion in 2025, equivalent to 5.2% of GDP. The result represented a surplus. Exports were valued at $856.86 billion, while imports reached $760.16 billion, producing an export-to-import ratio of 112.7%. The external balance changed by $32.42 billion over five years and by -$4.09 billion over ten years.

In the common comparison year 2025, Korea, Rep. ranked 40th of 194 economies by the external balance as a share of GDP.

Korea, Rep. Trade Balance by Year

Data source: World Bank, World Development Indicators — External balance on goods and services, current US$ (NE.RSB.GNFS.CD); External balance on goods and services, % of GDP (NE.RSB.GNFS.ZS); Exports of goods and services, current US$ (NE.EXP.GNFS.CD); Imports of goods and services, current US$ (NE.IMP.GNFS.CD); Trade, % of GDP (NE.TRD.GNFS.ZS).
License: CC BY-4.0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.

About the Indicators

External balance on goods and services, current US$. Exports minus imports of goods and services, in current U.S. dollars.

External balance on goods and services, % of GDP. Exports minus imports of goods and services, expressed as a share of GDP; positive values indicate a surplus, negative values a deficit.

Exports of goods and services, current US$. The total value of goods and services a country sells abroad, in current U.S. dollars.

Imports of goods and services, current US$. The total value of goods and services a country purchases from abroad, converted to current U.S. dollars.

Trade, % of GDP. The sum of exports and imports of goods and services, expressed as a share of GDP; a common measure of an economy’s trade openness.