ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates entered the world’s top 10 merchandise exporters in 2025 for the first time, ranking ninth globally after its goods exports rose to $707 billion, according to the latest World Trade Organization trade statistics. The WTO’s main merchandise table also showed the UAE ranked 13th in goods imports at $619 billion, underscoring the country’s growing role in global trade flows as it expands beyond its long-standing position as a regional trading and logistics hub.
The WTO data showed the UAE’s combined trade in goods and services climbed to $1.637 trillion in 2025, up from $949 billion in 2021. Goods trade accounted for $1.326 trillion of that total, while services trade reached $311 billion. In dirham terms, total trade stood at AED6.014 trillion, with goods trade at AED4.9 trillion and services trade at AED1.14 trillion. The figures marked another step up in the scale of the UAE’s external trade after several years of steady expansion across both merchandise and services.
Exports made up 53 percent of the UAE’s total goods trade in 2025, while services exports accounted for 61.4 percent of the country’s total services trade. The combined trade balance in goods and services produced a surplus of AED584.1 billion, up from AED492.3 billion in 2024. WTO tables also showed that of the UAE’s $707 billion in goods exports, $349 billion came from re-exports and $218 billion from domestic exports, highlighting the central role of the country’s ports, free zones and distribution networks in global supply chains.
Services trade crosses new threshold
The WTO’s commercial services table placed the UAE 13th worldwide in services exports in 2025, with $191 billion, and 21st in services imports, with $120 billion. That pushed the country’s total services trade above AED1 trillion for the first time. In the WTO table excluding intra-EU trade, the UAE ranked ninth in services exports and 12th in services imports. The data showed the UAE accounted for 2.0 percent of global services exports and 1.4 percent of global services imports in the main global ranking.
In digitally delivered services, the UAE ranked 25th globally, with exports valued at $33 billion in 2025, equal to 0.6 percent of the world total. That segment represented about 17 percent of the UAE’s total services exports, reflecting the rising weight of technology-enabled trade alongside transport, finance, tourism and other service activities. The WTO’s merchandise table excluding intra-EU trade also placed the UAE seventh in goods exports and 10th in goods imports, with shares of 3.3 percent and 2.8 percent respectively, reinforcing its position among the largest trading economies.
Global trade growth expected to slow
The WTO report said world merchandise trade by value reached $26.26 trillion in 2025, while global services trade rose to $9.56 trillion. In volume terms, merchandise trade growth accelerated to 4.6 percent in 2025, while services trade growth reached 5.3 percent. For 2026, the WTO forecast a slowdown, with merchandise trade volume growth easing to 1.9 percent and services trade growth moderating to 4.8 percent before improving again in 2027, pointing to a weaker external backdrop even as headline trade values remained elevated.
Against that global backdrop, the UAE’s latest rankings placed it ahead of a wide range of established trading economies in both goods and services and extended a run of regional leadership that the country has maintained since 2014 among Middle Eastern and African nations in trade with the world. The 2025 data also showed that the UAE’s rise was not confined to one channel, but spread across merchandise exports, services exports and digital trade, giving the country a broader footprint in the global economy. – By Content Syndication Services.
