WTO: Global Trade in Goods, Services Expanded by 4.7% in 2025

Global trade in goods and services experienced a robust expansion of approximately 4.7% in 2025, significantly outperforming global economic growth, which stood at 2.9%. This data, revealed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), presents a more nuanced picture than headlines focusing on fragmentation and friction might suggest.

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The WTO would continue to provide the foundation for the large majority of global trade, even as the trading system adapts to new technologies, shifting supply chains and geopolitical uncertainty.

Jennifer Nordquist, Deputy Director-General of the WTO, highlighted these figures at the launch of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre’s Future of Trade Report 2026. She stressed that the WTO remains the foundation for the majority of global trade, even as the system adapts to evolving challenges. These include the transformative impact of artificial intelligence, the adaptation of supply chains to geopolitical tensions, and the influence of geography alongside technology on how goods and services move.

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She stressed the importance of advancing WTO reform while preserving the predictability and transparency on which businesses depend.

Nordquist emphasized the importance of advancing WTO reform while maintaining the predictability and transparency essential for businesses. She noted that initiatives like the Future of Trade Report help stakeholders look beyond immediate concerns to strategically consider the future direction of global trade.

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And there is certainly no shortage of issues to discuss, artificial intelligence is transforming production, services, and trade operations, supply chains are adapting to geopolitical tensions, which includes dealing with good ol’ fashioned geography, not just technology, new technologies are changing how goods move, how services are delivered, and how firms compete.

"The headlines often focus on fragmentation, de-risking, and frictions. Yet the data tell a more nuanced story," Nordquist stated. She pointed out that the 4.7% trade growth was nearly double the economic growth rate and a considerably better performance than even the WTO's own economists had predicted.

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The headlines often focus on fragmentation, de-risking, and frictions. Yet the data tell a more nuanced story. Global trade in goods and services expanded by approximately 4.7 percent in 2025, significantly above the rate of global economic growth (2.9 percent) – almost double, and a significantly better performance than even our own economists had predicted (-0.2 percent).