The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published this week its “2019 Handbook of Statistics” report in which it provided a list of indicators pertaining to international trade, investment, and development across the globe. According to the report, international trade showed some improvement for the second year in a row, with the world’s merchandise exports expanding to just over $19.45 trillion in 2018, from around $17.71 trillion a year earlier, and merchandise imports increasing to $19.79 trillion, from $17.99 trillion in 2017. This pattern was witnessed among developed, transition, and developing economies. On the regional front, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) topped the list of West Asian countries in terms of merchandise exports for yet another consecutive year, with the value of its exports reaching $316.90 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia ($294.37 billion) and Turkey ($167.92 billion), only to name a few. The UAE also came in first in the region in terms of merchandise imports, with its imports bill aggregating to $261.54 billion in 2018, followed by Turkey ($223.05 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($137.07 billion), among others. Locally, the UNCTAD statistical handbook revealed that Lebanon’s merchandise exports fell to $3.83 billion in 2018, from $4.03 billion in the previous year, while merchandise imports rose to $20.40 billion, up from $19.91 billion in 2017. Lebanon ranked as such 10^th in the West Asia region in merchandise exports and 9^th in merchandise imports.

From another standpoint, the UNCTAD estimated Lebanon’s nominal GDP per capita at $8,277 and its real economic growth at 0.9% in the year 2018. In addition, the report indicated that FDI inflows to Lebanon reached $2.88 billion during that same year, with the country’s current account balance registering a deficit of $15.24 billion, as outlined in the table below: