Share of global plastic waste imports in Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Share of global plastic waste imports was 0.1% in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
0.1%
Change on year
up 19.9%
World rank
51st
of 183 countries
All-time high
0.1%
in 2023
All-time low
0.0%
in 2003
Years of data
28
1995–2023

Share of global plastic waste imports in Ethiopia, 1995–2023

00.0250.050.0750.11995200920231995: 0.016 %1997: 0.017 %1998: 0.044 %1999: 0.01 %2000: 0.007 %2001: 0 %2002: 0 %2003: 0 %2004: 0 %2005: 0.004 %2006: 0.002 %2007: 0.001 %2008: 0.004 %2009: 0 %2010: 0.002 %2011: 0.002 %2012: 0.005 %2013: 0.002 %2014: 0.002 %2015: 0.005 %2016: 0.006 %2017: 0.007 %2018: 0.019 %2019: 0.048 %2020: 0.025 %2021: 0.029 %2022: 0.088 %2023: 0.105 %

Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Ethiopia recorded 0.1% for share of global plastic waste imports in 2023. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.

That represents a change of up 19.9% on the previous year and up 5,038.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of global plastic waste imports in Ethiopia peaked at 0.1% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2003.

Ethiopia ranks 51st of 183 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 4
2000s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 10
2010s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 10
2020s 0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 4

Countries ranked near Ethiopia

  1. 48 El Salvador 0.1% compare
  2. 49 Nigeria 0.1% compare
  3. 50 Israel 0.1% compare
  4. 52 Costa Rica 0.1% compare
  5. 53 Syria 0.1% compare
  6. 54 Norway 0.1% compare

See the full ranking of 183 places →

More environment data for Ethiopia

All data for Ethiopia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of global plastic waste imports in Ethiopia?
Share of global plastic waste imports in Ethiopia was 0.1% in 2023, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Ethiopia?
The highest recorded value was 0.1% in 2023.
What is the lowest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Ethiopia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2003.
How does Ethiopia rank for share of global plastic waste imports?
Ethiopia ranks 51st out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of global plastic waste imports rising or falling in Ethiopia?
Over the last ten years it is up 5,038.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Ethiopia data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of global plastic waste imports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of global plastic waste imports
Unit
%
Source
United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
183 places, 4,496 data points, 1988–2024
Last refreshed

The percentage of global plastic waste imports that a country accounts for.