Imports (National Accounts)

Imports in national accounts represent the value of goods and services acquired from the rest of the world, recorded on the basis of economic ownership rather than physical entry into the country. This measure includes both tangible goods and intangible services, as well as cases where goods are purchased from abroad without physically crossing the border, such as merchanting or goods processed abroad but owned domestically. It excludes goods merely in transit and may differ from balance of payments imports due to adjustments in timing, valuation and ownership recognition. This Latin Macro Watch indicator from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), on data.iadb.org, helps researchers, policymakers and journalists analyze import flows across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Coverage

Imports (National Accounts) are available for 23 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean at annual and quarterly frequency, covering 1990–2026. Values can be expressed in millions of USD, millions of domestic currency, as a percentage of GDP, at constant prices (national accounts deflator) and seasonally adjusted, with quarter-on-quarter (QoQ %) and year-on-year (YoY %) transformations. Quarterly values are reported as four-quarter trailing sums (annualized levels), while annual values correspond to the calendar-year aggregate.

Sources

The series draws on national statistical agencies, including Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE) - Colombia, INEGI - Mexico, INDEC - Argentina and Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (Brazil).

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Format	CSV
Language	en
Country	Argentina Bahamas Trinidad & Tobago Belize Costa Rica Dominican Republic Ecuador Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia El Salvador Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Panama Uruguay Venezuela Barbados Paraguay Peru Suriname
Data notes	What do Imports (National Accounts) measure? They measure the value of goods and services acquired from the rest of the world, recorded on the basis of economic ownership rather than physical entry, including services and goods bought abroad without crossing the border. How do they differ from balance of payments imports? National accounts imports may differ from balance of payments imports because of adjustments in timing, valuation and ownership recognition, and they exclude goods merely in transit. How many countries and time periods are covered? The indicator covers 23 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean at annual and quarterly frequency, spanning 1990 to 2026. What units and transformations are available? Values are available in millions of USD, millions of domestic currency, as a percentage of GDP, at constant prices and seasonally adjusted, with quarter-on-quarter (QoQ %) and year-on-year (YoY %) transformations. Quarterly values are four-quarter trailing sums and annual values are calendar-year aggregates. Where does the data come from? The series draws on national statistical agencies, including Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE) - Colombia, INEGI - Mexico, INDEC - Argentina and Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (Brazil). How do I cite this indicator? Cite as: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin Macro Watch — "Imports (National Accounts)". data.iadb.org/dataset/latin-macro-watch-dataset.