Imports of Goods (BOP)

Imports of Goods (Balance of Payments) measure the value of physical goods purchased by residents from non-residents, recorded when ownership changes and the goods cross the border. Values are typically reported on a CIF (cost, insurance and freight) or FOB (free-on-board) basis depending on national practice. As part of the current account, this indicator tracks actual cross-border merchandise trade and is a core input for trade-balance and external-sector analysis across Latin America and the Caribbean. The series is published in the Latin Macro Watch dataset maintained by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Coverage

Data are available for 24 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean at annual, monthly, and quarterly frequency, spanning 1991 to 2026. Values are provided in millions of USD, as a share of GDP, of total exports, or of total imports, on a year-to-date (YTD) and seasonally adjusted basis. Standard transformations include moving averages (MA3, MA6, MA12) and month-over-month (MoM %), quarter-over-quarter (QoQ %), and year-over-year (YoY %) growth rates.

Sources

Figures are compiled from official national authorities, including the Banco Central do Brasil, Banco de Mexico (Banxico), Banco de la República de Colombia, Banco Central de Chile, INDEC - Argentina, and additional central banks and statistical offices across the region.

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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 does Imports of Goods (BOP) measure? It measures the value of physical goods purchased by residents from non-residents, recorded when ownership changes and the goods cross the border. As part of the current account, it tracks actual cross-border merchandise trade. How many countries and which periods are covered? The indicator covers 24 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean from 1991 to 2026, at annual, monthly, and quarterly frequency. What units and transformations are available? Values are available in millions of USD, as a share of GDP, of total exports, or of total imports, plus YTD and seasonally adjusted series. Transformations include MA3, MA6, MA12 moving averages and MoM %, QoQ %, and YoY % growth rates. Where does the data come from? Figures are compiled from official national authorities, including the Banco Central do Brasil, Banco de Mexico (Banxico), Banco de la República de Colombia, Banco Central de Chile, and INDEC - Argentina, among other central banks and statistical offices. What are typical uses of this indicator? It is widely used to compute the trade balance and current account, monitor external demand and import dependence, and support macroeconomic and external-sector analysis across the region. How do I cite this indicator? Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin Macro Watch — "Imports of Goods (BOP)". data.iadb.org/dataset/latin-macro-watch-dataset.