Trade Patterns (Edexcel IGCSE Economics)

Global Trade Patterns

• Patterns of trade have changed over time

  • As countries transition from developing to more developed economies, the volume and composition of trade changes

Source: Statista

Graph analysis

• There has been a significant overall increase in global trade in goods from 1950 to 2022

  • Factors that influence this increased export of goods and services include improved transportation, technological advancements, the formation of trading blocs, and trade liberalisation
    

Trade Patterns of Developed and Developing Countries

• Historically, developed countries such as UK and USA have dominated global trade

• However, emerging economies like China, Brazil, India, and Thailand are now overtaking nations that previously held dominance in trade volume

  • China are now the world's largest manufacturing economy and leading exporter

Source: Statista

Graph analysis

• China's export growth has been consistent between 2013-2023, with the exception of a small decrease in 2016

  • In 2023, China exported goods worth 3.38 trillion U.S. dollars, a slight decline on the previous year

  • Most of their exports are manufactured goods (e.g. electronics) that traded with United States, ASEAN, and the EU

• However, many developing countries are often still overly dependent on exporting a narrow range of primary commodities

Source: Observatory of Economic Complexity

Data analysis

• The export of raw copper accounts for 44.5% of Zambia's exports

  • The export of refined copper accounted for 18.6% of Zambia's exports

  • This means that copper exports from Zambia accounted for 63.1% of their total exports

• Primary products account for more than 90% of their exports

• They are suffering from over specialisation, making them vulnerable to price volatility