The cereals and coffee you had for breakfast this morning may have been imported from Canada, China or Colombia. Your shirt may have been made in Bangladesh or Viet Nam, with cotton sourced from Brazil. While you watched the World Cup, complex trade in services, such as charges for the use of intellectual property, was taking place behind the scenes. These are fun facts ¡ª and also indispensable data for decision-making.
That data lives in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Comtrade ¡ª the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's flagship trade database and the world's most trusted official source of goods and services trade statistics.
In mid-2026, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Comtrade hit a milestone: one billion data requests served. Today, around 50,000 users and 1.5 million requests arrive every single day. In 2025 alone, 18.6 million users submitted 202.8 million requests.
What does this data help inform? Everything from academic research on global value chains to emergency procurement planning. When demand for personal protective equipment surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, governments used trade data to rapidly identify who exports what, and analysts used the same data to recommend measures against future shortfalls.
And increasingly, it is not only people who rely on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Comtrade. AI systems also need trusted data and authoritative sources to generate reliable insights. By providing official and internationally comparable trade statistics, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Comtrade helps ensure that these tools are grounded in high-quality evidence rather than opaque or inconsistent sources.
Behind every data request is Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA Statistics Division's long-proven expertise and its relationships with the Member States that both contribute the data and rely on it. The Division serves as the custodian of international trade statistics standards, newly updated to reflect recent developments in global trade and address emerging needs.
One billion requests. Millions of instances of data-driven decision-making. In the words of a data provider and user:
¡°The platform exemplifies the power of international cooperation and the importance of high-quality data in shaping evidence-based policies. As both a data provider and a user, I recognize the value it brings to our work and to the global statistical community.¡±
¡ª&²Ô²ú²õ±è;&²Ô²ú²õ±è;
(Herlon Brand?o, Director of Trade Statistics and Studies, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Brazil)
Explore the data at or partner data platforms (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Data Commons, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵCTAD Data Hub, OECD BIMTS, WTO Data Portal, IMF IMTS, World Bank WITS), or any AI system. See also the .