Countries by Tariff rate, most favored nation, weighted mean, manufactured products (%)
Sudan ranks first among 186 countries with a weighted mean most favored nation tariff of 26.8% on manufactured products, more than 26 percentage points above the four countries tied at the bottom with 0%. That gap reflects the wide range of trade policy stances captured across this dataset, from effectively open borders to heavily protected import regimes.
Ranking 2022
Values shown in %.
Analysis
This metric measures the weighted mean most favored nation (MFN) tariff applied to manufactured product imports, expressed as a percentage. According to the World Bank World Development Indicators (indicator code TM.TAX.MANF.WM.FN.ZS), the weighted mean most favored nation tariff is the average of most favored nation rates weighted by the product import shares corresponding to each partner country. Data are classified using the Harmonized System of trade at the six- or eight-digit level. Tariff line data were matched to Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) revision 3 codes to define commodity groups and import weights. The unit is percentage, and a higher value indicates a higher tariff burden on manufactured imports. Coverage is strong: 186 countries have data, 96.8% of which have observations from the last seven years, and 100% of datapoints carry official status. The dataset spans a range of 0.00% to 26.80%, a spread of 999%, and 10 extreme outliers were identified at the three standard deviation threshold.
Sudan sits at rank 1 with 26.8%, well ahead of Bermuda at rank 2 with 21.85% and the Cayman Islands at rank 3 with 19.66%. Djibouti (rank 4, 19.62%) and the Bahamas (rank 5, 18.62%) follow closely. Among larger economies, Egypt ranks 9th at 16.43%, Bangladesh ranks 20th at 13.46%, and Morocco ranks 21st at 13.32%. Several members of the CEMAC customs region appear in the top 15, including the Republic of Congo (rank 6, 17.9%), Cameroon (rank 8, 17.52%), Equatorial Guinea (rank 10, 16.32%), Gabon (rank 12, 15.64%), and Chad (rank 13, 15.52%), reflecting a shared external tariff structure. South Asian economies such as Nepal (rank 28, 12.56%) and Pakistan (rank 41, 11.23%) also appear in the upper half of the ranking.
The middle of the ranking contains a mix of regional trade bloc members and standalone economies. Brazil ranks 49th at 10.3%, and Turkey ranks 80th at 7.99%. A notable cluster appears at ranks 135 through 161, where 27 European Union member states and Albania all share an identical rate of 3.24%, reflecting a common external tariff. Below that cluster, the United Arab Emirates ranks 162nd at 3.22%, and China ranks 163rd at 3.09%. The United States ranks 169th at 2.55%, and the United Kingdom ranks 167th at 2.75%. At the bottom, Norway ranks 180th at 0.69%, Seychelles ranks 181st at 0.22%, and Brunei Darussalam ranks 182nd at 0.19%. Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Iceland all share a rate of 0% and are tied at rank 183.
Several limitations apply to this metric. The weighted mean approach means that tariff rates on goods with low import volumes have less influence on a country's score, which can obscure protection on niche product categories. Tariff data from some countries may reflect different reference years rather than 2022 specifically; the consistency check shows 76.9% of countries have data from 2022, meaning roughly 23% use earlier observations. Preferential trade agreement rates are not captured here, as MFN rates apply to non-preferential trading partners, so effective tariff burdens for countries with extensive bilateral or regional agreements may differ significantly from reported figures. Territories such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands appear in the ranking alongside sovereign states, which may affect cross-country comparisons. Non-tariff barriers are entirely outside the scope of this indicator.
Methodology
Data are drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code TM.TAX.MANF.WM.FN.ZS, with a reference year of 2022. The metric is defined as follows: weighted mean most favored nation tariff is the average of most favored nation rates weighted by the product import shares corresponding to each partner country. Data are classified using the Harmonized System of trade at the six- or eight-digit level. Tariff line data were matched to Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) revision 3 codes to define commodity groups and import weights. The ranking covers 186 countries. Of these, 96.8% (180 of 186) have data from within the last seven years, and 76.9% (143 of 186) have data specifically from 2022. All datapoints carry official data quality status (100%). Values range from 0.00% to 26.80%, representing a spread of 999%. Ten extreme outliers were identified at the three standard deviation threshold. Average year-over-year change is 9.2%, well below the 50% volatility threshold. No microstates (populations under one million) are present in the dataset.