The UN Comtrade Database is a global trade data repository maintained by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). It provides detailed import and export statistics reported back to 1962 of countries worldwide, covering goods and services traded between nations. It includes trade data from over 200 reporting countries and territories classified using the Harmonized System (HS) and Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) codes, allowing for detailed product-level analysis.
UN Comtrade offers both free and subscription-based access. The free version is sufficient for most needs. However, the premium version provides more advanced features and usability, such as:
- Bulk data downloads.
- Async(-batch) and scheduled downloads.
- Faster performance and priority access to servers.
- Access to more timely data (e.g., preliminary monthly figures).
- Extended API limits (more requests per hour/day).
- Custom query building, saved searches, and automation tools.
- Ability to download entire datasets by country/product over time.
If you’re affiliated with a university, ask your librarian if your library subscribes to the premium version.
BACI (Base pour l’Analyse du Commerce International) is a global trade database developed by CEPII, a French research center in international economics. BACI provides bilateral trade flows between more than 200 countries, broken down by detailed product classification codes (HS 6-digit). BACI is based on UN Comtrade data, but it reconciles discrepancies between what exporters and importers report—a known issue in raw Comtrade data.
