How much did total world trade grow between 1950 and 2000?

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Workers operate sewing machines and stitch green and white garments at a busy garment factory in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. — World Trade Organization Workers sewing clothing in a garment factory in Ho Chi Minh City in April, 2025.

Between 1950 and 2000, total world trade experienced significant expansion, growing to 22 times its 1950 level by the turn of the century.1

This dramatic increase in international trade was largely facilitated by the reduction of trade barriers and tariffs, a process significantly advanced by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Following the Uruguay Round of negotiations, the World Trade Organization was established in 1995 to further oversee and regulate these global trade relations.1