Market sizing and competitor analysis are only as good as the data underneath them. Official trade databases such as UN Comtrade and ITC Trade Map turn customs records from around 200 countries into comparable product-level statistics, while national statistical offices and central banks publish the domestic indicators that put trade figures in context. Each source has its own coverage, lag and access terms, and those differences decide which figures can be relied on for a decision.
Trade data: UN Comtrade and ITC Trade Map
UN Comtrade is the reference database for merchandise trade. It aggregates annual and monthly statistics for about 200 countries, covering more than 99% of world merchandise trade, with annual series going back to 1962 and monthly data from 2010. Data are coded at six-digit level under the Harmonized System and other international classifications, so the same product can be compared across reporting countries. The main database is free; registration and subscription unlock bulk and programmatic use.
ITC Trade Map is built on the same national returns but adds analysis: annual flows for over 220 countries and territories and 5,300 products, trade indicators from 2001, monthly and quarterly series and a directory of companies. Where a country does not report, Trade Map uses mirror statistics, meaning what its partners record as trade with it. Mirror figures are useful for markets with slow or incomplete reporting but they reflect the partner's valuation and timing, not the market's own.12345
Access terms and update cycles
ITC's tools are free for users in developing countries, and European Union users have free full access until 30 November 2028. Users in other developed countries, including the UK and the US, get restricted free access: yearly data and services trade are open, while monthly, quarterly, tariff-line and company data need a subscription of US$900 a year. A team in London or New York may therefore see less than a colleague in Dubai or Mumbai looking at the same tool.
Update cycles depend on the reporting chain. In the EU, statistical offices such as Destatis in Germany and INSEE in France must transmit monthly producer prices to Eurostat within one month and industrial production within one month and ten days of the reference month. International databases follow later, once national returns are received and processed, so the latest months in Comtrade or Trade Map are often incomplete. Always record the extraction date and the reporting country of each figure.678
Investment and development data
For investment context, ITC's Investment Map gives foreign direct investment flows and stocks for about 200 countries, and World Bank Open Data offers free macroeconomic and development indicators. These sources help rank markets and explain demand, but they are not product-level and should not be mixed with customs data without noting the difference in definitions.910
| Source | What it offers | Frequency and history | Access | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UN Comtrade | Goods trade by product (HS, SITC, BEC) and partner, about 200 countries | Annual from 1962; monthly from 2010 | Main database free; registration for monthly data and extra functions | Destatis; UNRIC |
| ITC Trade Map | Goods and services trade, 5,300 products, 220+ countries and territories, company directory, mirror data | Annual, quarterly and monthly; indicators from 2001 | Free in developing countries and for EU users to 30 Nov 2028; otherwise restricted or US$900 a year | ITC |
| ITC Investment Map | FDI flows and stocks, about 200 countries | Not confirmed | Flows open; affiliate data under subscription | ITC |
| World Bank Open Data | Development and macroeconomic indicators | Not confirmed | Free and open | UNRIC |
| EU national statistical offices (DE, FR) | Short-term business statistics | Producer prices T+1 month; production T+1 month and 10 days (transmission to Eurostat) | Public | Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 |
Decisions to make
- Does the target market report its own trade data promptly, or will the analysis rely on mirror data?53Mirror figures come from partners' records and can differ in value and timing from the market's own statistics.
- Which level of access does the team have to ITC tools, given where its users are located?67Monthly, tariff-line and company data are behind a subscription for users in developed countries outside the EU arrangement.
- How recent must the figures be for the decision?81National transmission deadlines are one month or more after the reference period, and international databases follow later.
- Is product-level detail needed, or are macro indicators enough?2109Customs databases give six-digit product detail; World Bank and investment data do not.
Documents usually needed
- A data log recording each figure's source, reporting country, extraction date and classification (HS version)
- HS code list for the products concerned, agreed with the customs or trade team
- Note of any mirror data used and the partner countries it comes from
- Copy of the access terms or subscription under which ITC or Comtrade data were extracted
Common mistakes
- Comparing figures from different HS versions or classifications without a concordance
- Treating the latest months in an international database as complete when several countries have not yet reported
- Using mirror data without saying so, then reconciling it against the market's own published totals
- Assuming a colleague in another country sees the same ITC data when access terms differ by location
- Mixing FDI or macro indicators with customs data as if the definitions matched
Questions businesses ask
Is UN Comtrade free?
The main online database is free. Registration is needed for monthly data, and subscribers get additional functions such as bulk extraction.23
Why can Trade Map show data for a country that has not reported?
It uses mirror statistics: the trade recorded by that country's partners. These are estimates from the partner side and may differ from the country's own records.5
What this guide does not yet confirm
These points need checking with a qualified local professional before you rely on them.
- The UN Comtrade platform (comtradeplus.un.org) could not yet be checked; its current access tiers, release calendar and monthly coverage are taken from Destatis and UNRIC descriptions.
- National statistical offices outside the EU (India MoSPI, UAE FCSC, Saudi GASTAT, Singapore SingStat, UK ONS, US Census Bureau) and their release calendars could not be checked within the research budget.
- Central bank data portals (RBI DBIE, CBUAE, SAMA, MAS, Bank of England, Federal Reserve, ECB and Bundesbank) could not yet be checked, so their content and update cycles are not stated.
- Transmission deadlines for EU international trade in goods statistics were not found in the part of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1197 that was read.
Sources and review status
Each statement is numbered to the source it was checked against. We use official sources where we can, and each statement says whether it was checked against an official or a secondary source. Sources last checked on 19 October 2026. None of it has been professionally reviewed yet: it is research checked against official and secondary sources by WONE Global, not legal or tax advice.
UN Comtrade holds annual trade data from 1962 onwards and monthly data, in its Monthly Comtrade database, from 2010. Destatis states that monthly data were available for 50 countries; current monthly coverage on the UN platform may differ.
Description published by Germany's national statistics office. The UN Comtrade platform itself (comtradeplus.un.org) could not yet be checked.
UN Comtrade presents external trade data at the detailed six-digit commodity level under international classifications including the Harmonized System (HS), SITC and BEC, and the main online database is free to use. Registration is optional for the main database; Destatis states that the Monthly Comtrade database requires registration.
The UN platform's own access terms could not yet be checked; premium or subscription features may apply to bulk downloads.
UN Comtrade aggregates annual and monthly trade statistics for approximately 200 countries, representing more than 99% of the world's merchandise trade, and offers extraction in several formats including API developer tools. Merchandise (goods) trade. Subscribers get additional functionality.
ITC Trade Map provides annual trade flows for over 220 countries and territories and 5,300 products defined at the two-, four- or six-digit level of the Harmonized System, with monthly and quarterly data and company information on potential suppliers and buyers. Trade indicators include time series from 2001. Which data a user can see depends on ITC's access terms (see the access claims).
For countries that do not report their trade, ITC Trade Map uses mirror statistics, meaning the records of partner countries that trade with them. Mirror data show a non-reporting country's trade as recorded by its partners, so values, timing and product detail can differ from what the country itself would report.
The presentation dates from 2010; only the mirror-data method is relied on here, not its coverage figures.
Access to ITC's market analysis tools is free for users located in developing countries, and ITC gives European Union users free access until 30 November 2028; users in other developed countries have restricted free access, with full versions under a subscription of US$900 per year. The subscription covers Trade Map, Market Access Map, Investment Map and ITC's standards or sustainability tool.
The page is internally inconsistent: it calls Market Access Map free while listing it in the subscription, and names a Standards Map where other ITC pages refer to Sustainability Map.
For users with restricted access, Trade Map's yearly trade data and trade in services data are open, while monthly and quarterly data at the four- and six-digit and tariff-line level, and company data, are under subscription. Restricted-access tier for users in developed countries outside the EU free-access arrangement.
The features table marks some items as under subscription while also stating that EU users have free access to all features until 30 November 2028.
Under EU business statistics rules, national statistical institutes must transmit monthly producer price data to Eurostat within one month of the end of the reference period, and monthly industrial production volume data within one month and ten days. EU Member States, including Germany and France; Annex I Part B, Tables 5 and 6 (NACE sections B to E). Retail trade volume of sales (division G47) is due within one month. National release dates may be earlier or later than these transmission deadlines.
ITC's Investment Map provides foreign direct investment flows and stocks for about 200 countries, with detailed information on foreign affiliates in developing countries under subscription.
World Bank Open Data offers free and open access to global development data. Macroeconomic and development indicators by country; not a source for detailed product-level trade.
Questions on this topic
10 statements on official market data sources
