The difference between a country's total exports and imports of goods

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Edited version of this question is here: the-chart-shows-country-x-s-import-and-export-figures-in-billions-of-445261.html

The difference between a country's total exports and imports of goods and services over a given period of time, usually a year, is generally refered to as the balance of trade.

If a country's exports are greater than its imports, it has a trade surplus, which means that it is earning more revenue from selling its goods and services abroad than it is spending on buying goods and services from other countries. On the other hand, if a country's imports are greater than its exports, it has a trade deficit, which means that it is spending more on buying goods and services from other countries than it is earning from selling its own goods and services abroad.

The balance of trade is an important indicator of a country's economic performance and is closely watched by policymakers and analysts to assess the health of a country's economy and its position in the global marketplace.

The following line chart presents import and export data of country X.

Choose the most appropriate option from the dropdown menu below based on the information provided above.

I. The import and export data presented in the chart above indicates that the range of was the minimum through the period 2010 to 2017.

II. The year saw the maximum % change in the imports.

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Official Answer

Dropdown 1: Trade surplus

Dropdown 2: 2011

Akkiiii · Answer

What is the answer to this q?

ADARSHREDDY1 · Answer

Can someone explain how 2nd answer is 2011?

chetan2u · Answer

Hi, you can find greatest changes at two places:
2010 to 2011.... In 2011 it becomes around 1775 from 1400, so change is (1775-1400)/1400 = 26.78%
2014 to 2015.... In 2015 it comes down to 1675 from 2190, so change is (2190-1675)/2190 = 23.51%

Thus answer is 2011.

Maximum change is in 2015 but maximum % change is in 2011.

Hope it helps

chetan2u · Answer

Hi,
I. The import and export data presented in the chart above indicates that the range of  import/export/trade surplus(export-import) was the minimum through the period 2010 to 2017.
Import Range = 2190-1400 = 790
Export Range = 2350-1590 = 760
Trade surplus range: It will be given by the gap between the two lines as export is more than imports every year.
We can see that the trade surplus is maximum in 2015 = 2250-1680 = 570, and minimum in 2011 = around 150.
Thus range = 570-150 = 420
 Answer : Range of Trade surplus.

II. The year  2  saw the maximum % change in the imports.
2010 to 2011.... In 2011 it becomes around 1775 from 1400, so change is (1775-1400)/1400 = 26.78%
2014 to 2015.... In 2015 it comes down to 1675 from 2190, so change is (2190-1675)/2190 = 23.51%

Thus answer is 2011.

Maximum change is in 2015 but maximum % change is in 2011.

saurabhraj11596 · Answer

Here the "Exports" range is minimal. The answer to first question should be Exports

Gemmie · Answer

I. The import and export data presented in the chart above indicates that the range of    was the minimum through the period 2010 to 2017.

The range of
 
 Import: 400 = 1800 - 1400 
 Export: 650 = 2250 - 1600 
 Trade surplus: 300 = 400 (year 2017) - 100 (year 2014)  
=> Trade surplus

II. The year   saw the maximum % change in the imports.

Maximum change should be an increase => can be >100% (%change in decrease cannot be higher than 100%)
=> From 2020 to 2011 has steepest slope 
=> 2011 saw the greatest increase

SriramSudarsi · Answer

For Q2- It asked for the year which has a maximum % Change in Imports than the previous. Let us assume 100 Billions = 1 point = 1P, so 1800 Billioin= 18P 1. 2010, we can ignore this cause we dont have 2009 Data. 2. 2011, in 2010 ~14P and 2011 ~18P i.e, 18/14 we have~28% Growth 3. 2012, in 2011 ~18P and 2012 ~18P Growth= 18/18~very least growth 4. 2013, in 2012 ~18P and 2013 ~20P Growth= 20/18~11% Growth 5. 2014, in 2013 ~20P and 2014 ~22P Growth= 22/20~10% Growth 6. 2015, in 2014 ~22P and 2015 ~17P Growth= 22/17~23% Loss 7. 2016, in 2015 ~17P and 2016 ~16P Growth= 17/16~06% Loss 8. 2017, in 2016 ~16P and 2017 ~18P Growth= 18/16~12% Growth After checking all the events, we can say in the year 2011 we have major change, i.e, 28% Growth , Ofcourse these values are not accurate but closly represent to the data, this helps to resolve easily. Please correct me if I miss anything. Thank you

Bismuth83 · Answer

1. Here, the question asks us to compare the ranges of Imports, Exports, and Trade surplus in order to find the smallest of them. To do this, we can find the maximum and minimum values of each function across the 2010 to 2017 to find the range:

- Imports. Lowest point (2010) - 1,400 and Largest point (around 2014) - 2,200. 2200 - 1400 = 800.
- Exports. Lowest point (2010) - 1,600 and Largest point (2014) - 2,350. 2350 - 1600 = 750. 
- Trade surplus. Lowest point (2014) - 150 and Largest point (2015) - 560. 560 - 150 = 410.

Trade surplus clearly has the smallest range.

2. Let's calculate the percent changes for imports in every year:

- 2011.  \frac{1750 - 1400}{1400} * 100\% = 25\% .
- 2012.  \frac{1800 - 1750}{1750} * 100\% \approx 2.9\% . 
- 2013.  \frac{1950 - 1800}{1800} * 100\% \approx 8.3\% . 
- 2014.  \frac{2200 - 1950}{1950} * 100\% \approx 12.8\% . 
- 2015.  \frac{1700 - 2200}{2200} * 100\% \approx -22.7\% . 
- 2016.  \frac{1600 - 1700}{1700} * 100\% \approx -5.9\% . 
- 2017.  \frac{1850 - 1600}{1600} * 100\% \approx 15.6\% .

2011 had the greatest percent change in imports.

3. Our answer will be:   D1 - Trade surplus and D2 - 2011  .

akshatv45 · Answer

The second question is tricky and overall, I am very lazy to put effort in calculating exact numbers and taking %ages. And I also think that this approach is not suited from a GMAT exam perspective. Hence, here is my lazy approach.

I find two top contenders by visualization - that's 2011 and 2015.

For year 2011, the value increases from 1400 to 1750 which is roughly a 25% increase.
For year 2015, the value decreases from 2200 to 1700 roughly. Now 25% of 2200 is 550 and 2200-550 = 1650. This means the overall decrease is less than 25%.

There, the answer is  2011 .

Bunuel · Answer

Edited version of this question is here: the-chart-shows-country-x-s-import-and-export-figures-in-billions-of-445261.html

The difference between a country's total exports and imports of goods

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