Overall for 2019, EU sales of exported goods represent approximately one-third (33.6%) of overall world exports from all countries which amounted to a global amount of $18.74 trillion.
Based on estimates from the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook for 2016, exported goods plus services from the European Union represent 43.9% of total EU economic output also called Gross Domestic Product. That percentage includes re-exports. The analysis below focuses on exported products only.
Given the European Union’s population of 513.1 billion people, its total $6.296 trillion in 2019 exported goods translates to roughly $12,300 in international trade revenue for every resident in the EU economic entity.
The EU’s average unemployment rate was 6.6% at April 2020, up from 6.5% at January 2020 per Trading Economics.
Please note that this is the last year that we will include the United Kingdom in metrics for the European Union. Instead, we will focus on the remaining 27 EU members for future statistical analyses.
Top European Export Countries
Below are the top European export countries that attained the highest dollar value in worldwide product shipments during 2019. Also shown is each country’s share of the overall EU export total, and the percentage change in value from 2018 to 2019.
| Rank | Exporter | 2019 Exports | % EU Total | 2018-9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | $1,486,462,772,000 | 23.6% | -4.5% |
| 2 | Netherlands | $721,301,085,000 | 11.5% | -0.8% |
| 3 | France | $555,100,606,000 | 8.8% | -2.5% |
| 4 | Italy | $541,695,309,000 | 8.6% | -1.5% |
| 5 | United Kingdom | $467,512,252,000 | 7.4% | -4.8% |
| 6 | Belgium | $451,991,828,000 | 7.2% | -3.5% |
| 7 | Spain | $339,217,647,000 | 5.4% | -2.2% |
| 8 | Poland | $251,864,773,000 | 4% | -3.8% |
| 9 | Czech Republic | $198,852,420,000 | 3.2% | -1.8% |
| 10 | Austria | $182,030,864,000 | 2.9% | -1.5% |
| 11 | Ireland | $169,792,014,000 | 2.7% | +2.9% |
| 12 | Sweden | $160,540,798,000 | 2.5% | -3.3% |
| 13 | Hungary | $125,696,312,000 | 2% | -0.1% |
| 14 | Denmark | $109,866,810,000 | 1.7% | +1.2% |
| 15 | Slovakia | $91,203,501,000 | 1.4% | -2.5% |
| 16 | Romania | $78,171,011,000 | 1.2% | -1.9% |
| 17 | Finland | $73,326,802,000 | 1.2% | -3.4% |
| 18 | Portugal | $67,062,097,000 | 1.1% | -1.8% |
| 19 | Slovenia | $45,624,764,000 | 0.7% | +3.2% |
| 20 | Greece | $37,885,527,000 | 0.6% | -4.1% |
| 21 | Bulgaria | $33,872,429,000 | 0.54% | +0.6% |
| 22 | Lithuania | $33,138,855,000 | 0.53% | -0.8% |
| 23 | Croatia | $17,678,879,000 | 0.28% | +1.4% |
| 24 | Luxembourg | $16,761,265,000 | 0.27% | +2.6% |
| 25 | Estonia | $16,125,534,000 | 0.26% | -5.4% |
| 26 | Latvia | $15,497,952,000 | 0.25% | -4.3% |
| 27 | Malta | $4,142,922,000 | 0.07% | +7.1% |
| 28 | Cyprus | $3,528,213,000 | 0.06% | -30.3% |
To sort, click the pertinent column heading in the above table.
Note: The top 10 exporters held steady at 82.5% of the total value of all EU international product sales during 2019, equaling the percentage for the prior year.
From 2018 to 2019, 7 out of the 28 EU nations grew the value of their exports namely: Malta (up 7.1%), Slovenia (up 3.2%), Ireland (up 2.9%), Luxembourg (up 2.6%), Croatia (up 1.4%), Denmark (up 1.2%) and Bulgaria (up 0.6%).
Leading the declines in export sales year over year were: Cyprus (down -30.3%), Estonia (down -5.4%), United Kingdom (down -4.8%), Germany (down -4.5%), Latvia (down -4.3%) and Greece (down -4.1%).
See also European Union’s Top 10 Exports, Germany’s Top 10 Exports, UK’s Major EU Exports, and Top EU Import Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook, Europe: European Union. Accessed on June 24, 2020
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on June 24, 2020
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 24, 2020
Wikipedia, European Union. Accessed on June 24, 2020
Wikipedia, List of European countries by population. Accessed on June 24, 2020
Wikipedia, Member State of the European Union. Accessed on June 24, 2020
WorldOMeter, Countries in European Union by Population. Accessed on June 24, 2020