Bridge in Dresden, Germany
Overall, EU sales of exported goods represent nearly one-third (32.6%) of total world exports which amounted to $19.347 trillion one year earlier in 2017.
Based on estimates from the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook, 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 about 517.1 million people according to CIA World Factbook metrics, the total $6.307 trillion worth of EU exports in 2018 translates to approximately $12,200 for every person living in EU member countries.
As the following statistical analysis shows, Germany is by far the EU’s leading seller of exported products.
Top European Export Countries
Below are the top European export countries that attained the highest dollar value in worldwide product shipments during 2018. Also shown is each country’s overall share of the global export total.
| Rank | Exporter | 2018 Exports | % EU Total | Since 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | $1,557,176,334,000 | 24.7% | +3.9% |
| 2 | Netherlands | $585,622,815,000 | 9.3% | +2.5% |
| 3 | France | $568,448,540,000 | 9% | +0.3% |
| 4 | Italy | $543,466,795,000 | 8.6% | +2.6% |
| 5 | United Kingdom | $487,069,299,000 | 7.7% | -4.7% |
| 6 | Belgium | $466,653,580,000 | 7.4% | -1.2% |
| 7 | Spain | $345,069,771,000 | 5.5% | +6.3% |
| 8 | Poland | $261,815,269,000 | 4.2% | +22.1% |
| 9 | Czech Republic | $202,253,586,000 | 3.2% | +15.5% |
| 10 | Austria | $184,726,848,000 | 2.9% | +3.6% |
| 11 | Ireland | $167,017,888,000 | 2.65% | +35.7% |
| 12 | Sweden | $165,933,299,000 | 2.63% | +0.8% |
| 13 | Hungary | $123,346,167,000 | 2% | +9.6% |
| 14 | Denmark | $107,958,412,000 | 1.7% | -2.5% |
| 15 | Slovakia | $94,294,380,000 | 1.5% | +9% |
| 16 | Romania | $79,672,860,000 | 1.3% | +14.2% |
| 17 | Finland | $75,258,290,000 | 1.2% | +1.2% |
| 18 | Portugal | $68,651,597,000 | 1.1% | +7.5% |
| 19 | Slovenia | $44,223,903,000 | 0.7% | +22.9% |
| 20 | Greece | $39,490,521,000 | 0.63% | +10.4% |
| 21 | Lithuania | $33,404,701,000 | 0.53% | +3.1% |
| 22 | Bulgaria | $33,314,360,000 | 0.53% | +13.4% |
| 23 | Croatia | $17,210,469,000 | 0.27% | +24.3% |
| 24 | Estonia | $17,197,365,000 | 0.27% | -1.5% |
| 25 | Luxembourg | $15,148,367,000 | 0.24% | +2.4% |
| 26 | Latvia | $14,614,048,000 | 0.23% | +6% |
| 27 | Cyprus | $5,065,369,000 | 0.08% | +54.9% |
| 28 | Malta | $3,015,059,000 | 0.05% | +2.9% |
To sort, click the pertinent column heading in the above table.
Note: The top 10 exporters represent 82.5% of the total value of all EU international product sales during 2018.
From 2014 to 2018, 24 out of 28 EU nations grew the value of their exports.
Posting the strongest increases over the 5-year period were Cyprus (up 54.9%), Ireland (up 35.7%), Croatia (up 24.3%), Slovenia (up 22.9%), Poland (up 22.1%) then the Czech Republic (up 15.5%).
The four EU decliners were the United Kingdom (down -4.7%), Denmark (down -2.5%), Estonia (down -1.5%) and Belgium (down -1.2%).
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:
The World Factbook, Europe: European Union. Accessed on August 16, 2019
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 16, 2019
Wikipedia, European Union. Accessed on August 16, 2019
Wikipedia, List of European countries by population. Accessed on August 16, 2019
Wikipedia, Member State of the European Union. Accessed on August 16, 2019
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