The United Kingdom sent US$469.2 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2019. That dollar amount reflects a 0.6% increase since 2015 but a -3.7% decline from one year earlier in 2018 according to the latest statistics from the International Trade Centre.
Applying a continental lens, over half of the United Kingdom exports by value were delivered to fellow European countries while 23.2% were sold to Asian importers. The UK shipped another 17.3% worth of goods to North American importers.
Smaller percentages went to Africa (2.3%), Oceania (1.4%) led by Australia and New Zealand, then Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (1.3%).
United Kingdom’s Top Trading Partners
Top 15
Below is a list showcasing 15 of United Kingdom’s top trading partners in terms of export sales. That is, these are countries that imported the most UK shipments by dollar value during 2019. Also shown is each import country’s percentage of total UK exports.
- United States: US$72.6 billion (15.5% of total UK exports)
- Germany: $46.6 billion (9.9%)
- France: $31.2 billion (6.7%)
- Netherlands: $30.3 billion (6.5%)
- China: $30 billion (6.4%)
- Ireland: $27.9 billion (5.9%)
- Belgium: $16.8 billion (3.6%)
- Switzerland: $15.5 billion (3.3%)
- Spain: $13.7 billion (2.9%)
- Italy: $12.8 billion (2.7%)
- Hong Kong: $11.2 billion (2.4%)
- United Arab Emirates: $9.9 billion (2.1%)
- Japan: $8.3 billion (1.8%)
- Singapore: $6.8 billion (1.5%)
- Poland: $6.8 billion (1.5%)
Approaching three-quarters (72.5%) of UK exports in 2019 were delivered to the above 15 trade partners.
Four among the top 15 importers increased the value of their deliveries from the UK from 2018 to 2019, namely the United States (up 11.1%), Hong Kong (up 8.5%), China (up 8.3%) and Poland (up 0.9%).
Leading the decliners were Switzerland (down -39.6%) and Belgium (down -11.4%).
For a complete listing, see the section Searchable Datalist of Countries Importing UK Exports in 2019 near the bottom of this article.
Deficits
Overall the United Kingdom incurred a -$220.4 billion trade deficit during 2019, up 20.7% from -$182.6 billion in red ink one year earlier.
As defined by Investopedia, a country whose total value of all imported goods is higher than its value of all exports is said to have a negative trade balance or deficit.
It would be unrealistic for any exporting nation to expect across-the-board positive trade balances with all its importing partners. Similarly, that export country doesn’t necessarily post a negative trade balance with each individual partner with which it exchanges exports and imports.
United Kingdom incurred the highest trade deficits with the following countries.
- Germany: -US$37.7 billion (country-specific trade deficit in 2019)
- China: -$34.8 billion
- Netherlands: -$23.6 billion
- Belgium: -$15.3 billion
- Norway: -$15.2 billion
- Italy: -$12.7 billion
- Russia: -$10.9 billion
- Switzerland: -$9.5 billion
- Canada: -$9.4 billion
- Spain: -$7.4 billion
Among the UK’s trading partners that cause the greatest negative trade balances, Britain’s deficits with Russia (up 77.7%), Canada (up 47.2%) and Netherlands (up 6.9%) grew at the fastest percentage pace from 2018 to 2019. In addition, UK’s trade with Switzerland went from an $18.2 billion surplus in 2018 to -$9.5 billion in red ink one year later.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate United Kingdom’s competitive disadvantages with the above countries, but also represent key opportunities for United Kingdom to develop country-specific strategies to strengthen its overall position in international trade.
Surpluses
Based on Investopedia’s definition of net importer, a country whose total value of all imported goods is lower than its value of all exports is said to have a positive trade balance or surplus.
United Kingdom earned the highest trade surpluses with the following countries.
- Ireland: US$10.3 billion (country-specific trade surplus in 2019)
- United Arab Emirates: $7.8 billion
- Hong Kong: $6.4 billion
- Singapore: $4.2 billion
- United States: $3.2 billion
- Azerbaijan: $2.3 billion
- Malta: $1.7 billion
- North Macedonia: $1.39 billion
- Saudi Arabia: $1.37 billion
- Qatar: $1.1 billion
Among the UK’s trading partners that generate the greatest positive trade balances, British surpluses with Malta (up 135.6%), Azerbaijan (up 123.8%) and the United States (up 56.7%) grew at the fastest pace from 2018 to 2019.
These positive cashflow streams clearly indicate United Kingdom’s competitive advantages with the above countries, but also represent key opportunities for United Kingdom to develop country-specific strategies to optimize its overall position in international trade.
Companies
Companies Servicing UK Trading Partners
Roughly 90 UK corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000. Below is a sample of the major companies headquartered in the UK that appear on the Forbes lists.
- Anglo American (diversified metals, mining)
- Associated British Foods (food processing)
- AstraZeneca (pharmaceuticals)
- BG Group (oil, gas)
- BP (oil, gas)
- British American Tobacco (tobacco)
- Diageo (beverages)
- GlaxoSmithKline (pharmaceuticals)
- Imperial Tobacco Group (tobacco)
- Rio Tinto (diversified metals, mining)
- Rolls-Royce Holdings (aerospace & defense)
- SABMiller (beverages)
According to the UK Export Directory, the following are examples of established companies that ship products from the United Kingdom to its trading partners around the globe. Shown within parenthesis is the product category that the UK-based business specializes in.
- Absolute Battery (UK) Ltd (power supplies, batteries)
- Advanced Technology Laboratories (UK) Ltd (electronics)
- Antech UK Hydraulics (hydraulic motors, other machinery)
- Diamond Offshore (UK) Ltd (drilling equipment)
- Global Communications UK Ltd (broadcast equipment, satellites)
- Gold Major Group (jewelry)
- Johnson Pump (UK) Limited (rotary lobe pumps)
- Knight Plastics Ltd (plastic injection mouldings)
- Nippon Oil Exploration UK Ltd (oil, gas)
- Trumpler UK Ltd (chemicals)
Searchable Datalist of Countries Importing UK Exports in 2019
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below. The right-most shows the percentage change in value for each importing country since 2018.
| Rank | Importer | 2019 UK Exports (US$) | 2018-9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | $72,578,799,000 | +11.1% |
| 2. | Hong Kong | $11,175,298,000 | +8.5% |
| 3. | China | $30,001,337,000 | +8.3% |
| 4. | Poland | $6,820,300,000 | +0.9% |
| 5. | Germany | $46,588,541,000 | -0.3% |
| 6. | Singapore | $6,848,761,000 | -0.4% |
| 7. | Ireland | $27,855,581,000 | -1.2% |
| 8. | Japan | $8,269,630,000 | -1.5% |
| 9. | Spain | $13,709,383,000 | -1.6% |
| 10. | United Arab Emirates | $9,915,852,000 | -1.8% |
| 11. | France | $31,210,076,000 | -2.1% |
| 12. | Netherlands | $30,327,992,000 | -8.5% |
| 13. | Italy | $12,761,642,000 | -8.7% |
| 14. | Belgium | $16,790,675,000 | -11.4% |
| 15. | Switzerland | $15,452,799,000 | -39.6% |
| 16. | Canada | $6,692,914,000 | -8% |
| 17. | Turkey | $6,414,790,000 | -53.1% |
| 18. | Sweden | $6,349,368,000 | -14% |
| 19. | India | $5,715,748,000 | -13.6% |
| 20. | Australia | $5,475,196,000 | -7.2% |
| 21. | South Korea | $4,665,020,000 | -40.2% |
| 22. | Norway | $4,651,509,000 | +2.6% |
| 23. | Saudi Arabia | $4,128,229,000 | -15.8% |
| 24. | Denmark | $3,393,574,000 | -7% |
| 25. | Russia | $3,354,712,000 | +1.2% |
| 26. | Qatar | $3,259,823,000 | +5.8% |
| 27. | Czech Republic | $2,837,459,000 | -3.3% |
| 28. | Azerbaijan | $2,489,146,000 | +92.3% |
| 29. | Brazil | $2,445,223,000 | -4.2% |
| 30. | Austria | $2,387,703,000 | -10.4% |
| 31. | South Africa | $2,340,261,000 | -15.7% |
| 32. | Portugal | $2,020,455,000 | -3.6% |
| 33. | Taiwan | $1,864,750,000 | +6.4% |
| 34. | Israel | $1,864,481,000 | +27.9% |
| 35. | Malta | $1,788,850,000 | +109.8% |
| 36. | Mexico | $1,780,415,000 | -11.7% |
| 37. | Hungary | $1,711,802,000 | -11.8% |
| 38. | Malaysia | $1,702,822,000 | -2.2% |
| 39. | Finland | $1,680,791,000 | -10% |
| 40. | Nigeria | $1,668,692,000 | -5.6% |
| 41. | Romania | $1,633,859,000 | -5.6% |
| 42. | Egypt | $1,611,250,000 | +5.1% |
| 43. | Thailand | $1,546,880,000 | -22.3% |
| 44. | North Macedonia | $1,538,507,000 | +37% |
| 45. | Slovakia | $1,372,267,000 | +67.7% |
| 46. | Greece | $1,308,093,000 | -16.9% |
| 47. | New Zealand | $1,049,811,000 | -12.8% |
| 48. | Pakistan | $932,410,000 | -6.4% |
| 49. | Philippines | $881,621,000 | +20.3% |
| 50. | Chile | $875,346,000 | +12.5% |
| 51. | Indonesia | $822,072,000 | -12.2% |
| 52. | Morocco | $809,320,000 | -11.5% |
| 53. | Vietnam | $768,594,000 | -8.4% |
| 54. | Colombia | $688,585,000 | +30.1% |
| 55. | Oman | $688,260,000 | -49.1% |
| 56. | Kuwait | $684,608,000 | -6.5% |
| 57. | Lithuania | $673,340,000 | +6.9% |
| 58. | Ukraine | $656,493,000 | -4.8% |
| 59. | Bahrain | $638,530,000 | -3% |
| 60. | Ethiopia | $618,479,000 | +69.8% |
| 61. | Gibraltar | $549,923,000 | +13.8% |
| 62. | Cyprus | $543,317,000 | +3.2% |
| 63. | Bangladesh | $518,396,000 | +30.3% |
| 64. | Iraq | $499,227,000 | +5.4% |
| 65. | Argentina | $499,065,000 | +1.6% |
| 66. | Latvia | $491,345,000 | -5% |
| 67. | Bulgaria | $479,104,000 | -18.1% |
| 68. | Ghana | $470,592,000 | -0.4% |
| 69. | Algeria | $457,660,000 | +1.5% |
| 70. | Kazakhstan | $454,654,000 | +13.3% |
| 71. | Kenya | $428,334,000 | -16.6% |
| 72. | Lebanon | $388,802,000 | -16% |
| 73. | Iceland | $385,795,000 | -10.3% |
| 74. | Slovenia | $355,617,000 | -18.6% |
| 75. | Jordan | $353,852,000 | +7.9% |
| 76. | Sri Lanka | $347,173,000 | -11.3% |
| 77. | Estonia | $324,537,000 | -9.7% |
| 78. | Luxembourg | $305,205,000 | -4.5% |
| 79. | Angola | $289,861,000 | +9.7% |
| 80. | Croatia | $270,626,000 | -16.9% |
| 81. | Senegal | $223,675,000 | -0.6% |
| 82. | Tunisia | $220,368,000 | +3% |
| 83. | Serbia | $213,137,000 | -12.6% |
| 84. | Panama | $209,395,000 | -5.8% |
| 85. | Peru | $209,057,000 | -9.6% |
| 86. | Libya | $201,170,000 | +18.8% |
| 87. | Belarus | $176,015,000 | -17.3% |
| 88. | Uruguay | $174,048,000 | -3.3% |
| 89. | Tanzania | $143,672,000 | -3% |
| 90. | Mozambique | $136,685,000 | +309.2% |
| 91. | Trinidad/Tobago | $135,884,000 | -24.9% |
| 92. | Iran | $134,208,000 | -39.5% |
| 93. | Dominican Republic | $126,667,000 | -8.3% |
| 94. | Ecuador | $122,950,000 | -2.5% |
| 95. | Macao | $117,232,000 | +41.6% |
| 96. | Sudan | $103,661,000 | +10% |
| 97. | Georgia | $101,540,000 | +25.5% |
| 98. | Mauritius | $99,572,000 | -4.8% |
| 99. | Afghanistan | $95,481,000 | +139.6% |
| 100. | Ivory Coast | $88,871,000 | -26% |
See also United Kingdom’s Top 10 Imports, United Kingdom’s Top 10 Exports, UK’s Major EU Exports, United Kingdom’s Top 10 Major Export Companies and European Union’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
British Exporters, Database of British Products & Verified British Exporters. Accessed on February 18, 2020
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on February 18, 2020
Forbes Global 2000, The World’s Largest Public Companies. Accessed on February 18, 2020
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on February 18, 2020
Investopedia, Net Importer Definition. Accessed on February 18, 2020