Overall, the dollar cost of crude oil bought by all importing countries accelerated by 85.7% since five years earlier in 2020 when globally imported crude oil purchases were valued at $711.9 billion.
Year over year, total spending on crude oil imports slowed by -3.8% from $1.375 trillion during 2023.
The top 5 importers of this fossil-fuel commodity are mainland China, United States of America, India, South Korea and Japan. Collectively, that quintet of major crude oil imports paid for over three-fifths (60.5%) of the world’s total spending on imported crude petroleum purchased on international markets in 2024.
From a continent perspective, Asian countries bought the highest dollar worth of imported crude oil during 2024 with purchases costing $757.9 billion or 57.3% of the worldwide total. In second place were European nations at 25.7% while another 14.3% worth of crude oil imports was delivered to customers in North America.
Smaller percentages of crude petroleum oils were sold to Latin America (1.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (0.7%), then Oceania (0.4%) led by Australia and Papua New Guinea.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for crude oil is 2709.
Crude Oil Imports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2024.
- mainland China: US$324.6 billion (24.6% of imported crude oil)
- United States: $174.4 billion (13.2%)
- India: $143.3 billion (10.8%)
- South Korea: $85.4 billion (6.5%)
- Japan: $71.9 billion (5.4%)
- Netherlands: $49 billion (3.7%)
- Germany: $48.4 billion (3.7%)
- Spain: $36.6 billion (2.8%)
- Thailand: $33.8 billion (2.6%)
- United Kingdom: $31 billion (2.3%)
- France: $29.8 billion (2.3%)
- Italy: $29.1 billion (2.2%)
- Singapore: $27.3 billion (2.1%)
- Belgium: $24.1 billion (1.8%)
- Taiwan: $23.9 billion (1.8%)
Based on total cost, the listed 15 countries purchased 85.7% of all crude oil imported in 2024.
Among the above countries, the growth markets for crude oil from 2023 to 2024 were: Germany (up 4.8%), Belgium (up 4.1%), India (up 2%) and the United States of America (up 1.2%).
Those leading buyers that posted declines in their imported crude oil purchases were led by: Italy (down -24.2% from 2023), Japan (down -11.4%), Netherlands (down -11.1%) and Taiwan (down -5%).
Searchable List of Crude Oil Importing Countries in 2024
The 100 key buyers in the automated database below bought virtually all (99.999997%) of crude petroleum oil imported during 2024.
| Rank | Importer | Import Spending (US$) | 2023-4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | mainland China | $324,627,985,000 | -3.5% |
| 2. | United States | $174,423,624,000 | +1.2% |
| 3. | India | $143,251,338,000 | +2% |
| 4. | South Korea | $85,379,752,000 | -0.9% |
| 5. | Japan | $71,862,705,000 | -11.4% |
| 6. | Netherlands | $48,977,622,000 | -11.1% |
| 7. | Germany | $48,387,107,000 | +4.8% |
| 8. | Spain | $36,623,430,000 | -1.7% |
| 9. | Thailand | $33,790,610,000 | -2.2% |
| 10. | United Kingdom | $31,009,932,000 | -4.5% |
| 11. | France | $29,827,544,000 | -4.4% |
| 12. | Italy | $29,098,644,000 | -24.2% |
| 13. | Singapore | $27,251,231,000 | -0.7% |
| 14. | Belgium | $24,079,128,000 | +4.1% |
| 15. | Taiwan | $23,874,237,000 | -5% |
| 16. | Poland | $15,192,763,000 | -1% |
| 17. | Greece | $14,772,480,000 | +6.6% |
| 18. | Canada | $14,013,713,000 | -3.6% |
| 19. | Malaysia | $13,905,348,000 | +2.7% |
| 20. | Sweden | $11,262,589,000 | -0.1% |
| 21. | Indonesia | $10,352,976,000 | -7.1% |
| 22. | Brazil | $8,691,716,000 | -4.1% |
| 23. | Israel | $7,036,816,000 | -6.2% |
| 24. | Portugal | $6,625,447,000 | +11.8% |
| 25. | Pakistan | $5,611,817,000 | +16.2% |
| 26. | Lithuania | $5,540,667,000 | -5.1% |
| 27. | Finland | $5,450,135,000 | -14.8% |
| 28. | Australia | $5,206,971,000 | -0.5% |
| 29. | South Africa | $5,174,029,000 | +7.5% |
| 30. | Chile | $5,120,887,000 | -2.2% |
| 31. | Romania | $4,958,724,000 | +10.9% |
| 32. | Austria | $4,823,453,000 | +0.5% |
| 33. | Brunei Darussalam | $4,127,828,000 | +5.1% |
| 34. | Bulgaria | $4,051,638,000 | +28.6% |
| 35. | Czech Republic | $4,029,827,000 | -2.8% |
| 36. | Peru | $3,916,208,000 | +21.5% |
| 37. | Philippines | $3,710,129,000 | -10.9% |
| 38. | Hungary | $2,860,748,000 | -5% |
| 39. | Denmark | $2,840,249,000 | -9.2% |
| 40. | Slovakia | $2,529,043,000 | +4.4% |
| 41. | Côte d'Ivoire | $2,427,793,000 | -15.9% |
| 42. | Croatia | $1,799,784,000 | +60.2% |
| 43. | Serbia | $1,617,469,000 | -16.5% |
| 44. | Switzerland | $1,570,491,000 | -10.3% |
| 45. | Ireland | $1,246,881,000 | -33.2% |
| 46. | Nigeria | $1,212,062,000 | 0% |
| 47. | Azerbaijan | $1,020,193,000 | -5.3% |
| 48. | Uruguay | $918,734,000 | +6.4% |
| 49. | Dominican Republic | $801,988,000 | +4.8% |
| 50. | Sri Lanka | $776,544,000 | -16.2% |
| 51. | Norway | $691,262,000 | -42.9% |
| 52. | Uzbekistan | $620,010,000 | +80.6% |
| 53. | Nicaragua | $492,565,000 | -18.6% |
| 54. | Colombia | $460,004,000 | -40.1% |
| 55. | United Arab Emirates | $388,470,000 | -85.7% |
| 56. | Jamaica | $306,575,000 | -37% |
| 57. | Tunisia | $279,670,000 | -44.7% |
| 58. | Vietnam | $245,547,000 | -96.2% |
| 59. | Saint Lucia | $221,286,000 | +54.6% |
| 60. | Bahamas | $182,337,000 | +253146% |
| 61. | Eswatini | $171,549,000 | +5718200% |
| 62. | Egypt | $121,917,000 | -93.6% |
| 63. | Bolivia | $105,973,000 | +180% |
| 64. | Bangladesh | $38,981,000 | -75.3% |
| 65. | Mongolia | $9,361,000 | +64.9% |
| 66. | Russia | $7,246,000 | -41.7% |
| 67. | Georgia | $5,845,000 | +61.8% |
| 68. | Zambia | $675,000 | -98.8% |
| 69. | Guatemala | $423,000 | -67.8% |
| 70. | Armenia | $285,000 | 0% |
| 71. | Belize | $240,000 | 0% |
| 72. | Botswana | $147,000 | +9.7% |
| 73. | Mozambique | $138,000 | +762.5% |
| 74. | New Zealand | $85,000 | +165.6% |
| 75. | Costa Rica | $49,000 | +157.9% |
| 76. | Lesotho | $48,000 | -93.1% |
| 77. | El Salvador | $45,000 | 0% |
| 78. | Curaçao | $33,000 | 0% |
| 79. | Qatar | $29,000 | -100% |
| 80. | Democratic Republic Congo | $28,000 | -76.1% |
| 81. | Saint Helena | $22,000 | +633.3% |
| 82. | Aruba | $22,000 | 0% |
| 83. | Liberia | $22,000 | -88.4% |
| 84. | Papua New Guinea | $20,000 | -100% |
| 85. | Burkina Faso | $16,000 | +700% |
| 86. | Ukraine | $15,000 | -31.8% |
| 87. | Kuwait | $13,000 | 0% |
| 88. | Luxembourg | $13,000 | -35% |
| 89. | Fiji | $13,000 | 0% |
| 90. | Namibia | $11,000 | -91.5% |
| 91. | New Caledonia | $9,000 | -94.6% |
| 92. | Faroe Islands | $8,000 | 0% |
| 93. | Ecuador | $8,000 | +166.7% |
| 94. | Cuba | $8,000 | -84% |
| 95. | Angola | $7,000 | +40% |
| 96. | Algeria | $7,000 | -93.9% |
| 97. | Moldova | $7,000 | -56.3% |
| 98. | Guyana | $7,000 | -12.5% |
| 99. | Maldives | $5,000 | 0% |
| 100. | Rwanda | $5,000 | +66.7% |
Expanding the scope to the 100 largest importers of crude petroleum, the fastest-increasing spenders included Eswatini (up 5,718,200% from 2023), Bahamas (up 253,146%), Mozambique (up 762.5%), Burkina Faso (up 700%), Saint Helena (up 633.3%), Bolivia (up 180%) then Ecuador (up 166.7%).
You can change the table’s presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns above.
Note that an entry of 0% in the table’s right-most column means 2023 data was unavailable.
Crude Oil Imports into China
Based on statistics from the International Trade Centre, approaching half (46.8%) of mainland China’s overall crude oil imports came from member countries of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). That percentage lags the 50.3% for the prior year.
China’s top 3 suppliers of crude oil are the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Combined, those key providers generated 45.7% of total Chinese imports of crude petroleum.
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which China imported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2024. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplier from 2023 to 2024.
- Russia: US$62.3 billion (up 3.7% from 2023)
- Saudi Arabia: $47.9 billion (down -11%)
- Malaysia: $38.3 billion (up 35.6%)
- Iraq: $37 billion (up 5.1%)
- Oman: $25 billion (down -0.1%)
- United Arab Emirates: $22 billion (down -17.3%)
- Brazil: $21.8 billion (down -5%)
- Angola: $17.2 billion (down -7.3%)
- Kuwait: $9.6 billion (down -36.8%)
- Qatar: $6.2 billion (down -5.6%)
- United States: $6 billion (down -33.8%)
- Canada: $4.8 billion (up 21.7%)
- Colombia: $4.3 billion (down -11%)
- Congo: $3.9 billion (down -24.3%)
- Ecuador: $3 billion (up 28.5%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 95.3% of all Chinese crude oil imported in 2024.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of crude oil to China from 2023 to 2024 were: Malaysia (up 35.6%), Ecuador (up 28.5%), Canada (up 21.7%) and Iraq (up 5.1%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their crude oil supplied to Chinese importers included: Kuwait (down -36.8%), United States of America (down -33.8%), Congo (down -24.3%) and United Arab Emirates (down -17.3%).
Overall, the value of Chinese crude oil imports went down by an average -3.5% from all supplying countries since 2022 when crude oil purchases were valued at $336.5 billion.
Crude Oil Imports into the United States
Just 19.3% of America’s overall crude oil imports came from member countries of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). That percentage is lower than the 19.6% for 2023.
America’s top 3 suppliers of crude oil are Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Combined, those key providers generated over two-thirds (71.2%) of total US imports of crude petroleum.
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the US imported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2024. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2023 to 2024.
- Canada: US$103.3 billion (up 6.3% from 2023)
- Mexico: $12.5 billion (down -38.7%)
- Saudi Arabia: $8.4 billion (down -22.8%)
- Brazil: $6.7 billion (up 13.6%)
- Colombia: $5.92 billion (up 5.9%)
- Venezuela: $5.88 billion (up 70.1%)
- Iraq: $5.81 billion (down -3.4%)
- Guyana: $5.3 billion (up 71.5%)
- Nigeria: $4.5 billion (down -5.8%)
- Ecuador: $3.7 billion (down -7.1%)
- Angola: $1.7 billion (up 74%)
- United Kingdom: $1.53 billion (up 27.2%)
- Libya: $1.49 billion (down -4.9%)
- Argentina: $1.48 billion (up 3.4%)
- Trinidad/Tobago: $1.3 billion (up 15.5%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 97.1% of all American crude oil imported in 2024.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of crude oil to the United States of America from 2023 to 2024 were: Angola (up 74%), Guyana (up 71.5%), Venezuela (up 70.1%) and the United Kingdom (up 27.2%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their crude oil supplied to American importers included: Mexico (down -38.7% from 2023), Saudi Arabia (down -22.8%), Ecuador (down -7.1%) and Nigeria (down -5.8%).
Overall, the value of American crude oil imports rose by an average 1.2% from all supplying countries since 2022 when crude oil purchases were valued at $172.4 billion.
Crude Oil Imports into India
Over half (53.4%) of India’s overall crude oil imports came from member countries of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). That percentage exceeds the 52.6% for 2023.
India’s top 3 suppliers of crude oil are the Russian Federation, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Combined, those key providers generated over two-thirds (69.3%) of total Indian imports of crude petroleum.
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which India imported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2024. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2023 to 2024.
- Russia: US$51.3 billion (up 14.6% from 2023)
- Iraq: $28.6 billion (up 1%)
- Saudi Arabia: $19.3 billion (down -17.3%)
- United Arab Emirates: $13.7 billion (up 58.3%)
- United States: $5 billion (down -28.6%)
- Nigeria: $4 billion (up 53.4%)
- Angola: $3.6 billion (up 44.5%)
- Kuwait: $3.4 billion (down -33.9%)
- Venezuela: $1.8 billion (down 0%)
- Colombia: $1.7 billion (down -0.1%)
- Mexico: $1.6 billion (down -13%)
- Türkiye: $1.4 billion (down -14.8%)
- Oman: $1.3 billion (up 164.5%)
- South Korea: $1.1 billion (down -57.9%)
- Brazil: $1 billion (down -27.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 96.9% of all Indian crude oil imported in 2024.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of crude oil to India from 2023 to 2024 were: Oman (up 164.5%), United Arab Emirates (up 58.3%), Nigeria (up 53.4%) and Angola (up 44.5%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their crude oil supplied to Indian importers included: South Korea (down -57.9% from 2023), Kuwait (down -33.9%), United States of America (down -28.6%) and Brazil (down -27.7%).
Overall, the value of Indian crude oil imports increased by an average 2% from all supplying countries since 2022 when crude oil purchases were valued at $140.4 billion.
Crude Oil Imports into South Korea
Approaching three-quarters (72.6%) of South Korea’s overall crude oil imports came from member countries of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). That percentage trails the 73.2% from the prior year.
South Korea’s top 3 suppliers of crude oil are Saudi Arabia, United States of America and the United Arab Emirates. Combined, those key providers furnished nearly two-thirds (65.3%) of total South Korean imports of crude petroleum.
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which South Korea imported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2024. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2023 to 2024.
- Saudi Arabia: US$29.5 billion (down -3.4% from 2023)
- United States: $14.2 billion (up 15.7%)
- United Arab Emirates: $12 billion (up 22.1%)
- Iraq: $7.7 billion (up 4.5%)
- Kuwait: $6.6 billion (down -20.8%)
- Qatar: $4.7 billion (down -17.3%)
- Australia: $2.2 billion (up 6.8%)
- Mexico: $2.04 billion (down -15.6%)
- Brazil: $1.99 billion (up 26.7%)
- Algeria: $1.1 billion (up 47.4%)
- Kazakhstan: $971.1 million (down -70.2%)
- Oman: $525.2 million (up 20.2%)
- United Kingdom: $499 million (up 24.1%)
- Nigeria: $228.4 million (down -49.4%)
- Papua New Guinea: $210.5 million (up 96.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.9% of all South Korean crude oil imported in 2024.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of crude oil to South Korea from 2023 to 2024 were: Papua New Guinea (up 96.1%), Algeria (up 47.4%), Brazil (up 26.7%) and the United Kingdom (up 24.1%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their crude oil supplied to South Korean importers included: Kazakhstan (down -70.2% from 2023), Nigeria (down -49.4%), Kuwait (down -20.8%) and Qatar (down -17.3%).
Overall, the value of South Korean crude oil imports decelerated by an average -0.9% from all supplying countries since 2022 when crude oil purchases were valued at $86.2 billion.
See also Crude Oil Exports by Country, China’s Top Trading Partners, OPEC Countries Crude Oil Exports Sales Data, Largest Oil and Gas Export Companies and Best Solar & Wind Exporters Powering International Energy Sales
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on May 21, 2025
E-tools Age, Oil Converter and Calculator. Accessed on May 21, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 21, 2025
Investopedia, Net Importer Definition. Accessed on May 21, 2025
Wikipedia, Big Oil. Accessed on May 21, 2025