From 2020 to 2021, the value of globally exported electricity declined by -12.8%.
The world’s 5 biggest electricity exporters are European suppliers Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain and Belgium. Collectively, that cohort of major electricity suppliers furnished 40.5% of globally exported electricity during 2021.
Among continents, exporters in Europe sold the highest dollar worth of electricity during 2021 with shipments valued at $49.3 billion or four-fifths (80.3%) of the world total.
In second place were electricity exporters in Asia at 7.4%. Another 5.5% originated from North America, ahead of international suppliers in Latin America (3.7%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Africa (3.2%).
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for electrical energy is 2716. Note that electricity is classified under the catch-all mineral fuels-related products category (prefixed with 27).
Electricity Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of electricity during 2021.
- Germany: US$8.1 billion (13.2% of total electricity exports)
- France: $7.2 billion (11.7%)
- Switzerland: $3.7 billion (6%)
- Spain: $3.1 billion (5.1%)
- Belgium: $2.77 billion (4.5%)
- Czech Republic: $2.75 billion (4.5%)
- Canada: $2.6 billion (4.3%)
- Sweden: $2.5 billion (4%)
- Norway: $2 billion (3.2%)
- Austria: $1.9 billion (3.1%)
- Paraguay: $1.62 billion (2.6%)
- Hungary: $1.58 billion (2.6%)
- Laos: $1.42 billion (2.3%)
- China: $1.41 billion (2.3%)
- Russia: $1.3 billion (2.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 71.5% of global electricity exported in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing electricity exporters since 2020 were: Norway (up 542.6%), Belgium (up 495%), Spain (up 327.5%) and France (up 234.7%).
Three countries posted declines in their exported electricity sales namely Laos (down -24.3%), Paraguay (down -6.7%) and mainland China (down -6.2%).
Countries Earning Largest Trade Surpluses from Electricity
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for electricity during 2021. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported electricity and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- France: US$3.2 billion (net export surplus up 145.2% since 2020)
- Germany: $2.56 billion (up 156.5%)
- Canada: $2.14 billion (up 24.9%)
- Sweden: $1.66 billion (up 257.5%)
- Czech Republic: $1.62 billion (up 316.3%)
- Paraguay: $1.62 billion (down -6.7%)
- Norway: $1.37 billion (up 470.9%)
- Laos: $1.35 billion (down -24.2%)
- Russia: $1.3 billion (up 179.3%)
- China: $1.2 billion (down -10.2%)
- Belgium: $832.7 million (down -1467.9%)
- India: $572.6 million (up 16.5%)
- Netherlands: $533.1 million (down -21.1%)
- Uruguay: $512.4 million (up 981.6%)
- Bulgaria: $511 million (reversing a -$60.9 million deficit)
France and Germany generated the highest surpluses in the international trade of electricity ahead of North American competitor Canada. In turn, these positive cashflows confirm strong competitive advantages for this specific product category.
Countries Incurring Worst Trade Deficits from Electricity
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for electricity during 2021. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported electricity purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- Italy: -US$5.5 billion (net export deficit up 286.3% since 2020)
- United Kingdom: -$3.2 billion (up 329%)
- Brazil: -$2.9 billion (up 89.2%)
- United States of America: -$2.1 billion (up 21.8%)
- Hungary: -$2 billion (up 278.3%)
- Thailand: -$1.9 billion (up 20.5%)
- Finland: -$1.4 billion (up 188.3%)
- Lithuania: -$958.8 million (up 227.8%)
- Hong Kong: -$855.7 million (up 6.5%)
- Portugal: -$840.2 million (up 3,319%)
- Romania: -$652.4 million (up 361.4%)
- Macao: -$498.8 million (up 15.4%)
- Bangladesh: -$460.5 million (up 8.4%)
- Denmark: -$460.4 million (up 423.4%)
- Austria: -$372.8 million (reversing a $271.1 million surplus)
Italy incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of electricity. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights Italy’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for electricity-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Electricity Exporting Companies
Below are global utility service providers, transmission system operators or distribution grid companies that represent players engaged in the international trade of electricity. The home country for each is shown within parenthesis.
- China Southern Power Grid (China)
- E.ON (Germany)
- Électricité de France (France)
- Enel (Italy)
- Eskom (South Africa)
- Hydro-Québec (Canada)
- PAO Rosseti (Russia)
- State Grid Corporation of China (China)
- TenneT (Netherlands)
- Vattenfall (Sweden)
Searchable List of Electricity Exporting Countries in 2021
Below, you will find an automated database containing the 88 key exporters of electricity on global markets.
| Rank | Exporter | Electricity Exports (US$) | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Germany | $8,120,535,000 | +145% |
| 2. | France | $7,210,756,000 | +234.7% |
| 3. | Switzerland | $3,659,878,000 | +135% |
| 4. | Spain | $3,109,548,000 | +327.5% |
| 5. | Belgium | $2,768,419,000 | +495% |
| 6. | Czech Republic | $2,745,206,000 | +205.3% |
| 7. | Canada | $2,641,252,000 | +39.6% |
| 8. | Sweden | $2,456,758,000 | +199.2% |
| 9. | Norway | $1,980,890,000 | +542.6% |
| 10. | Austria | $1,917,380,000 | +49.8% |
| 11. | Paraguay | $1,620,456,000 | -6.7% |
| 12. | Hungary | $1,578,198,000 | +115.3% |
| 13. | Laos | $1,420,137,000 | -24.3% |
| 14. | China | $1,414,992,000 | -6.2% |
| 15. | Russia | $1,327,372,000 | +171.6% |
| 16. | Croatia | $1,188,851,000 | +441.2% |
| 17. | Poland | $1,184,227,000 | +244.4% |
| 18. | Denmark | $1,128,294,000 | +657% |
| 19. | Italy | $869,716,000 | +142.3% |
| 20. | Slovenia | $851,636,000 | +128.4% |
| 21. | Slovakia | $810,764,000 | +30% |
| 22. | South Africa | $789,796,000 | +22.4% |
| 23. | United Kingdom | $730,778,000 | +282.9% |
| 24. | Finland | $670,323,000 | +182.9% |
| 25. | Bulgaria | $632,292,000 | +176.6% |
| 26. | India | $576,310,000 | +17.3% |
| 27. | Estonia | $561,940,000 | +261.8% |
| 28. | Netherlands | $546,063,000 | -19.1% |
| 29. | Uruguay | $512,431,000 | +402.4% |
| 30. | Romania | $509,549,000 | +139.9% |
| 31. | United States | $504,433,000 | +177.8% |
| 32. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $499,675,000 | +73.1% |
| 33. | Mozambique | $454,398,000 | +22.4% |
| 34. | Portugal | $447,276,000 | +111.3% |
| 35. | Lithuania | $378,133,000 | +131.4% |
| 36. | Latvia | $295,483,000 | +209.2% |
| 37. | Greece | $261,353,000 | +320.1% |
| 38. | Turkey | $248,355,000 | +203.6% |
| 39. | Ukraine | $241,504,000 | -14% |
| 40. | Nigeria | $219,770,000 | +349.2% |
| 41. | Mexico | $211,782,000 | +27.9% |
| 42. | Zambia | $169,566,000 | +34% |
| 43. | Serbia | $155,946,000 | +32.3% |
| 44. | Ireland | $145,391,000 | +116.3% |
| 45. | North Macedonia | $141,245,000 | +181.5% |
| 46. | Albania | $136,484,000 | +768% |
| 47. | Thailand | $122,171,000 | -42.6% |
| 48. | Turkmenistan | $107,430,000 | +15.6% |
| 49. | Tajikistan | $95,133,000 | +71.4% |
| 50. | Guatemala | $93,798,000 | -13.4% |
| 51. | Uzbekistan | $93,108,000 | -30.1% |
| 52. | Ghana | $92,538,000 | -40.9% |
| 53. | Malaysia | $81,521,000 | -33.4% |
| 54. | Azerbaijan | $69,343,000 | +16% |
| 55. | Montenegro | $64,142,000 | +29% |
| 56. | Vietnam | $60,791,000 | -69.6% |
| 57. | Algeria | $54,762,000 | +728.1% |
| 58. | Ivory Coast | $53,405,000 | -60.4% |
| 59. | Armenia | $50,888,000 | -26.6% |
| 60. | Egypt | $50,066,000 | +1.9% |
| 61. | Morocco | $44,766,000 | +469.8% |
| 62. | Myanmar | $43,133,000 | +99.9% |
| 63. | Iran | $40,558,000 | 0% |
| 64. | Georgia | $39,095,000 | +158.2% |
| 65. | Kazakhstan | $36,359,000 | +0.4% |
| 66. | Uganda | $28,481,000 | +41.7% |
| 67. | Brazil | $21,645,000 | +1010% |
| 68. | Ecuador | $15,453,000 | -72.1% |
| 69. | North Korea | $15,406,000 | +30% |
| 70. | Luxembourg | $14,151,000 | +184% |
| 71. | Colombia | $10,468,000 | -8.7% |
| 72. | Malta | $3,818,000 | +383.9% |
| 73. | Bhutan | $3,745,000 | 0% |
| 74. | Panama | $3,196,000 | 0% |
| 75. | El Salvador | $2,560,000 | -75.1% |
| 76. | Kenya | $1,826,000 | 0% |
| 77. | Peru | $1,350,000 | +27.6% |
| 78. | Namibia | $757,000 | 0% |
| 79. | Costa Rica | $650,000 | 0% |
| 80. | Singapore | $572,000 | +214.3% |
| 81. | Mongolia | $327,000 | -43.6% |
| 82. | Malawi | $245,000 | -78.3% |
| 83. | Kyrgyzstan | $101,000 | -7.3% |
| 84. | Lesotho | $83,000 | 0% |
| 85. | Eswatini | $57,000 | 0% |
| 86. | Zimbabwe | $6,000 | -99.9% |
| 87. | Western Sahara | $4,000 | 0% |
| 88. | Moldova | $3,000 | 0% |
From 2020 to 2021, the world’s fastest growers among international electricity suppliers are Brazil (up 1,010%), Albania (up 768%), Algeria (up 728.1%), Denmark (up 657%), Norway (up 542.6%), Belgium (up 495%) then Morocco (up 469.8%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2020 data is available.
See also Global Electricity Imports by Country, Crude Oil Exports by Country, Petroleum Gas Exports by Country and Best Solar & Wind Exporters Powering International Energy Sales
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on June 29, 2022
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 29, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 29, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 29, 2022
Wikipedia, Electricity distribution companies by country. Accessed on June 29, 2022
