A landlocked Western European nation surrounded by economic powerhouses Germany, France and Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg shipped US$16.8 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2022.

That dollar amount reflects an 11% increase from $15.1 billion during 2018.

Year over year, Luxembourg’s revenues from its exports rose by 3.5% compared to $16.2 billion in 2021.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2022, Luxembourg uses the euro which depreciated by -12.1% against the US dollar since 2018 and weakened by -12.3% from 2021 to 2022. The weaker European Union currency in 2022 made goods exported from Luxembourg paid for in stronger US dollars relatively lesser expensive for international buyers.

Luxembourg’s Most Valuable Trade Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 80.2% of products exported from Luxembourg were bought by importers in: Germany (25.5% of Luxembourg’s total), France (15.3%), Belgium (12.4%), Netherlands (6.9%), Italy (4.3%), United States of America (2.9%), Poland (2.74%), United Kingdom (2.65%), Spain (2.55%), Austria (2.1%), mainland China (1.5%) and Switzerland (1.4%).

From a continental perspective, 86.4% of Luxembourg’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 6.5% was sold to importers in Asia. Luxembourg shipped another 4.6% worth of goods to North America.

Smaller percentages went to buyers in Africa (1.6%), Latin America (0.7%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.2%) led by Australia and New Zealand.

Given Luxembourg’s population of 645,000 people, its total $16.8 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $26,100 for every resident in the Western European country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $25,600 per capita one year earlier for 2021.

Luxembourg’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Luxembourg global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Luxembourg.

1. Machinery including computers: US$2.1 billion (12.7% of total exports)
2. Iron, steel: $2 billion (11.9%)
3. Plastics, plastic articles: $1.9 billion (11.2%)
4. Vehicles: $1.4 billion (8.1%)
5. Articles of iron or steel: $1 billion (6.2%)
6. Electrical machinery, equipment: $817.4 million (4.9%)
7. Rubber, rubber articles: $734.2 million (4.4%)
8. Aluminum: $728.7 million (4.3%)
9. Dairy, eggs, honey: $658.4 million (3.9%)
10. Paper, paper items: $553.4 million (3.3%)

Luxembourg’s top 10 exports generated well over two-thirds (70.8%) of the overall value of its global shipments.

Dairy, eggs and honey was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 23.1% from 2021 to 2022.

In second place for improving export sales was paper including items made from paper via a 17% advance.

Luxembourg’s shipments of aluminum posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 16.8% compared to 2021.

The lone decliner among Luxembourg’s top 10 export categories was the vehicles product category, retreating by -1.1% year over year.

The above listed product categories are at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.

Drilling down to four-digit HTS codes, Luxembourg’s most valuable exported products are iron or non-alloy steel angles, shapes and sections (9.4% of the European country’s total), cars (4.1%), new rubber tires (also 4.1%), iron or sheet piling (3.3%), cellulose fiber paper (3%), self-adhesive plastic in rolls (2.9%), unwrought aluminum (2.6%), coated or laminated non-woven materials (also 2.6%), plastic packing goods including lids or caps (2.4%), then cheese (2.1%).

Products Generating Luxembourg’s Best Trade Surpluses

The following types of Luxembourg product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports is the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Iron, steel: US$574.7 million (Up by 132.4% since 2021)
2. Articles of iron or steel: $400.6 million (Up by 31.7%)
3. Felt, yarn, twine, ropes, cables: $338.7 million (Up by 17.8%)
4. Coated/laminated textile fabric: $186 million (Up by 27.3%)
5. Plastics, plastic articles: $168.7 million (Up by 15%)
6. Dairy, eggs, honey: $126.1 million (Up by 58.1%)
7. Tanning, dyes, paints, varnishes, ink: $57.1 million (Down by -21.9%)
8. Milling products, malt, starches: $43 million (Up by 32.8%)
9. Glass: $42.9 million (Down by -72.2%)
10. Soaps, washing preparations, lubricants, waxes: $32 million (Up by 175.4%)

Luxembourg has highly positive net exports in the international trade of iron or steel either as metals or items made from those materials. In turn, these cashflows indicate Luxembourg’s strong competitive advantages under the iron or steel category.

Products Causing Luxembourg’s Worst Trade Deficits

Luxembourg incurred an overall -$9.26 billion trade deficit during 2022, down by a flatlining -0.3% from -$9.29 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2021.

Below are exports from Luxembourg that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Luxembourg’s goods trail Luxembourg importer spending on foreign products.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: -US$3.7 billion (Up by 54.1% since 2021)
2. Vehicles: -$1.8 billion (Down by -0.2%)
3. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$693.8 million (Down by -7.3%)
4. Pharmaceuticals: -$517.8 million (Up by 4.7%)
5. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: -$373.8 million (Down by -3.9%)
6. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$317.5 million (Down by -18.9%)
7. Inorganic chemicals: -$262.6 million (Up by 39.7%)
8. Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: -$179.2 million (Up by 21.1%)
9. Fruits, nuts: -$177.1 million (Down by -18.5%)
10. Organic chemicals: -$175.4 million (Up by 15.7%)

Luxembourg has a highly negative net exports and therefore a deep international trade deficit for refined petroleum oils under the mineral fuels including oil category.

Luxembourg Export Companies

Seven corporations based in Luxembourg rank among Forbes Global 2000, including the bank Espirito Santo Financial. Below are the other major Luxembourg companies that Forbes included.

• ArcelorMittal (iron, steel)
• Millicom International (telecommunications)
• RTL Group (broadcasting, cable)
• SES (broadcasting, cable)
• Tenaris (oil services, equipment)
• Ternium (iron, steel)

Wikipedia also lists companies from Luxembourg, many of which are significant international trade players.

• Brasserie Nationale (brewery)
• Cargolux (cargo airliner)
• Ceratizit (hard metals)
• ROTAREX Group (medical equipment)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Luxembourg’s total exported goods represent 18.8% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($89.2 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 18.8% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 19.4% for 2021. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Luxembourg’s total economic performance albeit based on a short timeframe.

Please note that those metrics include a significant amount of re-exporting activity.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Luxembourg’s unemployment rate averaged 4.797% in 2022, down from an average 5.732% for 2021 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.

Luxembourg’s capital is Luxembourg City.

See also Luxembourg’s Top Trading Partners, Germany’s Top Trading Partners, France’s Top Trading Partners, Belgium’s Top Trading Partners and Top EU Export Countries

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Europe: Luxembourg. Accessed on June 9, 2023

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 9, 2023

International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on June 9, 2023

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on June 9, 2023

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 9, 2023

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 9, 2023

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on June 9, 2023

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Luxembourg. Accessed on June 9, 2023

Wikipedia, Luxembourg. Accessed on June 9, 2023

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on June 9, 2023