That calculated dollar amount reflects a -28.2% reduction compared to $367.4 million in 2018.
Year over year, the total value of North Korean exported goods accelerated by 53% from $172.3 million during 2021.
The 5 biggest exported products from North Korea in 2022 include tungsten ores and concentrates, processed petroleum oils, iron ferroalloys, electrical energy, then molybdenum ores and concentrates. Combined, that quintet of major North Korean exports represents almost half (46.4%) of the country’s overall value of globally exported goods during 2022.
North Korea’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 85.6% of products exported from North Korea was bought by importers in: mainland China (43% of the North Korean total), Senegal (9%), Nigeria (6.2%), Poland (also 6.2%), Seychelles (4.9%), Netherlands (3.4%), Luxembourg (3.3%), Mozambique (2.6%), Suriname (also 2.6%), Togo (2.2%), Niger (2.1%) and Spain (1.6%).
From a continental perspective, 51.1% of North Korea’s exports by value was delivered to fellow Asian countries while 31.9% was sold to importers in Africa. North Korea shipped another 12.7% worth of goods to Europe.
Smaller percentages went to Latin America (3.6%), Oceania’s Fiji and French Polynesia (0.63%), North America’s United States and Mexico (0.01%).
Given North Korea’s population of 25.9 million people, its total $263.7 million in 2022 exports translates to about $10 for every resident in that country. That dollar metric is double the average $5 per capita one year earlier in 2021.
North Korea’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in North Korean global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from North Korea.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$52.4 million (19.9% of total exports)
- Ores, slag, ash: $44.6 million (16.9%)
- Iron, steel: $39 million (14.8%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $15.9 million (6%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $12.8 million (4.8%)
- Silk: $12.2 million (4.6%)
- Feathers, artificial flowers, hair: $11.7 million (4.4%)
- Machinery including computers: $9.7 million (3.7%)
- Pharmaceuticals: $8.7 million (3.3%)
- Vehicles: $7.8 million (3%)
North Korea’s top 10 exports accounted for 81.5% of the overall value of its global shipments in 2022.
Nickel was North Korea’s fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 175.9% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales was mineral fuels including oil via a 123.7% advance, led by exported petroleum gases and refined petroleum oils.
Papua New Guinea’s shipments of wood posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 102.3%.
The leading decliner among Papua New Guinea’s top 10 export categories was fish, pulled down by a -58% year-over-year reduction.
The above listed product groups are at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
Drilling down to 4-digit HTS codes, the top 10 most valuable exports from North Korea are tungsten ores and concentrates (11.7% of the North Korean total), processed petroleum oils (11.5%), iron ferroalloys (10.2%), electrical energy (7.7%), then molybdenum ores and concentrates (5.2%), wigs, false eyelashes and the like made from hair (4.4%), plated or coated flat-rolled products made from iron or non-alloy steel (3.9%), raw silk (3.4%), frozen whole fish (2.9%), then floating, ground or polished glass sheets (2.5%).
Products Generating Highest Trade Surpluses for North Korea
The following types of North Korean 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 represent 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.
- Ores, slag, ash: US$44.6 million (Down by -81152.7% since 2021)
- Iron, steel: $39 million (Up by 10.3%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $37.4 million (Up by 95.4%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $12.7 million (Down by -20%)
- Silk: $12.2 million (Up by 220.9%)
- Machinery including computers: $9.5 million (Down by -10.8%)
- Vehicles: $7.8 million (Down by -40.3%)
- Fish: $6.7 million (Up by 665200%)
- Nickel: $4.5 million (Up by 24622.2%)
- Glass: $1.6 million (Reversing a -$222,000 deficit)
North Korea has highly positive net exports in the international trade of refined petroleum oils and petroleum gas. In turn, these cashflows indicate North Korea’s strong competitive advantages under the mineral fuels including oil category.
Products Causing Worst Trade Deficits for North Korea
North Korea incurred an overall -$119.2 million trade deficit for 2022, down by -68.8% from the -$381.4 million deficit one year earlier in 2021.
Below are exports from North Korea that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country North Korea’s goods trail North Korean importer spending on foreign products.
- Plastics, plastic articles: -US$101.6 million (Up by 329.7%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$62.9 million (Up by 451.8%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: -$62 million (Up by 104.4%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: -$52.3 million (Up by 107.8%)
- Organic chemicals: -$40 million (Up by 819.4%)
- Knit or crochet fabric: -$38.3 million (Up by 9037.9%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$36 million (Up by 228%)
- Manmade filaments: -$34.5 million (Up by 691.3%)
- Paper, paper items: -$33.5 million (Up by 314.6%)
- Cereals: -$33.2 million (Down by 0%)
North Korea has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for plastics both as materials and items made from plastic.
North Korean Export Companies
Not one North Korean corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
According to global trading e-commerce platform Alibaba, the following are examples of exports-related companies from North Korea.
- Elpis Corporation (engine oil)
- Groon Co. Ltd (metal scrap including electronics scrap)
- Hai Dan (cosmetics)
- Kim’s Enterprise & Supplying Co. Ltd (construction machinery)
- Korea Ryonghung Trading Corporation (anthracite coal, lead)
- KQ Earphone (earphones, headphones)
- Pishon Technology (LCD panels)
Based on data from Trading Economics, North Korea’s exported goods represent 7.6% of total North Korean economic output–formally called its Gross Domestic Product (US$20 billion).
Another key economic indicator is a country’s unemployment rate. North Korea’s average unemployment rate was 3% in 2022 according to Trading Economics, down from the average North Korean jobless rate of 3.2% for 2021.
North Korea’s capital city is Pyongyang, nicknamed the “Capital of Willows”.
See also South Korea’s Top 10 Exports, China’s Top 10 Imports and Capital Facts for Pyongyang, North Korea
Research Sources:
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 9, 2023
Heritage.org, 2022 Index of Economic Freedom: North Korea (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity)
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on June 9, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 9, 2023
The World Factbook, Country Profiles, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on June 9, 2023
Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on June 9, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Companies of North Korea. Accessed on June 9, 2023
Wikipedia, North Korea. Accessed on June 9, 2023