Overall that dollar amount results from a 1.4% increase for all exporting countries from 5 years earlier in 2021 when worldwide paper shipments were valued at $187.3 billion.
From 2024 to 2025, the value of overall paper exports flatlined to a -0.3% slowdown compared to $190.4 billion starting in 2024.
The top 5 paper exporters are mainland China, Germany, United States of America, Sweden and Italy. That leading subgroup generated 43.8% of globally exported paper in 2025.
From a continental perspective, European countries sold the highest value among paper exporters during 2025 with shipments valued at $102.1 billion (53.8% of overall paper exports). In second place were suppliers in Asia at 29.5% of worldwide paper deliveries ahead of those located in North America at another 12.6%.
Smaller percentages came from sellers in Latin America (2.7%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (0.9%), then Oceania (0.4%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
For research purposes, the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 48 for paper and paperboard. Included are articles made from pulp, paper and paperboard like boxes.
Paper Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of paper during 2025.
- mainland China: US$29 billion (15.3% of total paper exports)
- Germany: $21.9 billion (11.5%)
- United States: $14.3 billion (7.5%)
- Sweden: $9.4 billion (5%)
- Italy: $8.6 billion (4.5%)
- Canada: $7.4 billion (3.9%)
- Finland: $7.2 billion (3.8%)
- Poland: $7.1 billion (3.7%)
- France: $6.8 billion (3.6%)
- Netherlands: $5.7 billion (3%)
- Spain: $5.12 billion (2.7%)
- Austria: $5.11 billion (2.7%)
- Belgium: $4.7 billion (2.5%)
- Indonesia: $4.6 billion (2.4%)
- United Kingdom: $2.7 billion (1.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped approaching three-quarters (73.5%) of international paper exports in 2025.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing paper exporters since 2024 were: Finland (up 7.7%), Poland (up 6.9%), Spain (up 5.5%) and Belgium (up 4.9%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported paper sales were: United States of America (down -7.4%), Canada (down -6.1%), mainland China (down -2.6%) and Sweden (down -0.1%).
Searchable List of Paper Exporting Countries
The top 100 export nations supplying paper account for 99.9% of the total value of exported paper during 2025.
| Rank | Exporter | Paper Exports | 2024-5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mainland China | $29,031,510,000 | -2.6% |
| 2 | Germany | $21,930,197,000 | +1.8% |
| 3 | United States | $14,308,798,000 | -7.4% |
| 4 | Sweden | $9,417,947,000 | -0.1% |
| 5 | Italy | $8,559,116,000 | +4% |
| 6 | Canada | $7,433,349,000 | -6.1% |
| 7 | Finland | $7,210,100,000 | +7.7% |
| 8 | Poland | $7,051,449,000 | +6.9% |
| 9 | France | $6,834,009,000 | +2.1% |
| 10 | Netherlands | $5,662,915,000 | +1.5% |
| 11 | Spain | $5,121,573,000 | +5.5% |
| 12 | Austria | $5,105,356,000 | +0.2% |
| 13 | Belgium | $4,706,537,000 | +4.9% |
| 14 | Indonesia | $4,570,255,000 | +2.9% |
| 15 | United Kingdom | $2,724,707,000 | +0.9% |
| 16 | Türkiye | $2,684,975,000 | -0.2% |
| 17 | Portugal | $2,634,951,000 | +5.2% |
| 18 | India | $2,613,058,000 | -0.4% |
| 19 | Czech Republic | $2,598,717,000 | +6.2% |
| 20 | South Korea | $2,596,125,000 | -5.9% |
| 21 | Vietnam | $2,563,874,000 | +22.4% |
| 22 | Brazil | $2,419,503,000 | -2.4% |
| 23 | Japan | $2,350,387,000 | -1.9% |
| 24 | Mexico | $2,254,704,000 | +1.1% |
| 25 | Malaysia | $2,242,580,000 | +1.9% |
| 26 | Russia | $1,817,653,000 | -3.1% |
| 27 | Thailand | $1,713,878,000 | +9.5% |
| 28 | Slovakia | $1,359,141,000 | -2.4% |
| 29 | Hungary | $1,348,820,000 | +2.2% |
| 30 | Taiwan | $1,265,199,000 | -3.7% |
| 31 | Switzerland | $1,030,500,000 | +0.1% |
| 32 | Denmark | $1,015,129,000 | +5.6% |
| 33 | Singapore | $985,530,000 | -5.9% |
| 34 | Slovenia | $875,774,000 | +0.5% |
| 35 | Serbia | $724,073,000 | +4.5% |
| 36 | Romania | $678,240,000 | +2.6% |
| 37 | South Africa | $666,527,000 | -0.5% |
| 38 | Hong Kong | $660,649,000 | +1.2% |
| 39 | United Arab Emirates | $655,254,000 | -53.3% |
| 40 | Saudi Arabia | $654,669,000 | -1% |
| 41 | Australia | $585,467,000 | -4.8% |
| 42 | Chile | $528,101,000 | -9.5% |
| 43 | Greece | $489,629,000 | -18.5% |
| 44 | Laos | $466,321,000 | +5.6% |
| 45 | Norway | $440,278,000 | +9.7% |
| 46 | Luxembourg | $438,196,000 | +1.2% |
| 47 | Croatia | $431,141,000 | +0.3% |
| 48 | Lithuania | $423,157,000 | +4.5% |
| 49 | Colombia | $410,741,000 | +3.2% |
| 50 | Guatemala | $406,035,000 | -2.2% |
| 51 | Egypt | $403,220,000 | +1.1% |
| 52 | El Salvador | $376,179,000 | +4.1% |
| 53 | Ireland | $314,756,000 | -3.8% |
| 54 | Ukraine | $288,702,000 | +27.8% |
| 55 | Bulgaria | $235,527,000 | -26.3% |
| 56 | New Zealand | $216,651,000 | -15.2% |
| 57 | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $208,976,000 | +6.1% |
| 58 | Argentina | $197,044,000 | +1.3% |
| 59 | Estonia | $169,565,000 | +1.9% |
| 60 | Dominican Republic | $168,426,000 | +18% |
| 61 | Latvia | $140,778,000 | +2% |
| 62 | Morocco | $138,782,000 | +1% |
| 63 | Costa Rica | $130,650,000 | +14.1% |
| 64 | Israel | $130,038,000 | -9.5% |
| 65 | Cambodia | $125,867,000 | +11.8% |
| 66 | Tunisia | $125,158,000 | -38.9% |
| 67 | Peru | $122,710,000 | -11% |
| 68 | Philippines | $96,504,000 | -11.3% |
| 69 | Ivory Coast | $93,420,000 | +11.1% |
| 70 | Jordan | $90,356,000 | -48% |
| 71 | Honduras | $89,428,000 | -35.7% |
| 72 | Oman | $88,171,000 | +14.3% |
| 73 | Trinidad/Tobago | $83,265,000 | +3.2% |
| 74 | Pakistan | $65,538,000 | -7.6% |
| 75 | Kazakhstan | $64,857,000 | -10.9% |
| 76 | Paraguay | $64,598,000 | +6.1% |
| 77 | Ecuador | $64,241,000 | +25.9% |
| 78 | Kenya | $63,410,000 | +0.9% |
| 79 | Sri Lanka | $62,735,000 | -13.6% |
| 80 | Panama | $59,559,000 | -6.7% |
| 81 | Albania | $56,752,000 | -9.6% |
| 82 | Tanzania | $47,310,000 | +54.7% |
| 83 | Kuwait | $45,573,000 | -34.8% |
| 84 | Bahrain | $33,167,000 | -16.5% |
| 85 | Uganda | $32,400,000 | +21.3% |
| 86 | Bangladesh | $26,909,000 | -7.8% |
| 87 | Senegal | $26,535,000 | +69.4% |
| 88 | Belarus | $26,444,000 | -64.3% |
| 89 | Uzbekistan | $25,558,000 | -48.1% |
| 90 | Uruguay | $24,227,000 | +9.3% |
| 91 | Eswatini | $22,727,000 | +25.3% |
| 92 | Ghana | $22,554,000 | -13.8% |
| 93 | Moldova | $21,973,000 | -4.7% |
| 94 | Bolivia | $20,966,000 | +39.9% |
| 95 | Lebanon | $20,692,000 | -52.7% |
| 96 | Zimbabwe | $19,939,000 | +50.2% |
| 97 | Algeria | $19,718,000 | -62% |
| 98 | Barbados | $16,536,000 | +3.9% |
| 99 | Zambia | $16,473,000 | +29.1% |
| 100 | Venezuela | $15,692,000 | -5.4% |
Focusing on the top 100 paper exporters, the fastest growers were the African nation Senegal (up 69.4% from 2024), Tanzania (up 54.7%), Zimbabwe (up 50.2%), Bolivia (up 39.9%), Zambia (up 29.1%) and Ukraine (up 27.8%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icons at the top of the above table’s columns.
An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2024 data is available.
Countries Generating Highest Trade Surpluses from Paper
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for paper during 2025. 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 paper exports and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- mainland China: US$23.1 billion (net export surplus up 0.1% since 2024)
- Sweden: $7.6 billion (down -1.1%)
- Germany: $7.1 billion (down -2.1%)
- Finland: $6.5 billion (up 7.4%)
- Indonesia: $2.7 billion (up 1.1%)
- Austria: $2.5 billion (down -2.2%)
- Brazil: $1.4 billion (down -10.4%)
- Italy: $1.3 billion (down -7.3%)
- Portugal: $1 billion (down -3.4%)
- Russia: $542.8 million (up 26.4%)
- Canada: $538.3 million (down -38.6%)
- Slovakia: $387.7 million (down -9.8%)
- Laos: $377.6 million (up 8.1%)
- South Korea: $361.8 million (down -26.4%)
- Malaysia: $343.3 million (up 1.2%)
Mainland China generated the highest surplus in the international trade of paper. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms China’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Causing Largest Trade Deficits from Paper
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for paper during 2025. 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 paper import purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$5.6 billion (net export deficit up 6.1% since 2024)
- United Kingdom: -$5.4 billion (down -1.7%)
- Mexico: -$4.3 billion (down -6.5%)
- France: -$2.8 billion (down -1.3%)
- Australia: -$1.8 billion (down -3.7%)
- Philippines: -$1.42 billion (down -3.4%)
- Switzerland: -$1.4 billion (up 5.2%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$1.4 billion (up 60.6%)
- Ireland: -$1.11 billion (up 5.7%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$1.10 billion (down -9.4%)
- Vietnam: -$1.08 billion (down -7.2%)
- Morocco: -$988.1 million (up 17.2%)
- Egypt: -$972.3 million (down -6.9%)
- Greece: -$940.9 million (up 6.8%)
- Romania: -$935.3 million (down -3.1%)
The United States of America and the United Kingdom endured the severest deficits in the international trade of paper. In turn, these negative cashflows confirm both competitors’ strong competitive disadvantages for this specific product category. This insight signals opportunities for other paper-supplying countries to help satisfy the powerful demand.
Paper Exporting Companies
Below are global paper-processing conglomerates that represent the largest players in the worldwide paper market trade. Shown within parenthesis is the country where the company is headquartered.
- DS Smith (United Kingdom)
- International Paper (United States)
- Nippon Paper (Japan)
- Oji Paper (Japan)
- RockTenn (United States)
- Sappi (South Africa)
- Smurfit Kappa Group (Ireland)
- Stora Enzo (Finland)
- Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (Sweden)
- UPM (Finland)
Companies are sorted by paper and board production by weight based on predicted tonnage from final statistics.
See also Paper Imports by Country, Sawn Wood Exports by Country, Top Cork Exporting Countries, Top Toilet Paper Exporters by Country and Top Paint Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on July 20, 2026
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 20, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 20, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 20, 2026
Wikipedia, Paper. Accessed on July 20, 2026
Wikipedia, Pulp and paper industry. Accessed on July 20, 2026