Those 165 countries showcased in this article incurred international deficits due to their export sales revenues coming in below outflowing payments for imported products.
On a more upbeat note, 64 of all global traders generated a positive trade balance during 2023 compared to 62 surplus-earners one year earlier.
Trade Surpluses by Country
The following trade entities earned a collective trade surplus totaling an overall US$2.756 trillion during 2023, down from $3.062 trillion for 2022.
| Rank | Trade Entity | Trade Surplus | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | mainland China | $829,396,324,000 | -5.5% |
| 2. | Germany | $232,627,084,000 | +148.2% |
| 3. | Russia | $199,466,025,000 | -47.5% |
| 4. | Saudi Arabia | $147,118,412,000 | -33.5% |
| 5. | Vietnam | $118,564,407,000 | +878.2% |
| 6. | Brazil | $98,902,927,000 | +60.1% |
| 7. | Australia | $94,841,944,000 | -15.4% |
| 8. | Norway | $80,482,567,000 | -51% |
| 9. | Netherlands | $77,672,711,000 | +35.1% |
| 10. | Taiwan | $74,279,782,000 | +81.5% |
| 11. | Qatar | $68,248,518,000 | -30% |
| 12. | Ireland | $62,258,134,000 | -12.1% |
| 13. | Iraq | $60,606,466,000 | +4.6% |
| 14. | Switzerland | $54,390,409,000 | +19.9% |
| 15. | Singapore | $52,942,532,000 | +33.8% |
| 16. | Kuwait | $48,784,045,000 | -23.6% |
| 17. | Malaysia | $46,992,229,000 | -19.1% |
| 18. | Oman | $44,061,162,000 | +60.3% |
| 19. | Italy | $37,166,417,000 | -203.7% |
| 20. | Indonesia | $37,057,562,000 | -32% |
| 21. | Angola | $25,761,151,000 | -23.2% |
| 22. | Czech Republic | $24,414,222,000 | +354.7% |
| 23. | Chile | $19,798,042,000 | -398.2% |
| 24. | Algeria | $17,920,608,000 | -40.7% |
| 25. | Belgium | $17,650,497,000 | +45.5% |
| 26. | Kazakhstan | $17,575,090,000 | -48.8% |
| 27. | Azerbaijan | $16,613,210,000 | -29.6% |
| 28. | Poland | $13,260,182,000 | -184.2% |
| 29. | Libya | $12,679,009,000 | -37.6% |
| 30. | United Arab Emirates | $12,556,660,000 | -86.8% |
| 31. | Peru | $12,191,113,000 | +266.2% |
| 32. | Turkmenistan | $10,756,635,000 | +17.4% |
| 33. | Denmark | $9,677,442,000 | +254.1% |
| 34. | Canada | $9,181,622,000 | -67.7% |
| 35. | Hungary | $9,177,833,000 | -197.6% |
| 36. | Gabon | $8,477,435,000 | +31.7% |
| 37. | Papua New Guinea | $7,972,422,000 | -29.6% |
| 38. | Mongolia | $5,931,972,000 | +55.7% |
| 39. | Guyana | $5,581,690,000 | -907.8% |
| 40. | Sweden | $4,753,060,000 | -186.9% |
| 41. | Equatorial Guinea | $4,364,955,000 | -47.4% |
| 42. | Brunei Darussalam | $3,756,153,000 | -25.6% |
| 43. | Congo | $3,728,008,000 | -29.5% |
| 44. | South Africa | $3,398,580,000 | -71% |
| 45. | Democratic Republic Congo | $2,842,214,000 | +13.3% |
| 46. | Guinea | $2,450,582,000 | -51% |
| 47. | Chad | $2,230,914,000 | -38.1% |
| 48. | Slovakia | $1,706,694,000 | -122.6% |
| 49. | Suriname | $613,745,000 | -40.6% |
| 50. | Laos | $593,148,000 | -69.7% |
| 51. | Greenland | $536,445,000 | +13.9% |
| 52. | Ghana | $480,294,000 | -182.3% |
| 53. | Zambia | $308,749,000 | -88.3% |
| 54. | Ecuador | $230,743,000 | -90.1% |
| 55. | Faroe Islands | $196,865,000 | +178% |
| 56. | Falkland Is (Malvinas) | $183,169,000 | -37.1% |
| 57. | Tokelau | $151,319,000 | -55.2% |
| 58. | Nauru | $150,268,000 | +7.2% |
| 59. | Eritrea | $113,240,000 | -70.6% |
| 60. | Nigeria | $75,505,000 | -97.4% |
| 61. | Eswatini | $57,063,000 | -142.8% |
| 62. | Micronesia | $12,081,000 | -71.1% |
| 63. | Western Sahara | $5,192,000 | -103.3% |
| 64. | British Antarctic Territory | $1,000 | -100.2% |
Year over year, the fastest-increasing trade surpluses belong to Vietnam (up 878.2% from 2022), Czech Republic (up 354.7%), Peru (up 266.2%) then Denmark (up 254.1%).
Among the world’s biggest economies, mainland China’s trade surplus shrank by -5.5% from 2022 to 2023 while Germany’s black ink from international trade soared via a 148.2% gain.
Strong petroleum exporters Russia (down -47.5% from 2022) and Saudi Arabia (down -33.5%) recorded smaller trade surpluses in 2023 compared to 2022.
Trade Deficits by Country
One hundred and sixty-five trade entities recorded deficits for 2023, outpacing the 64 countries, islands, territories or other geographic that earned surpluses over the same timeframe.
Collectively, the overall trade deficit for these 165 geographies totaled a sum equal to -US$2.969 trillion in red ink for 2023 down from -$3.585 trillion one year earlier.
Out of the 165 trade entities that registered a deficit in 2023, a minority (64) expanded their negative trade balances compared to the corresponding amount of international red ink for 2022.
| Rank | Trade Entity | Trade Deficit | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | -$1,153,373,387,000 | -12.2% |
| 2. | United Kingdom | -$272,171,178,000 | -4.8% |
| 3. | India | -$240,578,858,000 | -14% |
| 4. | France | -$140,603,775,000 | -31.6% |
| 5. | Türkiye | -$106,351,679,000 | -2.9% |
| 6. | Hong Kong | -$79,395,125,000 | +37.8% |
| 7. | Japan | -$66,521,186,000 | -56.5% |
| 8. | Philippines | -$60,835,708,000 | -9.1% |
| 9. | Spain | -$48,873,500,000 | -34.6% |
| 10. | Egypt | -$41,107,294,000 | -6.7% |
| 11. | Greece | -$33,554,569,000 | -16.9% |
| 12. | Romania | -$31,320,450,000 | -12.7% |
| 13. | Portugal | -$29,577,335,000 | -9.6% |
| 14. | Morocco | -$28,193,941,000 | -7.6% |
| 15. | Ukraine | -$27,376,389,000 | +153.9% |
| 16. | Israel | -$23,247,054,000 | -33.9% |
| 17. | Pakistan | -$21,412,455,000 | -46.4% |
| 18. | Dominican Republic | -$19,424,444,000 | +10.4% |
| 19. | Croatia | -$17,882,206,000 | -4.5% |
| 20. | Panama | -$17,546,288,000 | +27.3% |
| 21. | Marshall Islands | -$17,063,385,000 | +13.4% |
| 22. | Macao | -$16,339,149,000 | +1.7% |
| 23. | Guatemala | -$16,123,668,000 | -2.1% |
| 24. | Ethiopia | -$14,178,438,000 | +5.3% |
| 25. | Colombia | -$13,253,742,000 | -34.2% |
| 26. | Jordan | -$13,118,237,000 | -10.1% |
| 27. | Lebanon | -$13,072,932,000 | -16% |
| 28. | Thailand | -$11,965,574,000 | -46% |
| 29. | Kenya | -$11,488,667,000 | -16.4% |
| 30. | Iran | -$11,445,344,000 | -151.6% |
| 31. | Uzbekistan | -$10,565,046,000 | -18.6% |
| 32. | South Korea | -$10,345,324,000 | -78.3% |
| 33. | New Zealand | -$10,195,059,000 | -4.5% |
| 34. | Belarus | -$10,080,505,000 | +572.8% |
| 35. | Bangladesh | -$9,457,960,000 | -52.8% |
| 36. | El Salvador | -$9,150,213,000 | -8.4% |
| 37. | Kyrgyzstan | -$9,041,528,000 | +19.8% |
| 38. | Cyprus | -$8,933,802,000 | +19.5% |
| 39. | Nepal | -$8,885,795,000 | -28.4% |
| 40. | Luxembourg | -$8,870,873,000 | -10.2% |
| 41. | Serbia | -$8,854,198,000 | -20.9% |
| 42. | Gibraltar | -$8,048,948,000 | -25.5% |
| 43. | Yemen | -$8,040,667,000 | -26.5% |
| 44. | Georgia | -$7,938,892,000 | +29.1% |
| 45. | Tanzania | -$7,843,153,000 | -11.2% |
| 46. | Honduras | -$7,209,569,000 | 0% |
| 47. | Argentina | -$7,012,950,000 | -157.9% |
| 48. | Senegal | -$6,560,963,000 | +2.4% |
| 49. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | -$6,120,710,000 | +7.3% |
| 50. | Jamaica | -$6,070,193,000 | +4.1% |
| 51. | Tunisia | -$5,890,838,000 | -27.5% |
| 52. | Lithuania | -$5,792,591,000 | -32.7% |
| 53. | Bulgaria | -$5,628,084,000 | -28.2% |
| 54. | Mexico | -$5,478,161,000 | -79.6% |
| 55. | Uganda | -$5,475,084,000 | -11.3% |
| 56. | Albania | -$4,958,949,000 | +20.9% |
| 57. | Malta | -$4,924,343,000 | -7.2% |
| 58. | Cayman Islands | -$4,900,498,000 | +91.5% |
| 59. | Latvia | -$4,649,374,000 | -14% |
| 60. | Moldova | -$4,625,055,000 | -5.4% |
| 61. | Mali | -$4,572,977,000 | +79.4% |
| 62. | Mauritius | -$4,427,295,000 | -15.5% |
| 63. | Tajikistan | -$4,411,223,000 | +54.6% |
| 64. | Costa Rica | -$4,409,722,000 | -24.3% |
| 65. | Sri Lanka | -$4,333,726,000 | -4.3% |
| 66. | Paraguay | -$4,265,490,000 | -28.1% |
| 67. | Venezuela | -$3,805,631,000 | -39.1% |
| 68. | Armenia | -$3,650,550,000 | +9.7% |
| 69. | Nicaragua | -$3,537,865,000 | -9% |
| 70. | Bahamas | -$3,486,816,000 | +9.5% |
| 71. | Montenegro | -$3,393,533,000 | +13.6% |
| 72. | Estonia | -$3,329,269,000 | -15.4% |
| 73. | Maldives | -$3,326,950,000 | -1.1% |
| 74. | Uruguay | -$3,296,332,000 | +84.8% |
| 75. | Somalia | -$3,221,995,000 | -36.5% |
| 76. | North Macedonia | -$3,057,531,000 | -24.1% |
| 77. | Cuba | -$2,980,655,000 | -61.1% |
| 78. | Bahrain | -$2,947,442,000 | -143.9% |
| 79. | Haiti | -$2,897,427,000 | -2.8% |
| 80. | Benin | -$2,852,687,000 | +13.6% |
| 81. | Iceland | -$2,848,481,000 | +21.7% |
| 82. | Afghanistan | -$2,734,931,000 | -53.6% |
| 83. | Syria | -$2,705,986,000 | -34.1% |
| 84. | Niger | -$2,668,739,000 | -20.1% |
| 85. | Cameroon | -$2,546,713,000 | +233.7% |
| 86. | Gambia | -$2,300,302,000 | +165.5% |
| 87. | Slovenia | -$2,182,948,000 | -48.9% |
| 88. | Malawi | -$2,175,233,000 | +255.3% |
| 89. | French Polynesia | -$2,058,471,000 | -0.7% |
| 90. | Fiji | -$2,032,765,000 | +4.5% |
| 91. | Liberia | -$2,013,004,000 | +17.2% |
| 92. | Zimbabwe | -$1,976,008,000 | -2.1% |
| 93. | Sudan | -$1,961,088,000 | -56% |
| 94. | Mozambique | -$1,815,880,000 | -71.2% |
| 95. | Curaçao | -$1,814,026,000 | -8.1% |
| 96. | Namibia | -$1,751,100,000 | -10.3% |
| 97. | Andorra | -$1,742,433,000 | +17.9% |
| 98. | North Korea | -$1,703,772,000 | +86% |
| 99. | Myanmar | -$1,687,470,000 | +429.2% |
| 100. | Barbados | -$1,656,969,000 | +0.4% |
| 101. | Rwanda | -$1,604,402,000 | -16.9% |
| 102. | Togo | -$1,593,339,000 | +10.2% |
| 103. | Madagascar | -$1,582,432,000 | -19.6% |
| 104. | US Minor Outlying Is | -$1,562,491,000 | -20.8% |
| 105. | Palestine | -$1,560,595,000 | -79.4% |
| 106. | Burkina Faso | -$1,429,151,000 | +32% |
| 107. | Aruba | -$1,425,515,000 | +4.2% |
| 108. | Trinidad/ Tobago | -$1,291,893,000 | -118.4% |
| 109. | Bermuda | -$1,157,750,000 | -0.1% |
| 110. | Austria | -$1,151,343,000 | -94.9% |
| 111. | Belize | -$1,084,110,000 | -0.7% |
| 112. | Saint Lucia | -$1,050,498,000 | -17.6% |
| 113. | Seychelles | -$920,367,000 | +10.6% |
| 114. | Botswana | -$914,751,000 | -531.2% |
| 115. | Lesotho | -$903,650,000 | -6.3% |
| 116. | Cabo Verde | -$873,719,000 | +10.6% |
| 117. | Bhutan | -$854,246,000 | -24.5% |
| 118. | Timor-Leste | -$746,103,000 | +61.6% |
| 119. | Mauritania | -$745,163,000 | -44.5% |
| 120. | British Virgin Islands | -$736,799,000 | -11.2% |
| 121. | Turks/Caicos Islands | -$699,998,000 | +12.2% |
| 122. | Antigua and Barbuda | -$642,025,000 | +6.8% |
| 123. | Cambodia | -$631,690,000 | -93.3% |
| 124. | Central African Republic | -$629,064,000 | +22.9% |
| 125. | Bolivia | -$584,711,000 | -196.9% |
| 126. | Grenada | -$562,704,000 | +2% |
| 127. | Burundi | -$561,336,000 | -44.7% |
| 128. | Djibouti | -$510,228,000 | +5.6% |
| 129. | Bonaire/St Eustatius/Saba | -$507,935,000 | -39.1% |
| 130. | Ivory Coast | -$478,607,000 | -69.6% |
| 131. | South Sudan | -$473,110,000 | -51.8% |
| 132. | Guinea-Bissau | -$448,064,000 | +127.5% |
| 133. | Samoa | -$430,632,000 | +6.7% |
| 134. | St Vincent/Grenadines | -$415,634,000 | +6% |
| 135. | Sierra Leone | -$378,659,000 | -19.3% |
| 136. | Tonga | -$314,550,000 | +48.6% |
| 137. | Comoros | -$289,221,000 | -1.4% |
| 138. | Saint Kitts/Nevis | -$289,206,000 | -14.1% |
| 139. | Finland | -$283,701,000 | -97.5% |
| 140. | Dominica | -$279,267,000 | +33.7% |
| 141. | New Caledonia | -$257,065,000 | -214.6% |
| 142. | Vanuatu | -$236,628,000 | +16.8% |
| 143. | Cook Islands | -$220,797,000 | +66.5% |
| 144. | Palau | -$205,430,000 | +17.4% |
| 145. | St Maarten (Dutch) | -$181,918,000 | +17.8% |
| 146. | Sao Tome/Principe | -$167,008,000 | -3.9% |
| 147. | Northern Mariana Islands | -$159,395,000 | +4.9% |
| 148. | Guam | -$119,482,000 | +133% |
| 149. | Anguilla | -$116,082,000 | -24.2% |
| 150. | Kiribati | -$89,668,000 | +11.6% |
| 151. | American Samoa | -$89,082,000 | -6.3% |
| 152. | Tuvalu | -$88,845,000 | +20.3% |
| 153. | Christmas Island | -$83,617,000 | +125.3% |
| 154. | British Indian Ocean Territory | -$77,582,000 | +53.5% |
| 155. | Saint Pierre/Miquelon | -$59,327,000 | -3.8% |
| 156. | Wallis/Futuna Islands | -$52,084,000 | -12.2% |
| 157. | French Southern/Antarctic Terr | -$47,486,000 | +48.3% |
| 158. | Montserrat | -$41,759,000 | +28.1% |
| 159. | Norfolk Island | -$31,769,000 | +1.2% |
| 160. | Saint Helena | -$27,711,000 | +677.1% |
| 161. | Cocos (Keeling) Islands | -$10,049,000 | +6% |
| 162. | Niue | -$7,047,000 | -70.9% |
| 163. | Pitcairn | -$5,532,000 | -99.5% |
| 164. | Solomon Islands | -$3,781,000 | -112.5% |
| 165. | Bouvet Island | -$244,000 | -169.7% |
Year over year, the fastest-increasing trade deficit was posted by Saint Helena via its 677.1% increase in red ink from 2022.
Belarus incurred the second-highest expansion in negative trade balance (up 572.8%) ahead of Myanmar (up 429.2%) and Malawi (up 255.3%).
The country recording the greatest overall trade deficit, the United States of America, decreased by -12.2% from 2022 to 2023.
Research Sources:
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on November 27, 2024
International Trade Centre Trade Map,. Accessed on November 27, 2024
Wikipedia, Balance of trade. Accessed on November 27, 2024