That dollar amount reflects a 46.7% rise from $31.9 billion in 2017.
Year over year, the overall value of Slovenian exports accelerated by 24.8% compared to $37.5 billion during 2020.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2021, Slovenia uses the euro which appreciated by 4.5% against the US dollar since 2017 and strengthened by 3.5% from 2020 to 2021. The stronger European Union currency in 2021 made Slovenia’s exports paid for in weaker US dollars relatively more expensive for international buyers.
The top 3 most lucrative goods exported from Slovenia are medication mixes in dosage, cars, and automobile parts or accessories. Combined, that triad of major exports attracted over one quarter (27.8%) of Slovenia’s total revenues from export sales.
Slovenia’s Most Valuable Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 75.3% of products exported from Slovenia were bought by importers in: Germany (17.3% of Slovenia’s global total), Switzerland (13.4%), Italy (10.7%), Croatia (7.9%), Austria (6.5%), France (4.3%), Serbia (3.1%), Poland (2.9%), Hungary (2.7%), Czech Republic (2.18%), Russia (2.16%), then Bosnia and Herzegovina (2.16%).
From a continental perspective, 91.1% of Slovenia’s exports by value were delivered to fellow European countries while 4.6% were sold to importers in Asia. Slovenia shipped another 2.4% worth of goods to North America.
Tinier percentages went to Africa (0.9%), Latin America (0.33%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.31%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Slovenia’s population of 2.11 million people, its total $46.8 billion in 2021 exports translates to roughly $22,200 for every resident in the south-central European nation. That dollar metric outpaces the average $21,700 per capita one year earlier for 2020.
Slovenia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Slovenian global shipments during 2021. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Slovenia.
- Pharmaceuticals: US$9.7 billion (20.7% of total exports)
- Vehicles: $5.4 billion (11.5%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $5.1 billion (10.9%)
- Machinery including computers: $4.5 billion (9.5%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $2.1 billion (4.4%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $1.9 billion (4.1%)
- Aluminum: $1.7 billion (3.6%)
- Iron, steel: $1.6 billion (3.4%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $1.1 billion (2.4%)
- Wood: $1.1 billion (2.3%)
Slovenia’s top 10 exports accounted for 72.8% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Mineral fuels including oil was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 67.5% from 2020 to 2021. That product group was propelled by greater revenues for exported Slovenian refined petroleum oils, electrical energy, and petroleum gas.
In second place for improving export sales were the metals iron and steel via a 56.6% gain.
Slovenia’s shipments of aluminum posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 43.8%.
The most modest advance among Slovenia’s top 10 export categories was vehicles, due to its 9.6% annual increase.
At the more detailed four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, Slovenia’s most lucrative exported product is medication mixes in dosage (18% of the Slovenian total). In second place were cars (7.2%) trailed by automobile parts or accessories (2.5%), blood fractions including antisera (2.4%), refined petroleum oils (2.2%), electrical energy (1.8%), electric water heaters and hair dryers (1.2%), new rubber tires (1%), electrical lighting and signaling equipment (1%), then electric motor parts (1%).
Products Driving Slovenia’s Best Trade Surpluses
The following types of Slovenian 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.
- Pharmaceuticals: US$3.1 billion (Up by 55.8% since 2020)
- Vehicles: $1.2 billion (Up by 1.5%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $411.9 million (Up by 5.3%)
- Machinery including computers: $342.8 million (Down by -3.3%)
- Wood: $322 million (Up by 37.1%)
- Tanning, dyes, paints, varnishes, ink: $295.5 million (Up by 30.4%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $180.7 million (Up by 21.3%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $155.3 million (Down by -76.3%)
- Stone, plaster, cement, asbestos: $154.5 million (Up by 13.4%)
- Manmade filaments: $130.3 million (Up by 22.4%)
Slovenia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of pharmaceuticals and vehicles (notably cars and motorcycle parts or accessories). In turn, these cashflows indicate Slovenia’s strong competitive advantages under the pharmaceuticals and vehicles product categories.
Products Causing Slovenia’s Worst Trade Deficits
Slovenia incurred an overall -$2.8 billion trade deficit for 2021, reversing a $958.4 million surplus one year earlier in 2020.
Below are exports from Slovenia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Slovenia’s goods trail Slovenian importer spending on foreign products.
- Organic chemicals: -US$3.6 billion (Up by 270.3% since 2020)
- Mineral fuels including oil: -$1.7 billion (Up by 91.2%)
- Iron, steel: -$769.3 million (Up by 135.5%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$349.1 million (Up by 84.3%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: -$229.5 million (Up by 34.2%)
- Other chemical goods: -$214.4 million (Up by 83.1%)
- Gems, precious metals: -$211.3 million (Up by 143.7%)
- Woodpulp: -$184.6 million (Up by 7.6%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): -$170.2 million (Up by 18.0%)
- Fruits, nuts: -$162.5 million (Up by 7.2%)
Slovenia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for organic chemicals as well asa mineral fuels-related products–particularly refined oils and petroleum gases.
Slovenian Export Companies
Not one Slovenian corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia also lists companies based in Slovenia. Selected examples are shown below.
- Academa (custom software)
- Adria Mobil (motorhomes)
- Akrapovič (motorcycle exhaust systems)
- Alpina Žiri (shoes, boots)
- Gorenje (home appliances)
- Krka (pharmaceuticals)
- Litostroj (heavy machinery)
- Tomos (motorcycles)
In macroeconomic terms, Slovenia’s total exported goods represent 50.3% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2021 ($92.9 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 50.3% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2021 compares to 56.2% for 2020. This suggests a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Slovenia’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe. Please note that those percentages include a significant amount of re-exporting activity partly due to the country’s proximity to European trading hubs including Germany.
Slovenia’s capital city is Ljubljana.
See also Germany’s Top Trading Partners, Lithuania’s Top 10 Exports, Croatia’s Top 10 Exports and Top EU Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Europe: Slovenia. Accessed on September 15, 2022
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 15, 2022
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (National Currency per U.S. dollar, period average)
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 15, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 15, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 15, 2022
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on September 15, 2022
Wikipedia, Latvia. Accessed on September 15, 2022
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Slovenia. Accessed on September 15, 2022
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on September 15, 2022
Wikipedia, Latvia. Accessed on September 15, 2022
