European Union imports in 2021 represent 28.6% of world imports which totaled $22.211 trillion. That global percentage is slightly higher than 28.3% for 2020 and 28.1% five years earlier during 2017.
The European Union’s population was 450.9 million people as of July 2022 according to the CIA World Factbook. Consequently, the total $6.342 trillion in 2021 EU imports translates to approximately $14,1000 in international purchases by every person in the current 27-member European Union.
As the following statistical table shows, Germany and France continue to be the EU’s dominant players in international trade for 2021. Those two leading importers accounted for about one third of all EU spending on imported products.
Note that the United Kingdom exited from the EU on January 31, 2020.
Top EU Import Countries
Below is an analysis of European Union import countries that purchased products from around the globe during 2021. Also shown is each country’s share of the EU’s global imports as well as changes in spending costs from 2020 to 2021.
| Rank | Importer | Imports | %EU Total | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Germany | $1,421,195,357,000 | 22.4% | 21.2% |
| 2. | France | $701,907,963,000 | 11.1% | 23.3% |
| 3. | Netherlands | $623,246,504,000 | 9.8% | 28.7% |
| 4. | Italy | $557,227,660,000 | 8.8% | 30.7% |
| 5. | Belgium | $532,547,499,000 | 8.4% | 34.5% |
| 6. | Spain | $426,059,817,000 | 6.7% | 29.2% |
| 7. | Poland | $335,451,322,000 | 5.3% | 31.7% |
| 8. | Austria | $218,972,302,000 | 3.5% | 33% |
| 9. | Czech Republic | $211,839,349,000 | 3.3% | 23.6% |
| 10. | Sweden | $187,116,442,000 | 3% | 25.2% |
| 11. | Hungary | $138,904,664,000 | 2.2% | 22.5% |
| 12. | Denmark | $121,628,401,000 | 1.9% | 25.6% |
| 13. | Ireland | $119,507,355,000 | 1.9% | 20.1% |
| 14. | Romania | $116,401,945,000 | 1.8% | 26.4% |
| 15. | Slovakia | $104,682,098,000 | 1.7% | 23.2% |
| 16. | Portugal | $97,857,157,000 | 1.5% | 25.6% |
| 17. | Finland | $85,992,875,000 | 1.4% | 26% |
| 18. | Greece | $75,983,832,000 | 1.2% | 36.8% |
| 19. | Slovenia | $49,607,332,000 | 0.8% | 35.9% |
| 20. | Bulgaria | $47,450,654,000 | 0.7% | 35.7% |
| 21. | Lithuania | $44,549,993,000 | 0.7% | 33.6% |
| 22. | Croatia | $33,646,348,000 | 0.5% | 28.9% |
| 23. | Luxembourg | $25,537,148,000 | 0.4% | 22.3% |
| 24. | Estonia | $24,160,689,000 | 0.4% | 35.9% |
| 25. | Latvia | $23,085,593,000 | 0.4% | 33.3% |
| 26. | Cyprus | $10,088,630,000 | 0.2% | 15.6% |
| 27. | Malta | $7,075,037,000 | 0.1% | 35.1% |
The top 10 importers accounted for 82.2% of the overall value for the EU’s total trade purchases during 2021.
The fastest-growing buyers of products imported into the EU from 2020 to 2020 were: Greece (up 36.8%), Estonia (up 35.9%), Slovenia (also up 35.9%), Bulgaria (up 35.7%), Malta (up 35.1%), then Belgium (up 34.5%).
Not one of the European Union’s 27 members posted a decline in its import spending compared to 2020.
See also United Kingdom’s Top Trading Partners, European Union’s Top 10 Exports, UK’s EU Trade Scorecard Before Brexit and Top EU Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Europe: European Union. Accessed on September 14, 2022
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases. Accessed on September 14, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 14, 2022
Wikipedia, European Union. Accessed on September 14, 2022
Wikipedia, List of European countries by population. Accessed on September 14, 2022
Wikipedia, Member State of the European Union. Accessed on September 14, 2022
