That dollar amount reflects a 15.7% increase since 2017 when shipments totaled $2.378 trillion.
Year over year, the value of North American exported products accelerated by 23.3% compared to $2.232 trillion for 2020.
Exports from North America represent about 12.4% of all goods exported worldwide (based on global export total for all countries). That percentage is smaller than the 13.3% share in 2018.
Based on metrics from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook Database, the total Gross Domestic Product from all North American nations grew to an estimated $26.69 trillion as of October 2021 up about 9.9% from 2020.
Compared to 2021 GDP, exports drive almost 10% of North America’s total economic output.
Given North America’s population of 503.1 million people at July 2021, the total $2.752 trillion in 2021 North American exports translates to roughly $5,470 in international products sales for every person residing in North America. That dollar metric compares to an average $5,200 per person one year earlier in 2020.
North American Export Countries Ranked
The listing below shows how the top North American export countries stacked up in international trade during 2021. Also shown is each country’s percentage share of the continent’s overall exports.
- United States: $1.754 trillion (63.7% of total North American exports)
- Canada: $503.7 billion (18.3%)
- Mexico: $494.6 billion (18%)
Mexico enjoyed the strongest growth in export revenues via a 20.8% rise from 2017 to 2021.
The value of exports from Canada increased by 19.6% over the same 5-year period, eclipsing the 13.4% increase for the United States.
Partly due to expanding international energy sales, Canada grew its exports at the fastest pace compared to 2020, via its 29.2% advance.
Year over year, export totals for both the United States (up 23.1% from 2020) and Mexico (up 18.6%) also improved at a healthy double-digit rate.
In terms of population as of July 2021, the United States had 335 million residents while there were about 130.2 million Mexicans and 37.9 million Canadians.
See also United States Top 10 Exports, Canada’s Top 10 Exports and Mexico’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook: Field Listing: Exports and World Population. Accessed on December 3, 2022
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity)
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on December 3, 2022
