In this article, we are going to discuss the 25 countries that import more than its export.
In 2022, despite facing a downward trend in Q4, global trade reached a new record of $32.06 trillion approximately. World merchandise trade rose by 12% to $25.26 trillion, Sectors related to energy showed significant growth, fuel trade was up by 61% (reflecting rising energy prices). Trade in agricultural products was up by 11%, automotive products increased by 6% while clothing jumped 9%.
Merchandise exports of United States grew by 18% in 2022, following a 23% increase in 2021. Exports of merchandise from Saudi Arabia increased 49%, allowing the country to climb six places in the ranking of top merchandise exporters. While, commercial services trade increased 15% to $6.8 trillion.
Transport witnessing another record year, grew by 25% in 2022, and 40% above 2019 figures. Global exports of digitally delivered services reached US $3.82 trillion. According to WTO report, this sector recorded an almost fourfold increase in value since 2005, rising 8.1% on average per year in the period 2005-2022, outpacing goods by 5.6% and other services exports by 4.2%.
Most exported products in 2022 were cars/automobiles at $776.5B with 7.5% YoY increase. This sector of trade was lead by Germany, producing 20% of exported cars worldwide at $155.1B, followed by Japan at $87.2B and United States at $57.9 billion.
Refined petroleum grew by 3.3%, this growth was driven by increased production from United States, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. In 2023, the industry’s size is expected to reach $2.7 trillion. For 2022, Asia Pacific was the largest region in terms of market share, followed by Western Europe. Major companies in petroleum industry are Royal dutch Shell, Total SA, Chevron, and Saudi Aramco.
In 2021, crude petroleum contributed $951B in global trade, with Saudi Arabia ($138 B) being the top exporter, followed by Russia ($113B). Refined petroleum and cars/automobiles stood at $746 billion and $723 billion, respectively. China, Japan, South Korea, India and the US are the top importers of Saudi oil, per the figures released by the OEC.
Further, according to The Business Research Company, the market of integrated circuit in international trade is expected to grow from $389 billion in 2022 to $427 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate of 9.7%. This industry witnessed significant growth over past years, with reasons being surge in global demand for electronics, high tech products, and automobile, EVs specifically. Integrated circuits stood at $823B of world trade, and was the world’s 2nd most traded product, with Honk Kong ($215B) and China ($175B) being the top buyers in the world.
You’d check out countries with the highest trade deficits in our current list. On that note, we’d also like to inform our readers about some of the top countries with the highest trade surplus in 2022. The country with the highest trade surplus in 2022 was China, at nearly $878 billion, followed by Russia ($291.5) and Saudi Arabia ($222 billion).
If you’re interested in exports as share of GDPs of different countries, you can check out our piece: Top Exporting Countries in the World.
Corporate Giants in Global Trade
Companies like Saudi Aramco, Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) and QUALCOMM Incorporated (NYSE:QCOM) are some of the top companies in global trade, if we go by indicators like market cap like we have in our piece on the biggest import-export companies in the world. We’ll primarily talk about Toyota Motor Corporation because auto sales had plummeted in 2022 owing to supply-chain disruptions that were caused by the pandemic, particularly of semiconductors. Toyota Motor Corporation, in 2022, was able to export nearly 1 million units. As reported by Supply Chain Dive, Toyota keeps around 45 days of stock to navigate potential supply-chain challenges but had to slash production in 2021 due to the effects of multidimensional disruptions in 2021 and is now formulating approaches to resist such disruptions in the future. Among these is rolling out a new platform that would be particular to EVs.
A shipping tanker moving through a busy port with containers stacked in the background.
Methodology
In this article, we used World Bank datasets to determine trade deficits of all countries for 2022 and then ranked the countries from least to highest trade deficit. The specific data discussed on the export/import of particular goods and services also comes from the World Bank.
Here’s the list of countries with high trade deficit.
25. Dominican Republic
Trade deficit in US$ -11.3 Billion
Exports 25.1B – Imports 36.4B
One of the fastest growing economies, incurred imports of $36.4 billion in merchandise and $5.6 billion in services. United States was one of the largest import partner, followed by China, these imports mainly included refined petroleum, Cars/automobiles and jewelry. Whereas in terms of exports, the country generated $25.1 Billion in revenue in 2022, with top exports being gold, medical instruments, rolled tobacco. It mostly exported to the US, Haiti, Switzerland, India and Netherland.
24. Thailand
Trade deficit in US$ -12.3 Billion
Exports 325B – Imports 337.2B
Thailand had the largest export of Electrical machinery and equipment at $45.3 billion (16% of total exports), followed by integrated circuits, and cars. The country had imports worth $337.2 Billion, mainly from Crude oil, gold, petroleum gas and motor vehicles parts and accessories, which were imported from China, Japan, Malaysia and the United States.
23. Nepal
Trade deficit in US$ -12.7 Billion
Exports 2.7B – Imports 15.4B
This country exported products worth $2.7 billion of soybean oil, palm oil, yarn, carpets to its export partners India, United States and Germany. In terms of imports, Nepal incurred $15.4 billion in imports. Most of these imports were from refined petroleum, semi finished iron, rice and gold from countries such as India, China, United Arab Emirates and Argentina.
22. Ethiopia
Trade deficit in US$ -13.2 Billion
Exports 11B – Imports 24.1 B
Ethiopia recorded exports of $11 Billion. Its top-export-products were coffee, gold and other oily seeds, which were exported largely to United Arab Emirates, United States, Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Germany. On the other hand, imports were at $24.1 billion significantly from wheat, refined petroleum, gas turbines, coming in from China, India, United Arab Emirates and Ukraine.
21. Uzbekistan
Trade deficit in US$ -13.7 Billion
Exports 21.9B – Imports 35.6B
In 2022, Uzbekistan exports were $21.9 billion. The top exports were gold, cotton yarn, refined copper mostly to Switzerland, China and United Kingdom. The Imports of Uzbekistan were US$ 35.6 billion. The top imports were packaged medicaments, motor vehicle parts and accessories from China, Russia and Kazakhstan.
20. New Zealand
Trade deficit in US$ -13.9 Billion
Exports 57.4B – Imports 70.9B
New Zealand is a small country but packs a punch in the international trade. In 2022, the country recorded exports worth $57.4 Billion in agricultural products, such as dairy, meat, wool, and wine. It also imports goods and services such as machinery, vehicles, and tourism. New Zealand has free trade agreements with many of its trading partners, which means that there are fewer barriers and tariffs for exchanging goods and services.
19 . Morocco
Trade deficit in US$ -15.2 Billion
Exports 58.5B – Imports 73.8B
Morocco had exports of $58.5 billion. Mostly from cars, mixed mineral or chemical fertilizers, insulated wire, phosphoric acid to its export partners, Spain, France, and India. Imports of Morocco were $73.8 billion, mostly from refined petroleum, cars, motor vehicle parts and accessories, with major import partners being Spain, China, and France.
18. Guatemala
Trade deficit in US$ -15.8 Billion
Exports 18.1B – Imports 33.9B
According to US Department of State, Guatemala has the largest economy in Central America, with a $85.9 billion gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021. More than 200 U.S. and other foreign firms have active investments in Guatemala, benefitting from the U.S. Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). Guatemala top exports’ revenue came from agricultural products.
17. Colombia
Trade deficit in US$ -16.4 Billion
Exports 73.4 B – Imports 89.7B
Colombia was the UK’s 72nd largest trading partner in the year 2022, accounting for 0.1% of the latter’s total trade whereas US trade with Colombia concluded $53.5 billion in 2022. It’s one of the top countries that import more than export.
16. Romania
Trade deficit in US$ -20.6 Billion
Exports 129.2B – Imports 149.8B
This European Union member located at the vicinity of large markets, witnessed exports worth $129.2B in 2022. Romania is the largest electronics producer in Central and Eastern Europe. In the past 20 years, Romania has also grown into a major center for mobile technology, information security, and related hardware research. The country is a regional leader in fields such as IT and motor vehicle production.
15. Egypt
Trade deficit in US$ -20.9 Billion
Exports 76.3B – Imports 97.1B
Being the largest oil producer in Africa, the country’s output is diverse in agriculture, energy, manufacturing and services exports. After implementing the IMF relief programme in 2016, Egypt’s GDP grew by an average of 5.2% per annum from 2016 to 2022, compared to 2.9% per annum from 2010 to 2015. Its unemployment rate dropped from 12.9% in 2015 to 7.3% in 2022.
14. Greece
Trade deficit in US$ -21.0 Billion
Exports 105.8B – Imports 126.7B
Another one of the countries that import more than export is Greece. It is an import-dependent economy with no significant non-tariff barriers to U.S. exports. According to Census Bureau, in 2021, Greece traded goods with United States worth nearly $1.7 billion in exports and $1.5 billion in imports.
13. Belgium
Trade deficit in US$ -22.0 Billion
Exports 551.3B – Imports 573.3B
Belgian Foreign trade majority exports consist of chemical products, mineral products, machinery and equipment. Belgium is also a member of several international economic organizations such as ICC, OECD, European Union, IMF, G-9, G-10, WTO, among others, which reflects the country’s commitment towards open trading and economic growth.
12. Ukraine
Trade deficit in US$ -25.7Billion
Exports 57.0B – Imports 82.7B
Ukraine is one of the world’s top agricultural producers and exporters. The country plays a critical role in supplying oilseeds and grains to the global market. More than 55 percent of Ukraine’s land area is arable land. Agricultural products are Ukraine’s most important exports, providing employment opportunities to 14% of its population. In 2021, these totaled $27.8 billion, accounting for 41 percent of the country’s $68 billion in overall exports.
11. Italy
Trade deficit in US$ -31.1Billion
Exports 745.6B – Imports 776.7B
The eighth largest economy in the world and third in European union, had exports worth $745.6 billion in 2022. The country’s economy rebounded in the same year, exceeding pre-pandemic figures with growth of 3.3%. In 2021, Italy was the biggest exporter of unglazed ceramics, pasta and processed tomatoes.
10. Bangladesh
Trade deficit in US$ -33.7Billion
Exports 60.1B – Imports 93.8B
Bangladesh actively seeks investment in apparel industry, light manufacturing, energy, power and agricultural business. Bangladesh’s economy is mostly driven by exports from RMG (Ready made garment) industry.
9. Pakistan
Trade deficit in US$ -37.4Billion
Exports 38.8B – Imports: 76.3B
Pakistan’s global shipment for 2022, were from knit clothing accessories, textiles, cotton and leather. International apparel brands such as Adidas, Next, and ZARA sell clothing items that are made in Pakistan. Pakistan’s economy is dependent on imports for the most part and the country is experiencing a balance-of-payments crisis, with its import-dependence being among one of the reasons.
8. Turkiye
Trade deficit in US$ -39.8Billion
Exports: 343.7B – Imports: 383.5B
Hitting record high exports in 2022, one of the top tourist destinations of Europe witnessed 53% increase in tourism revenue, exceeding previous high of $34.5 billion in 2019.
7. Mexico
Trade deficit in US$ -42.3Billion
Exports: 626.3B – Imports: 668.6B
Mexico is the 14th largest economy of the world, having a $1.4 trillion economy. It has a diversified market that provides numerous trade opportunities for goods and services from all over the world. The trade with the United States for year 2022 only concluded at $863.4 billion, making Mexico the second largest U.S trading partner.
6. Philippines
Trade deficit in US$ -53.8 Billion
Exports: 98.5B – Imports 152.3B
Top traded exports for the Philippines were coconut oil, mineral products and electronic products. Exports to the United States were worth $12.5 billion, contributing 15.8% in the country’s overall trade. The major export partner was United States, followed by Japan and China.
5. France
Trade deficit in US$ -89.6 Billion
Exports: 1013.0B – Imports: 1102. 7B
France being the 6th largest exporter of goods and services in the world, was one of the countries which were brutally affected by the conflict in Ukraine. The conflict resulted in the country facing an energy crisis. The volume of imported electricity has multiplied by 42 since 2019, gas alone contributed significantly to the deficit. Top french exports were aeronautics and space, chemical, perfumes, cosemetics and food processing.
4. United kingdom
Trade deficit in US$ -111.3 Billion
Exports: 1001.4B – Imports: 1112.7B
Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted the United Kingdom’s trade in many commodities, causing the country to change trade partners. Top imports of the United Kingdom showed significant increase; fuel imports increased by 119.1%, vegetable oils and fats by 54.9% , food and live animals by 19.7%.
3. India
Trade deficit in US$ -134.6 Billion
Exports: 767.6B – Imports: 902.3B
The 16th largest exporter of the world reported exports worth $768 billion. The major exports of India were from oil and mineral fuel, precious stones and metals. The United States, United Arab Emirates and China are among the top export partners.
2. Japan
Trade deficit in US$ -158.7Billion
Exports: 921.2B – Imports: 1079.9B
For Japan, both exports and imports reached the highest levels on record. The resource-poor Japan relies heavily on fuel imports. The value of imported crude oil rose 91.5% in 2022, while liquified natural gas jumped 97.5%, as energy prices increased globally after Russia invaded Ukraine.
1. United States
Trade deficit in US$ -951.2Billion
Exports: 3018.5B – Imports: 3969.6B
United States, the country with the highest trade deficit in the world, recorded exports worth $3 trillion. Canada, Mexico, and China were among the top trading partners. Increase in trade last year came from exports of industrial supplies and materials, capital goods and automotive parts and engines whereas the increase in services export was from business and financial services.
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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.