Mapped: The Top Export in Every Country

Mapped: The Top Export in Every Country

View the high resolution of this infographic by clicking here.

Today, exports make up roughly 25% of total global production.

One of the common influences on these exports, unsurprisingly, is oil. In fact, petroleum is the top export across over 50 nations, and along with many other resource-driven materials makes up a sizable share of the global export market. Since 2000, the total value of all exported global trade of goods and services has tripled to $19.5 trillion.

This infographic from HowMuch.net shows the top export in every country by value, according to the most recent global data from 2018.

Top Exports, by Region

Let’s dive into some particular regions, to see how top exports can vary:

Editor’s note: for even larger versions of each regional infographic below, visit HowMuch.net. All export data is from 2018 and comes from CEPII, a leading French center of economic analysis.

North America

In the U.S. petroleum outpaces all other exports, with crude oil accounting for 35% of total petroleum exports. Canada too, lists petroleum at the top.

Country	Top Export
Canada	Petroleum
Greenland	Fish
Mexico	Cars
Saint Pierre and Quelon	Crustaceans
U.S.	Petroleum

With a market valued at $50.7 billion, Mexico’s top export is cars—making it the fourth largest exporter worldwide.

Africa

From Egypt to Senegal, Africa has a diverse spectrum of exports. Primarily, these are resource-driven, with the top five exports being petroleum, gold, diamonds, natural gas, and coal.

Country	Top Export
Algeria	Petroleum
Angola	Petroleum
Benin	Cotton
Burkina Faso	Gold
Burundi	Gold
Cabo Verde	Fish
Cameroon	Petroleum
Central African Republic	Wood
Chad	Petroleum
Comoros	Cloves
Congo	Petroleum
Cote D'Ivoire	Cocoa Beans
Dijibouti	Sheep and goats
DR Congo	Copper
Egypt	Petroleum
Eritrea	Zinc
Ethiopia	Coffee
Gambia	Nuts
Ghana	Gold
Guinea	Gold
Guinea-Bissau	Nuts
Kenya	Tea
Liberia	Gold
Libya	Petroleum
Madagascar	Vanilla
Malawi	Tobacco
Mali	Gold
Mauritania	Iron
Mauritus	Fish
Morocco	Cars
Mozambique	Cloves
Niger	Gold
Nigeria	Petroleum
Rwanda	Gold
Senegal	Gold
Seychelles	Fish
Sierra Leone	Titanium
Somalia	Sheep and goats
South African Customs Union	Gold
South Sudan	Petroleum
St. Helena	Blood
Sudan	Petroleum
Tanzana	Gold
Togo	Petroleum
Tunisia	Wires
Uganda	Gold
Zambia	Copper
Zimbabwe	Gold

Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s top export is coffee, shipping nearly $1 billion alone in 2018. Similarly, off the east coast, Madagascar is the world’s largest producer of vanilla.

Asia

While petroleum is also a dominant export across many countries in Asia, the region’s export landscape is a lot more tech-focused.

In South Korea, electronic circuits are the largest export. Samsung, headquartered in Seoul, is a major supplier to Apple for multiple electronic components. With one of the highest export ratios in Asia, 40% of South Korea’s economic output is derived from its export market.

Here are the top exports across other Asian countries.

Country	Top Export
Afghanistan	Grapes
Armenia	Copper
Azerbaijan	Petroleum
Bahrain	Petroleum
Bangladesh	Suits
Bhutan	Ferro-alloys
Br. Indian Ocean Terr.	Fish
Brunei Darussalam	Petroleum
Cambodia	Jerseys
China	Transmission apparatus
DPR Korea	Watches
Georgia	Copper
Hong Kong SAR	Gold
Indonesia	Coals
Iran	Petroleum
Iraq	Petroleum
Israel	Diamonds
Japan	Cars
Jordan	Fertilizers
Kazakhstan	Petroleum
Kuwait	Petroleum
Kyrgyzstan	Gold
Laos	Electrical energy
Lebanon	Gold
Macao SAR	Watches
Malaysia	Electronic circuits
Maldives	Fish
Mongolia	Coals
Myanmar	Petroleum
Nepal	Yarn
Oman	Petroleum
Pakistan	Bed linen
Philippines	Electronic circuits
Qatar	Petroleum
Saudi Arabia	Petroleum
Singapore	Electronic circuits
South Korea	Electronic circuits
Sri Lanka	Tea
State of Palestine	Stones
Syria	Olive oil
Tajikistan	Gold
Thailand	Machinery
Turkmenistan	Petroleum
Turkey	Cars
UAE	Petroleum
Uzbekistan	Gold
Vietnam	Transmission apparatus
Yemen	Petroleum

In Afghanistan, grapes are the top export, valued at $237 million. Almost one-fifth of Afghanistan’s exports come from the grape industry.

Europe

Across the European continent, the automotive industry stands out as a primary driver of exports, with 14 countries having cars or vehicles as their most exported good.

In fact, in 2019, the European Union exported a total of 5.6 million motor vehicles. Of these, 28% were shipped to the U.S. and 16.5% to China.

Country	Top Export
Albania	Footwear
Andorra	Electronic circults
Austria	Cars
Belarus	Petroleum
Belgium	Cars
Bosnia Herzegovina	Electrical energy
Bulgaria	Petroleum
Croatia	Petroleum
Cyprus	Petroleum
Czech Republic	Cars
Denmark	Drugs
Estonia	Transmission apparatus
Finland	Petroleum
France	Airplanes
Germany	Cars
Gibraltar	Petroleum
Greece	Petroleum
Hungary	Cars
Iceland	Aluminium
Ireland	Blood
Italy	Drugs
Latvia	Wood
Lithuania	Petroleum
Luxembourg	Cars
Malta	Petroleum
Moldova	Wires
Montenegro	Aluminium
Netherlands	Petroleum
Norway	Petroleum
Poland	Vehicles
Portugal	Cars
Romania	Vehicles
Russia	Petroleum
San Marino	Machines
Serbia	Wires
Slovakia	Cars
Slovenia	Cars
Spain	Cars
Sweden	Cars
Switzerland	Gold
TFYR of Macedonia	Reaction initiators
U.K.	Cars
Ukraine	Sun-Flower Seed

The Balkan nation of Albania has footwear as its top export. Overall, nearly 80% of the nation’s GDP relies on goods and services exports.

France, on the other hand, has airplanes as its highest export while Italy and Denmark’s highest are drugs. Italy is the top producer of pharmaceuticals in Europe, an industry which employs 66,500 across the country. Globally, it makes up 2.8% of pharmaceutical sales.

Due to its cheap electricity prices, companies have flocked to Iceland to produce aluminum. Iceland’s dams, which generate power from glacial water, produce electricity as much as 30% cheaper than in America.

Latin America & the Caribbean Islands

Like other regions, petroleum stands out as a key export in countries across Latin America.

Take Venezuela. With the largest oil reserves in the world, its oil exports were valued at $90 billion annually ten years ago. Since the pandemic, however, earnings are projected to reach just a fraction of this total—only $2.3 billion this year.

Along with this, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on president Nicolás Maduro and Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, causing oil exports to slump to their lowest point in nearly 80 years.

Country	Top Export
Anguilla	Ethyl alcohol
Antigua and Barbuda	Cruise ships
Argentina	Oil
Aruba	Airplanes
Bahamas	Cruise ships
Barbados	Ethyl alcohol
Belize	Cane sugar
Bolivia	Petroleum
Bonaire	Petroleum
Brazil	Soya beans
British Virgin Islands	Yachts
Cayman Islands	Yachts
Chile	Copper
Colombia	Petroleum
Costa Rica	Medical instruments
Cuba	Cigars
Curacao	Petroleum
Dominica	Medical instruments
Dominican Republic	Gold
Ecuador	Petroleum
El Salvador	T-shirts
Falkland Is. (Malvinas)	Molluscs
Grenada	Nutmeg
Guatemala	Bananas
Guyana	Gold
Haiti	T-shirts
Honduras	T-shirts
Jamaica	Aluminium
Montserrat	Sand
Neth. Antilles	Cars
Nicaragua	T-shirts
Panama	Petroleum
Paraguay	Soya beans
Peru	Copper
Saint Barthelemy	Cosmetics
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Transmission apparatus
Saint Lucia	Petroleum
Saint Maarten	Jewellery
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Petroleum
Suriname	Gold
Trinidad and Tobago	Petroleum
Turks and Caicos Is.	Petroleum
Uruguay	Wood pulp
Venezuela	Petroleum

For Caribbean nations, unsurprisingly, many top exports in this region are linked to tourism.

Cruise ships stood out as a primary export in the Bahamas, while yachts were most significant in the Cayman Islands. However, due to the pandemic, many of these national economies are at heightened risk, with some economies across the region projected to contract 10% in 2020.

Oceania

Finally, in Oceania, Australia had coal as it’s top export in 2018 (though it has since switched to iron ore in 2019), while New Zealand sends milk abroad.

For many of the smaller islands throughout the Pacific, it can be seen that fish, cruise ships, water, and yachts are key exports.

The Future of Trade

Now, COVID-19 and a host of other factors are changing the way the world trades. Unexpected shocks, trade wars, the carbon footprint, and labor standards are influencing firms to build more resilient supply chains.

According to The Economist, it’s estimated that over the next five years that 16-26% of exported goods production could shift locations.