Markets
Mapped: The World’s Largest Exporters in 2018
Visualizing the World’s Largest Exporters in 2018
Trillions of dollars of goods get traded around the world every year.
In 2018, total global exports exceeded $19 trillion, including specialized goods falling into almost every possible category imaginable.
Whether you’re talking about German cars, Bangladeshi t-shirts, Saudi oil, or Swiss milk chocolate, just about anything is available on the world market for a price – and the world’s largest exporting countries aim to take advantage.
Ranked: The 15 Largest Exporters in 2018
Today’s visualization comes to us from HowMuch.net, and it resizes countries based on their most recent export numbers, as per data from the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Let’s take a look at how the field breaks down:
Rank | Country | Exports (2018, $M) | Share of Global Total |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | 🇨🇳 China | $2,487,045 | 12.8% |
#2 | 🇺🇸 United States | $1,664,085 | 8.6% |
#3 | 🇩🇪 Germany | $1,560,816 | 8.0% |
#4 | 🇯🇵 Japan | $738,403 | 3.8% |
#5 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | $722,668 | 3.7% |
#6 | 🇰🇷 Korea, Rep. | $604,860 | 3.1% |
#7 | 🇫🇷 France | $581,816 | 3.0% |
#8 | ðŸ‡ðŸ‡° Hong Kong, China | $569,241 | 2.9% |
#9 | 🇮🇹 Italy | $546,643 | 2.8% |
#10 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | $485,711 | 2.5% |
#11 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | $466,724 | 2.4% |
#12 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | $450,572 | 2.3% |
#13 | 🇨🇦 Canada | $449,845 | 2.3% |
#14 | 🇷🇺 Russia | $444,008 | 2.3% |
#15 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | $412,629 | 2.1% |
Leading the list of the world’s largest exporters is China, with a whopping $2.5 trillion of goods sent abroad in 2018. If you add in Hong Kong’s numbers, China holds 15.7% of the global export total — roughly equal to Japan, Netherlands, South Korea, France, and Singapore combined.
Coming next on the list is the U.S., which exports about $1.7 trillion of goods each year. After that comes Germany, which is the only other country to export over $1 trillion of goods per year.
Comparing U.S. and Chinese Exports
What does China export, and how does that compare to a more developed economy such as the United States?
Using data from MIT’s Observatory of Economic Complexity, we can see the broad breakdown of exports in both countries:
🇨🇳 China (Exports) | Share | 🇺🇸 U.S. (Exports) | Share | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Machines | 48.5% | Machines | 22.1% | |
Textiles | 9.9% | Transportation | 14.9% | |
Metals | 7.1% | Chemical Products | 13.7% | |
Chemical Products | 4.9% | Mineral Products | 11.4% | |
Plastics and Rubbers | 4.0% | Instruments | 6.8% | |
Instruments | 3.2% | Plastics and Rubbers | 5.5% | |
Transportation | 3.2% | Vegetable Products | 5.1% | |
Footwear and Headwear | 2.6% | Metals | 4.8% | |
Stone and Glass | 1.7% | Foodstuffs | 3.3% | |
Mineral Products | 1.3% | Precious Metals | 3.1% | |
Animal Hides | 1.2% | Animal Products | 2.2% | |
Other/Misc | 12.4% | Paper Goods | 2.1% | |
Textiles | 1.7% | |||
Other/Misc | 3.3% |
On first glance, it’s clear that China’s exports are reliant on one heavy-hitting category (Machines) to drive a whopping 48.5% of total export value. Within that broad category of machines, there are many narrower categories, including:
- Broadcasting equipment (9.6% of total exports)
- Computers (6.1%)
- Office machine parts (3.8%)
- Integrated circuits (3.3%)
- Telephones (2.6%)
- Electrical transformers (1.3%)
- Semiconductor devices (1.2%)
- Video displays (1.1%)
For the United States, machines are still important at 22.1% of exports, but three other broad categories also surpass the 10% mark: transportation, chemical products, and mineral products. This means the U.S. is generally more diversified in its major exports.
For more, see the largest export of each state on this map.
Maps
Mapped: The 10 U.S. States With the Lowest Real GDP Growth
In this graphic, we show where real GDP lagged the most across America in 2023 as high interest rates weighed on state economies.
The Top 10 U.S. States, by Lowest Real GDP Growth
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
While the U.S. economy defied expectations in 2023, posting 2.5% in real GDP growth, several states lagged behind.
Last year, oil-producing states led the pack in terms of real GDP growth across America, while the lowest growth was seen in states that were more sensitive to the impact of high interest rates, particularly due to slowdowns in the manufacturing and finance sectors.
This graphic shows the 10 states with the least robust real GDP growth in 2023, based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Weakest State Economies in 2023
Below, we show the states with the slowest economic activity in inflation-adjusted terms, using chained 2017 dollars:
Rank | State | Real GDP Growth 2023 YoY | Real GDP 2023 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Delaware | -1.2% | $74B |
2 | Wisconsin | +0.2% | $337B |
3 | New York | +0.7% | $1.8T |
4 | Missississippi | +0.7% | $115B |
5 | Georgia | +0.8% | $661B |
6 | Minnesota | +1.2% | $384B |
7 | New Hampshire | +1.2% | $91B |
8 | Ohio | +1.2% | $698B |
9 | Iowa | +1.3% | $200B |
10 | Illinois | +1.3% | $876B |
U.S. | +2.5% | $22.4T |
Delaware witnessed the slowest growth in the country, with real GDP growth of -1.2% over the year as a sluggish finance and insurance sector dampened the state’s economy.
Like Delaware, the Midwestern state of Wisconsin also experienced declines across the finance and insurance sector, in addition to steep drops in the agriculture and manufacturing industries.
America’s third-biggest economy, New York, grew just 0.7% in 2023, falling far below the U.S. average. High interest rates took a toll on key sectors, with notable slowdowns in the construction and manufacturing sectors. In addition, falling home prices and a weaker job market contributed to slower economic growth.
Meanwhile, Georgia experienced the fifth-lowest real GDP growth rate. In March 2024, Rivian paused plans to build a $5 billion EV factory in Georgia, which was set to be one of the biggest economic development initiatives in the state in history.
These delays are likely to exacerbate setbacks for the state, however, both Kia and Hyundai have made significant investments in the EV industry, which could help boost Georgia’s manufacturing sector looking ahead.
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