Some surprises in Intra European Union (EU) Trade Statistics for 2017: Germany was the largest exporter as expected but unexpectedly also the largest importer. The Netherlands (and not Germany) had the largest trade surplus. The United Kingdom had the largest trade deficit (no trade deal Brexit still on the table?)
Here is additional information, the complete dataset and maps,
- The three biggest exporters in 2017 were Germany with exports of €750 billion, the Netherlands with exports of €434 billion and France with exports of €297 billion
- The three biggest importers in 2017 were Germany with imports of €682 billion, France with imports of €386 billion and the United Kingdom with imports of €296 billion
- The three countries with the largest trade surplus in 2017 were the Netherlands with a surplus of €198 billion, Germany with a surplus of €68 billion and Belgium with a surplus of €43 billion
- The three countries with the largest trade deficits in 2017 were the United Kingdom with a deficit of €110 billion, France with a deficit of €107 billion and Sweden with a deficit of €17 billion
The European Union (EU28) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.