Which countries are the biggest exporters in the world?
Measured by the value of goods sold abroad, these were the ten biggest exporters in 2025, according to World Bank data [1]:
| Rank | Country | Merchandise exports, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $3,772bn |
| 2 | United States | $2,185bn |
| 3 | Germany | $1,764bn |
| 4 | Netherlands | $989bn |
| 5 | Hong Kong | $754bn |
| 6 | Japan | $738bn |
| 7 | Italy | $727bn |
| 8 | South Korea | $709bn |
| 9 | United Arab Emirates | $707bn |
| 10 | France | $683bn |
World merchandise exports came to about $26.4 trillion in 2025, so China alone accounted for about 14% (our arithmetic) [1]. Mexico ($665 billion) and Canada ($555 billion) were the next largest in the Americas after the United States [1].
Two of the top five are trading hubs rather than big producers. The Netherlands, home to Rotterdam, Europe’s busiest port, and Hong Kong both re-export large amounts of goods made elsewhere, which pushes their totals up.
Is China the biggest exporter in the world?
Yes, for goods, and by a wide margin. China’s merchandise exports in 2025 were about 1.7 times those of the United States and more than twice Germany’s (our arithmetic from the World Bank figures) [1]. Its exports grew from $3,576 billion in 2024 to $3,772 billion in 2025 [1]. China sells huge volumes of electronics, machinery, vehicles, steel and consumer goods to almost every country.
The picture changes if you count services as well as goods. Services exports include tourism, finance, software, consulting and royalties, and the United States leads these comfortably.
The biggest exporters of services
The United States exported $1,238 billion of services in 2025, more than any other country. The rest of the top five were the United Kingdom ($719 billion), Ireland ($548 billion), Germany ($518 billion) and France ($431 billion), with Singapore, India and China close behind [2]. Ireland’s high figure is generally put down to the software and technology multinationals that run their European business from there.
Adding goods and services together, China and the United States are the two largest exporters in the world, with Germany third.
What the Americas lead the world in exporting
Several countries in the Americas lead the world in a single product. The infographic above picks out, for nine countries in the Americas, one product in which each was the world’s top exporter in 2022, using data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC). Here are those products with OEC’s latest figures for 2024 [3]:
| Country | Product | 2022 exports | 2024 exports | Next biggest exporters in 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Refined petroleum | $138bn | $115bn | India $65.4bn, Singapore $56.1bn |
| Brazil | Soybeans | $47.2bn | $43.4bn | United States $24.5bn, Paraguay $3.17bn |
| Mexico | Delivery trucks | $29.1bn | $37.2bn | United States $21.4bn, China $14.3bn |
| Chile | Copper ore | $22.8bn | $31.0bn | Peru $20.6bn, Indonesia $8.39bn |
| Canada | Potash fertilisers | $13.4bn | $6.81bn | Russia $4.73bn, Germany $1.46bn |
| Argentina | Soybean meal | $12.0bn | $8.69bn (2nd) | Brazil $9.78bn led in 2024 |
| Ecuador | Crustaceans (mainly shrimp) | $7.98bn | $6.36bn | India $4.52bn, Canada $3.14bn |
| Peru | Fishmeal and animal pellets | $1.88bn | $1.62bn | United States $1.06bn, Chile $495m |
| Guatemala | Nutmeg, mace and cardamom | $430m | $524m | India $242m, Indonesia $231m |
Sources: 2022 values from the infographic (OEC data); 2024 values from OEC product pages [3].
Eight of the nine were still the world’s top exporter of their product in 2024. The exception is soybean meal, where Brazil overtook Argentina [3].
Why these countries lead in these products
Most of these leads come from natural resources or farming. Chile is the world’s biggest copper miner and Peru is second in copper ore exports. Canada leads in potash, the main ingredient in potassium fertiliser. Brazil and Argentina grow soybeans on a vast scale, and China buys most of the world’s soybeans, $47.2 billion of them in 2024 [3]. Ecuador’s shrimp farms supply China and the United States, the two largest importers of crustaceans [3]. Guatemala’s cardamom mostly goes to the Middle East, where it is used to flavour coffee; Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the top buyers of nutmeg, mace and cardamom [3].
The US lead in refined petroleum reflects the size of its refining industry on the Gulf Coast, which turns crude oil into diesel, petrol and jet fuel for export. The US is also the world’s biggest importer of refined petroleum, buying $58.4 billion in 2024 [3]. Mexico’s lead in delivery trucks is a manufacturing story. Several carmakers build pickups and light trucks there for the US market, and the United States is the largest importer of delivery trucks, at $42.3 billion in 2024 [3].
Prices move these figures a lot from year to year. Global trade in refined petroleum fell 10.3% in value in 2024 and potash fertiliser trade fell 21.2%, while copper ore trade rose 6.25% [3]. Both fuel and fertiliser prices were unusually high in 2022, the year of the infographic’s data, which is why some of its values look large next to 2024.
Questions about the biggest exporters in the world
What is the largest exporting country in the world?
China, with $3.77 trillion of goods exports in 2025, followed by the United States ($2.19 trillion) and Germany ($1.76 trillion) [1].
Who is the biggest exporter of services?
The United States, with $1.24 trillion of services exports in 2025, ahead of the United Kingdom at $719 billion [2].
What is the United States the world’s biggest exporter of?
Refined petroleum: $115 billion in 2024, well ahead of India at $65.4 billion [3]. It is also the second biggest exporter of soybeans and of delivery trucks [3].
Which country exports the most soybeans?
Brazil, with $43.4 billion in 2024, against $24.5 billion for the United States [3].
What are the top 5 exporting countries?
For goods in 2025: China, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Hong Kong [1].
Sources
- World Bank, Merchandise exports (current US$), World Development Indicators, 2024 and 2025 data, last updated 8 October 2026.
- World Bank, Service exports (BoP, current US$), World Development Indicators, 2025 data.
- The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), product profiles for refined petroleum, soybeans, delivery trucks, copper ore, potassic fertilisers, soybean meal, crustaceans, animal meal and pellets and nutmeg, mace and cardamoms, 2024 data, read 3 November 2026.
Last reviewed 3 November 2026
