ANDAMAN PARTNERS Presents a Visualisation of the Regional Direction of Trade of the World’s Exports

Global merchandise exports reached around USD 22.5 trillion in 2024, a slight increase of 2% year-on-year from USD 22.1 trillion in 2023, and below the 2022 record high of over USD 23 trillion.

On a regional basis, Asia (34%), Europe (39%) and North America (15%) accounted for 88% of global exports in 2023.

Over half of the world’s exports, USD 11.6 trillion (53%), was intra-regional trade, and USD 10.4 trillion (47%) was between regions. At USD 5.8 trillion, Europe had the highest intra-regional trade.

Five economies, China, the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands and Japan, accounted for almost 40% of global exports in 2023. China, the U.S. and Germany have remained the world’s three largest exporters for nearly two decades. China became the world’s largest exporter in 2009 when it surpassed Germany.

Among the major economies, several emerging markets have steadily climbed export rankings in recent years, notably Mexico, the UAE, India, Vietnam, Poland, Türkiye, Brazil and Malaysia.

Outside the top 30 global exporters, smaller emerging economies in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia reported double-digit export growth in 2023.

Since the latter part of 2022, there has been a noticeable rise in the political proximity of trade, indicating a shift in bilateral trade preferences towards countries with similar geopolitical stances (e.g., “friend-shoring”).

There was also an overall decrease in the diversification of trade partnerships and a concentration of trade within significant trade relationships.

Rising demand for products related to the energy transition and artificial intelligence should contribute to trade growth through 2025. However, global trade remains vulnerable to several downside risks, including geopolitical tensions, rising shipping costs, increases in subsidies and trade-restrictive measures.

For more information, see ANDAMAN PARTNERS’ detailed analysis of global exports, Dynamic New Supply Markets Create Opportunities to Frame High-Value Alternative Global Procurement Strategies.

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