Overall, the dollar cost of crude oil bought by all importing countries grew by 27.2% since five years earlier in 2019 when globally imported crude oil purchases were valued at $1.068 trillion.
Year over year, total spending on crude oil imports fell by -15.1% from $1.6 trillion during 2022.
The top 5 importers of this fossil-fuel commodity are mainland China, United States of America, India, South Korea and Japan. Collectively, that quintet of major crude oil imports paid for about three-fifths (60.1%) of the world’s total spending on imported crude petroleum purchased on international markets in 2023.
From a continent perspective, Asian countries bought the highest dollar worth of imported crude oil during 2023 with purchases costing $779.2 billion or 57.3% of the worldwide total. In second place were European nations at 26.1% while another 13.8% worth of crude oil imports was delivered to customers in North America.
Smaller percentages of crude petroleum oils were sold to Latin America (1.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (0.8%), then Oceania (0.4%) led by Australia and Papua New Guinea.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for crude oil is 2709.
Crude Oil Imports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2023.
- China: US$336.5 billion (24.8% of imported crude oil)
- United States: $172.4 billion (12.7%)
- India: $140.1 billion (10.3%)
- South Korea: $86.2 billion (6.3%)
- Japan: $81.1 billion (6%)
- Netherlands: $55.1 billion (4.1%)
- Germany: $45.5 billion (3.4%)
- Italy: $38.4 billion (2.8%)
- Spain: $37.2 billion (2.7%)
- Thailand: $34.6 billion (2.5%)
- United Kingdom: $32.5 billion (2.4%)
- France: $31.3 billion (2.3%)
- Singapore: $27.4 billion (2%)
- Taiwan: $25.1 billion (1.8%)
- Belgium: $23.1 billion (1.7%)
Based on total cost, the listed 15 countries purchased 85.8% of all crude oil imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, the mildest decreases from 2022 to 2023 were recorded by buyers in Belgium (down -8%), mainland China (down -7.9%) and the Netherlands (down -6.1%).
Those leading buyers that posted the severest declines in their imported crude oil purchases were Germany (down -27.8% from 2022), Spain (down -22%), Japan (down -20.2%), Taiwan (down -19.3%), Singapore (down -19.3%) and India (also down -19.3%).
Searchable List of Crude Oil Importing Countries in 2023
The 100 key buyers in the automated database below bought virtually all (99.999997%) of crude petroleum oil imported during 2023.
| Rank | Importer | Import Spending (US$) | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | China | $336,481,110,000 | -7.9% |
| 2. | United States | $172,426,221,000 | -15.8% |
| 3. | India | $140,067,115,000 | -19.3% |
| 4. | South Korea | $86,158,419,000 | -18.7% |
| 5. | Japan | $81,091,465,000 | -20.2% |
| 6. | Netherlands | $55,086,011,000 | -6.1% |
| 7. | Germany | $45,530,602,000 | -27.8% |
| 8. | Italy | $38,404,115,000 | -14.5% |
| 9. | Spain | $37,240,838,000 | -22% |
| 10. | Thailand | $34,551,735,000 | -11.7% |
| 11. | United Kingdom | $32,472,171,000 | -18% |
| 12. | France | $31,261,269,000 | -10.4% |
| 13. | Singapore | $27,449,507,000 | -19.3% |
| 14. | Taiwan | $25,106,127,000 | -19.3% |
| 15. | Belgium | $23,127,824,000 | -8% |
| 16. | Poland | $15,346,807,000 | -7.8% |
| 17. | Canada | $14,532,727,000 | -12.2% |
| 18. | Greece | $13,855,799,000 | -11.7% |
| 19. | Malaysia | $13,541,996,000 | +10.6% |
| 20. | Sweden | $11,270,663,000 | -24.8% |
| 21. | Indonesia | $11,142,160,000 | -2.7% |
| 22. | Brazil | $9,059,115,000 | -8.6% |
| 23. | Israel | $7,498,875,000 | -23.1% |
| 24. | Finland | $6,394,986,000 | -12.9% |
| 25. | Portugal | $5,925,050,000 | -23.6% |
| 26. | Lithuania | $5,837,359,000 | -4.5% |
| 27. | Chile | $5,235,781,000 | -5.9% |
| 28. | Australia | $5,234,790,000 | -27.6% |
| 29. | South Africa | $4,812,259,000 | +9.1% |
| 30. | Pakistan | $4,797,216,000 | -20.6% |
| 31. | Austria | $4,760,668,000 | +23.9% |
| 32. | Romania | $4,464,866,000 | -24.4% |
| 33. | Philippines | $4,162,596,000 | +10.1% |
| 34. | Czech Republic | $4,144,534,000 | -15.8% |
| 35. | Brunei Darussalam | $3,926,687,000 | -27.9% |
| 36. | Peru | $3,223,329,000 | +26.1% |
| 37. | Bulgaria | $3,134,974,000 | -24% |
| 38. | Denmark | $3,129,214,000 | -14.5% |
| 39. | Hungary | $3,012,333,000 | -11.1% |
| 40. | Ivory Coast | $2,885,635,000 | +19.7% |
| 41. | Slovakia | $2,422,452,000 | -15.7% |
| 42. | Serbia | $1,938,109,000 | -15.5% |
| 43. | Egypt | $1,907,069,000 | -58.8% |
| 44. | Ireland | $1,867,579,000 | -26.4% |
| 45. | Switzerland | $1,751,228,000 | -24.3% |
| 46. | Norway | $1,211,375,000 | +165.3% |
| 47. | Azerbaijan | $1,077,238,000 | +138.9% |
| 48. | Sri Lanka | $921,232,000 | +150.1% |
| 49. | Croatia | $893,556,000 | -30.9% |
| 50. | Uruguay | $863,539,000 | -47.9% |
| 51. | Senegal | $788,292,000 | +76.4% |
| 52. | Colombia | $768,160,000 | +134.6% |
| 53. | Dominican Republic | $765,241,000 | -13.6% |
| 54. | Vietnam | $707,054,000 | -90.3% |
| 55. | Nicaragua | $604,926,000 | -6.2% |
| 56. | Gibraltar | $538,758,000 | -58.4% |
| 57. | Tunisia | $505,980,000 | -35.8% |
| 58. | Jamaica | $347,568,000 | -52.3% |
| 59. | United Arab Emirates | $268,931,000 | -90.7% |
| 60. | Saint Lucia | $143,123,000 | 0% |
| 61. | Bangladesh | $139,865,000 | +143.4% |
| 62. | Bahamas | $137,868,000 | +168032% |
| 63. | Ghana | $122,496,000 | +17177% |
| 64. | US Minor Outlying Is | $99,695,000 | +281.7% |
| 65. | Saudi Arabia | $61,858,000 | 0% |
| 66. | Papua New Guinea | $55,558,000 | +30.9% |
| 67. | Zambia | $55,093,000 | +423692% |
| 68. | Bolivia | $37,846,000 | +3784500% |
| 69. | Uzbekistan | $24,836,000 | -91.5% |
| 70. | Russia | $12,425,000 | -38.2% |
| 71. | Kazakhstan | $10,730,000 | +3395.1% |
| 72. | Mongolia | $5,677,000 | 0% |
| 73. | Cyprus | $5,350,000 | +267400% |
| 74. | Georgia | $3,613,000 | +374.1% |
| 75. | Kyrgyzstan | $2,576,000 | -9.4% |
| 76. | Zimbabwe | $2,474,000 | +268.7% |
| 77. | Guatemala | $1,315,000 | -29.4% |
| 78. | Marshall Islands | $188,000 | -60.4% |
| 79. | New Caledonia | $167,000 | 0% |
| 80. | Botswana | $134,000 | -96.6% |
| 81. | Namibia | $129,000 | -98.5% |
| 82. | Democratic Republic Congo | $117,000 | -70.5% |
| 83. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $103,000 | +1% |
| 84. | Ethiopia | $74,000 | -53.8% |
| 85. | Cuba | $50,000 | 0% |
| 86. | Qatar | $44,000 | -100% |
| 87. | Honduras | $36,000 | +3500% |
| 88. | New Zealand | $32,000 | -100% |
| 89. | Ukraine | $22,000 | -100% |
| 90. | Luxembourg | $21,000 | -8.7% |
| 91. | Costa Rica | $19,000 | +5.6% |
| 92. | Equatorial Guinea | $17,000 | 0% |
| 93. | Moldova | $16,000 | -11.1% |
| 94. | Mozambique | $16,000 | +6.7% |
| 95. | Mexico | $15,000 | -6.3% |
| 96. | Tanzania | $13,000 | -7.1% |
| 97. | Paraguay | $12,000 | +1100% |
| 98. | Fiji | $11,000 | -26.7% |
| 99. | Burundi | $11,000 | 0% |
| 100. | Guyana | $8,000 | +700% |
Expanding the scope to the 100 largest importers of crude petroleum, the fastest-increasing spenders included Bolivia (up 3,784,500% from 2022), Zambia (up 423,692%), Cyprus (up 267,400%), Bahamas (up 168,032%) then Ghana (up 17,177%).
Leading decliners were buyers in Ukraine (down -100% from 2022), New Zealand (down -100%), Qatar (also down -100%), Namibia (down -98.5%), Botswana (down -96.6%) then Uzbekistan (down -91.5%).
You can change the table’s presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns above.
Note that an entry of 0% in the table’s right-most column means 2022 data was unavailable.
Crude Oil Imports into China
Based on statistics from the International Trade Centre, about half (50.3%) of mainland China’s overall crude oil imports came from member countries of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
China’s top 3 suppliers of crude oil are the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Combined, those key providers generated 44.3% of total Chinese imports of crude petroleum.
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which China imported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplier from 2022 to 2023.
- Russia: US$60.1 billion (up 2.9% from 2022)
- Saudi Arabia: $53.8 billion (down -17.1%)
- Iraq: $35.2 billion (down -10%)
- Malaysia: $28.2 billion (up 29.8%)
- United Arab Emirates: $26.6 billion (down -17.5%)
- Oman: $25.1 billion (down -14.1%)
- Brazil: $23 billion (up 23.4%)
- Angola: $18.6 billion (down -17.8%)
- Kuwait: $15.2 billion (down -38.2%)
- United States: $9.1 billion (up 55.9%)
- Qatar: $6.5 billion (up 9%)
- Congo: $5.2 billion (up 0.6%)
- Colombia: $4.8 billion (down -16%)
- Kazakhstan: $4.2 billion (down -9.9%)
- Canada: $3.9 billion (up 46.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 94.9% of all Chinese crude oil imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of crude oil to mainland China from 2022 to 2023 were: United States of America (up 55.9%), Canada (up 46.8%), Malaysia (up 29.8%) and Brazil (up 23.4%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their crude oil supplied to Chinese importers included: Kuwait (down -38.2%), Angola (down -17.8%), United Arab Emirates (down -17.5%) and Saudi Arabia (down -17.1%).
Overall, the value of Chinese crude oil imports went down by an average -7.9% from all supplying countries since 2022 when crude oil purchases were valued at $365.5 billion.
Crude Oil Imports into the United States
Just 19.6% of America’s overall crude oil imports came from member countries of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
America’s top 3 suppliers of crude oil are Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Combined, those key providers generated almost three-quarters (74.4%) of total US imports of crude petroleum.
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the US imported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Canada: US$97.2 billion (down -17.5% from 2022)
- Mexico: $20.4 billion (down -3.8%)
- Saudi Arabia: $10.8 billion (down -34.8%)
- Iraq: $6 billion (down -23.6%)
- Brazil: $5.9 billion (up 5.1%)
- Colombia: $5.6 billion (down -31.5%)
- Nigeria: $4.7 billion (up 17.2%)
- Ecuador: $4 billion (down -25%)
- Venezuela: $3.5 billion (2022 data unavailable)
- Guyana: $3.1 billion (up 15.7%)
- Libya: $1.6 billion (down -29.9%)
- Argentina: $1.4 billion (down -7.6%)
- Ghana: $1.23 billion (down -47.8%)
- United Kingdom: $1.21 billion (down -31.1%)
- Trinidad/Tobago: $1.1 billion (down -26.6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 97.3% of all American crude oil imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, growth suppliers of crude oil to the United States of America from 2022 to 2023 were: Nigeria (up 17%), Guyana (up 15.7%) and Brazil (up 5.1%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their crude oil supplied to American importers included: Ghana (down -47.8%), Saudi Arabia (down -34.8%), Colombia (down -31.5%) and United Kingdom (down -31.1%).
Overall, the value of American crude oil imports fell by an average -15.8% from all supplying countries since 2022 when crude oil purchases were valued at $204.7 billion.
Crude Oil Imports into India
Over half (52.6%) of India’s overall crude oil imports came from member countries of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
India’s top 3 suppliers of crude oil are the Russian Federation, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Combined, those key providers generated over two-thirds (69.5%) of total Indian imports of crude petroleum.
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which India imported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Russia: US$45.4 billion (up 77.7% from 2022)
- Iraq: $28.5 billion (down -23.1%)
- Saudi Arabia: $23.5 billion (down -28%)
- United Arab Emirates: $8.6 billion (down -51.6%)
- United States: $6.9 billion (down -47%)
- Kuwait: $5.2 billion (down -42.6%)
- South Korea: $2.7 billion (up 1236.5%)
- Nigeria: $2.6 billion (down -64.3%)
- Angola: $2.5 billion (down -20.3%)
- Mexico: $1.83 billion (down -45.5%)
- Colombia: $1.75 billion (down -9.8%)
- Türkiye: $1.6 billion (up 17.2%)
- Brazil: $1.4 billion (down -43.3%)
- Qatar: $1.3 billion (down -37.6%)
- Greece: $1.1 billion (2023 data unavailable)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 96.4% of all Indian crude oil imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, the growth suppliers of crude oil to India from 2022 to 2023 were: South Korea (up 1,237%), Russia (up 77.7%) and Türkiye (up 17.2%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their crude oil supplied to Indian importers included: Nigeria (down -64.3%), United Arab Emirates (down -51.6%), United States of America (down -47%) and Mexico (down -45.5%).
Overall, the value of Indian crude oil imports shrank by an average -19.3% from all supplying countries since 2022 when crude oil purchases were valued at $173.5 billion.
Crude Oil Imports into South Korea
Almost three-quarters (73.2%) of South Korea’s overall crude oil imports came from member countries of the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
South Korea’s top 3 suppliers of crude oil are Saudi Arabia, United States of America and United Arab Emirates. Combined, those key providers furnished over three-fifths (61.2%) of total South Korean imports of crude petroleum.
Below are the top 15 suppliers from which South Korea imported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Saudi Arabia: US$30.6 billion (down -18.8% from 2022)
- United States: $12.3 billion (down -12.2%)
- United Arab Emirates: $9.8 billion (up 6.2%)
- Kuwait: $8.3 billion (down -22.6%)
- Iraq: $7.3 billion (down -13.8%)
- Qatar: $5.6 billion (up 15.1%)
- Kazakhstan: $3.3 billion (down -29%)
- Mexico: $2.4 billion (down -37.5%)
- Australia: $2 billion (down -5.6%)
- Brazil: $1.6 billion (down -36%)
- Algeria: $767.8 million (down -7.3%)
- Nigeria: $451.4 million (down -58.6%)
- Oman: $437 million (up 5.7%)
- United Kingdom: $402.1 million (down -60.7%)
- Ecuador: $124.6 million (up 10.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.1% of all South Korean crude oil imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of crude oil to South Korea from 2022 to 2023 were: Qatar (up 15.1%), Ecuador (up 10.7%), United Arab Emirates (up 6.2%) and Oman (up 5.7%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their crude oil supplied to South Korean importers included: United Kingdom (down -60.7%), Nigeria (down -58.6%), Mexico (down -37.5%) and Brazil (down -36%).
Overall, the value of South Korean crude oil imports decelerated by an average -18.7% from all supplying countries since 2022 when crude oil purchases were valued at $106 billion.
See also Crude Oil Exports by Country, China’s Top Trading Partners, OPEC Countries Crude Oil Exports Sales Data, Largest Oil and Gas Export Companies and Best Solar & Wind Exporters Powering International Energy Sales
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on June 30, 2024
E-tools Age, Oil Converter and Calculator. Accessed on June 30, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 30, 2024
Investopedia, Net Importer Definition. Accessed on June 30, 2024
Wikipedia, Big Oil. Accessed on June 30, 2024
