That dollar amount reflects a 30.2% increase in the overall cost of EU imported goods purchased in 2018 which was $5.606 trillion. Those statistics exclude the now ex-EU member the United Kingdom from the comparison.
European Union imports in 2022 represent 29.1% of world imports which totaled $25.051 trillion. That global percentage is slightly higher than 28.3% for 2021 and 28.5% five years earlier during 2018.
The European Union’s population was 450.9 million people as of July 2022 according to the CIA World Factbook. Consequently, the total $7.229 trillion in 2022 EU imports translates to approximately $16,200 in international purchases by every person in the current 27-member European Union. That per-capita metric exceeds the average $14,100 one year earlier in 2021.
As the following statistical table shows, Germany and France continue to be the EU’s dominant players in international trade for 2022. Those two leading importers accounted for about one third of all EU spending on imported products.
Note that the United Kingdom exited from the EU on January 31, 2020.
Top EU Import Countries
Below is an analysis of European Union import countries that purchased products from around the globe during 2022. Also shown is each country’s share of the EU’s global imports as well as changes in spending costs from 2021 to 2022.
| Rank | Importer | Imports | %EU Total | 2021-2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Germany | $1,571,057,042,000 | 11.1% | +10.4% |
| 2. | France | $811,681,399,000 | 10.2% | +15.2% |
| 3. | Italy | $743,030,053,000 | 9.8% | +30.8% |
| 4. | Netherlands | $712,801,948,000 | 8.6% | +14.3% |
| 5. | Belgium | $624,289,390,000 | 6.8% | +17.2% |
| 6. | Spain | $499,055,069,000 | 4.9% | +17.1% |
| 7. | Poland | $358,592,597,000 | 3.2% | +6.9% |
| 8. | Czech Republic | $235,918,574,000 | 3.2% | +11% |
| 9. | Austria | $231,946,522,000 | 2.8% | +10% |
| 10. | Sweden | $202,092,847,000 | 2.2% | +7.9% |
| 11. | Hungary | $158,413,679,000 | 2% | +13.9% |
| 12. | Ireland | $147,913,897,000 | 1.8% | +20.5% |
| 13. | Romania | $132,699,563,000 | 1.7% | +14% |
| 14. | Denmark | $125,731,828,000 | 1.6% | +3.2% |
| 15. | Slovakia | $115,215,339,000 | 1.6% | +9.6% |
| 16. | Portugal | $115,035,708,000 | 1.3% | +17% |
| 17. | Greece | $97,970,296,000 | 1.3% | +26.8% |
| 18. | Finland | $97,265,340,000 | 0.8% | +12.8% |
| 19. | Slovenia | $59,722,795,000 | 0.8% | +21.7% |
| 20. | Bulgaria | $58,091,667,000 | 0.8% | +25.2% |
| 21. | Lithuania | $55,110,148,000 | 0.6% | +23.9% |
| 22. | Croatia | $44,114,930,000 | 0.4% | +30.8% |
| 23. | Latvia | $27,894,493,000 | 0.4% | +20.8% |
| 24. | Estonia | $27,002,942,000 | 0.4% | +11.6% |
| 25. | Luxembourg | $26,067,682,000 | 0.2% | +2.1% |
| 26. | Cyprus | $11,888,671,000 | 0.1% | +16.2% |
| 27. | Malta | $8,570,977,000 | +19.9% |
The top 10 importers accounted for 82.1% of the overall value for the EU’s total trade purchases during 2022.
The fastest-growing buyers of products imported into the EU from 2021 to 2022 were: Italy (up 30.8%), Croatia (also up 30.8%), Greece (up 26.8%), Bulgaria (up 25.2%), Lithuania (up 23.9%), then Slovenia (up 21.7%).
Luxembourg (up 2.1% from 2021) and Denmark (up 3.2%) recorded the most modest increases in spending on imported products.
Not one of the European Union’s 27 members posted a decline in its import purchases compared to 2021.
See also United Kingdom’s Top Trading Partners, European Union’s Top 10 Exports, UK’s EU Trade Scorecard Before Brexit and Top EU Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Europe: European Union. Accessed on September 29, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases. Accessed on September 29, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 29, 2023
Wikipedia, European Union. Accessed on September 29, 2023
Wikipedia, List of European countries by population. Accessed on September 29, 2023
Wikipedia, Member State of the European Union. Accessed on September 29, 2023