Mapped: Which Countries Rely Most on Imports

Mapped: Which Countries Rely Most on Imports

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Global imports are valued at approximately 28% of GDP, with trillions of dollars in goods and services moving across borders each year.

In dozens of countries, imports exceed 50% of GDP, especially in trade-oriented nations and smaller economies. While elevated ratios are common in major trade hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong, they can also signal a heavier reliance on imported food and commodities.

This graphic shows import reliance by country, based on data from the World Bank.

Import Reliance Amid Global Uncertainty

Import dependence has become a central issue in foreign policy, as many countries work to de-risk their supply chains.

Among the biggest focus areas are critical minerals and advanced semiconductors. Beyond this, European countries have ramped up renewable energy to reduce reliance on Russian oil. As a whole, imports account for 46% of GDP across EU countries.

Below, we show goods and services imports as a share of GDP by country, with data as of 2024 (or the latest data available):

Rank	Country	Imports as a Share of GDP (%)
1	Hong Kong SAR	178
2	Luxembourg	160
3	San Marino	155
4	Singapore	144
5	Djibouti	115
6	Nauru	111
7	Seychelles	103
8	Ireland	102
9	Kiribati	102
10	Malta	100
11	Somalia	99
12	Lesotho	99
13	Cyprus	93
14	UAE	92
15	Slovak Republic	86
16	Timor-Leste	85
17	Kyrgyz Republic	84
18	Vietnam	84
19	Cuba	82
20	Marshall Islands	82
21	Palau	80
22	Belgium	80
23	Mauritius	78
24	Maldives	78
25	Armenia	76
26	Aruba	76
27	Estonia	75
28	Slovenia	75
29	North Macedonia	75
30	Lebanon	74
31	Cambodia	72
32	Kosovo	72
33	Micronesia	71
34	Netherlands	71
35	Hungary	71
36	Solomon Islands	71
37	Bahrain	70
38	Mongolia	70
39	Lithuania	69
40	Namibia	68
41	Latvia	67
42	Belarus	67
43	Thailand	67
44	Montenegro	66
45	Malaysia	66
46	Tonga	65
47	Czechia	63
48	Switzerland	62
49	Denmark	61
50	West Bank and Gaza	60
51	Brunei Darussalam	58
52	Serbia	58
53	Nicaragua	58
54	Honduras	58
55	Moldova	57
56	Jordan	57
57	Libya	57
58	Guinea	56
59	Tunisia	56
60	Georgia	56
61	Croatia	55
62	Bosnia and Herzegovina	54
63	Cabo Verde	54
64	Bulgaria	54
65	Belize	54
66	Eswatini	54
67	Bhutan	53
68	Austria	53
69	Mozambique	53
70	Mauritania	52
71	El Salvador	52
72	DR Congo	52
73	Sweden	52
74	Faroe Islands	51
75	Greenland	51
76	Afghanistan	51
77	Morocco	50
78	Macao SAR	50
79	Taiwan	49
80	Samoa	49
81	Oman	49
82	Tajikistan	48
83	Ukraine	48
84	Poland	48
85	Greece	48
86	French Polynesia	46
87	Portugal	44
88	Botswana	44
89	Iceland	44
90	Senegal	43
91	Albania	43
92	Puerto Rico (US)	43
93	Romania	42
94	Finland	42
95	Bahamas	41
96	Congo	40
97	South Korea	40
98	Philippines	40
99	Paraguay	40
100	Panama	39
101	Rwanda	39
102	Kuwait	38
103	Uzbekistan	38
104	Mexico	38
105	Germany	38
106	Azerbaijan	37
107	Comoros	34
108	Ghana	34
109	France	34
110	Norway	34
111	Gambia	33
112	Iraq	33
113	Nepal	33
114	Spain	33
115	Costa Rica	33
116	Canada	33
117	Qatar	32
118	Burkina Faso	32
119	United Kingdom	32
120	Madagascar	32
121	Guatemala	31
122	Central African Republic	31
123	Malawi	31
124	Italy	30
125	Chile	30
126	South Africa	30
127	Dominican Republic	29
128	New Caledonia	29
129	Iran	29
130	Zambia	28
131	Gabon	27
132	Mali	27
133	Turkiye	27
134	Guinea-Bissau	27
135	Ecuador	27
136	New Zealand	26
137	Israel	26
138	Uganda	26
139	Kazakhstan	26
140	Saudi Arabia	26
141	Bolivia	26
142	Equatorial Guinea	25
143	Cote d’Ivoire	25
144	Uruguay	24
145	Japan	24
146	India	23
147	Zimbabwe	23
148	Sierra Leone	23
149	Egypt,	23
150	Bermuda	23
151	Kenya	23
152	Peru	23
153	Niger	23
154	Australia	23
155	Sri Lanka	23
156	Benin	22
157	Tanzania	22
158	Colombia	21
159	Indonesia	20
160	Algeria	20
161	Angola	19
162	Haiti	19
163	Cameroon	19
164	Chad	18
165	Brazil	18
166	Russia	18
167	Pakistan	17
168	China	17
169	Bangladesh	16
170	United States	14
171	Argentina	13
172	Ethiopia	12
173	Turkmenistan	11
174	Venezuela	9
175	Sudan	1

Hong Kong has the highest import-to-GDP ratio in the world at 178%, driven largely by its role as a major re-export hub.

More than half of these re-exported goods originate in China, passing through Hong Kong before being shipped to the rest of the world. In total, the value of Hong Kong’s re-exports exceeds half a trillion dollars.

Singapore, with an import-to-GDP ratio of 144%, is similarly a key re-export—or entrepôt—economy.

Meanwhile, island nations such as Cyprus, Cuba, and Taiwan tend to be more import-dependent due to limited domestic production. In Cuba, up to 80% of food is imported, mainly from the Netherlands and Spain.

Moreover, Taiwan is heavily reliant on imported energy, with most of its oil shipped from the Middle East. The country also imports billions of dollars’ worth of oil derivatives from Russia, which are essential inputs in semiconductor manufacturing.

In North America, Mexico has the highest import-to-GDP ratio at 38%, followed by Canada at 33%. Despite recording $3.4 trillion in imports in 2024, the U.S. has the sixth-lowest import dependence globally, at 14%, given the sheer size of its economy and diverse domestic production.

Also sitting at the bottom are Sudan (1%) and Venezuela (9%), where ongoing crises and corruption have severely disrupted trade flows.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the world’s biggest exporters.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/map-which-countries-rely-most-on-imports/