Who does the European Union rely on?

1. China$624.2 billion · 22.3%
2. United States$373.9 billion · 13.4%
3. United Kingdom$183.3 billion · 6.6%
4. Switzerland$152.8 billion · 5.5%
5. Turkey$114.4 billion · 4.1%
6. Norway$112.6 billion · 4%
7. India$81.9 billion · 2.9%
8. South Korea$79.6 billion · 2.9%
9. Japan$79.4 billion · 2.8%
10. Vietnam$66.4 billion · 2.4%

Of the 1,205 products the European Union buys from outside the EU for more than $1 million in 2024, these are the highest-value ones with a dominant supplier.

and 354 more

A product has a dominant supplier when a single country sells more than 50% of what is bought of it; we flag it separately above 75%.

Largest customer: United States (outside the EU)

20.9%

Concentration (HHI) (outside the EU)

798

Concentration index (HHI): 798 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting sales among 13 customers of the same size (outside the EU)

105 of the 1,202 products the European Union sells to countries outside the EU for more than $1 million have a customer buying more than 50% of what the European Union sells of that product; in 22, more than 75%. In those products, sales to each one’s dominant customer add up to 5.1% of what the European Union sells to countries outside the EU.

and 90 more

The closest countries in the concentration ranking (HHI, highest first).

• Dependence of the European Union on China
• Dependence of the European Union on the United States
• Dependence of the European Union on Switzerland
• Dependence of the European Union on the United Kingdom
• Dependence of the European Union on Ukraine
• Dependence of the European Union on Norway
• Dependence of the European Union on Brazil
• Dependence of the European Union on Turkey
• Dependence of the European Union on South Korea
• Dependence of the European Union on North Macedonia
• Dependence of the European Union on the Cayman Islands
• Dependence of the European Union on Morocco
• Dependence of the European Union on Côte d'Ivoire
• Dependence of the European Union on Russia
• Dependence of the European Union on Tunisia
• Dependence of the European Union on Argentina
• Dependence of the European Union on Vietnam
• Dependence of the European Union on India
• All countries

Sources and licenses

• CEPII BACI · Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0
• Natural Earth · Public domain

Methodology

The data come from CEPII BACI (Etalab 2.0 licence), which reconciles what the exporting and the importing country report, in current USD, FOB. Data up to 2024.

Dependence is the share of a country’s imports (or exports) that each partner accounts for. It does not measure whether a product has a substitute or how much it would cost to change supplier.

The concentration index (HHI) adds up the square of each partner’s share, in percent: it runs from 0 to 10,000. Its equivalent is 10,000 ÷ HHI, the number of partners of the same size that would give that value.

Products are HS4 headings of the 1992 nomenclature (some combine different goods), with a floor of $1 million per product and country.

The EU is the 27 current members in every year; the United Kingdom is outside the EU throughout the series.

Re-exports: countries that act as redistribution hubs carry their notice and the figures are not corrected.