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Who does Germany rely on?

The largest supplier of Germany in 2024 is China, with 12.2% of what Germany buys. Its share was 10.2% in 2019 and 2.5% in 1995. 186 of the 1,186 products Germany buys for more than $1 million have a supplier selling more than 50% of what Germany buys of that product; in 40, more than 75%. In those products, purchases from each one’s dominant supplier add up to 7.3% of what Germany buys.

Summary

Largest supplier: China
12.2%
Concentration (HHI)
461
Products with a supplier above 50%
186
Products with a supplier above 75%
40

Concentration index (HHI): 461 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting purchases among 22 suppliers of the same size

Trend

Trend in shares

China went from 2.5% to 12.2% of what Germany buys

Share (%)

  • China 12.2%
  • Netherlands 6.9%
  • United States 6.8%
  • Poland 6.3%
  • France 5.3%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearLargest supplierShare
1995France10.9%
1996France10.5%
1997France10.1%
1998France10.3%
1999France10%
2000France9.3%
2001France9.3%
2002France9.5%
2003France9.1%
2004France9.1%
2005France8.8%
2006France8.6%
2007France8.2%
2008China8.3%
2009China9.1%
2010China10.1%
2011China9.5%
2012Netherlands9.3%
2013Netherlands9.4%
2014China9%
2015China9.8%
2016China10%
2017China10.1%
2018China9.9%
2019China10.2%
2020China11.7%
2021China12.1%
2022China12%
2023China11.8%
2024China12.2%

Its suppliers

  1. China$160.5 billion · 12.2%
  2. Netherlands$91.4 billion · 6.9%
  3. United States$90.4 billion · 6.8%
  4. Poland$82.5 billion · 6.3%
  5. France$70.3 billion · 5.3%
  6. Italy$66.1 billion · 5%
  7. Czechia$63.9 billion · 4.8%
  8. Switzerland$52.8 billion · 4%
  9. Belgium$52.2 billion · 4%
  10. Austria$50.9 billion · 3.9%

Some of these goods may have been produced in another country: countries record origin in different ways.

Products with a dominant supplier

Of the 1,186 products Germany buys for more than $1 million in 2024, these are the highest-value ones with a dominant supplier.

ProductSupplierShareSecondValue
Cameras and broadcast equipmentChina50.5%Vietnam · 8.6%$27.4 billion
Natural gas and LPGNorway63.8%Belgium · 23.4%$26.2 billion
BatteriesChina52.5%Poland · 12%$26.1 billion
ComputersChina56.5%Czechia · 9.6%$23.9 billion
Nucleic acids and other heterocyclesIreland52.8%United Kingdom · 11.5%$6 billion
Microphones and speakersChina52.5%Vietnam · 6.8%$4 billion
Cigarettes and cigarsPoland63.6%Czechia · 24%$3.5 billion
Lamps and light fittingsChina58.4%Poland · 5.5%$3.3 billion
HormonesUnited States60.7%Ireland · 19%$2.7 billion
Vacuum cleanersChina51.3%Hungary · 9.7%$2.1 billion
Cocoa butterNetherlands52.2%Côte d'Ivoire · 12.2%$1.9 billion
Other wristwatchesSwitzerland60.3%China · 22.7%$1.8 billion
Bulk medicinesUnited States54%Portugal · 10.8%$1.6 billion
SoybeansUnited States68%Brazil · 10.8%$1.6 billion
TomatoesNetherlands51.9%Spain · 22.7%$1.5 billion
Unrefined copperBulgaria78.1%over 75%Sweden · 12.1%$1.5 billion
Live plants and cuttingsNetherlands74.8%Italy · 8%$1.5 billion
Citrus fruitSpain70%South Africa · 9.1%$1.4 billion
PastaItaly52.3%Austria · 8.8%$1.3 billion
Cut flowersNetherlands91.8%over 75%Kenya · 3.6%$1.3 billion
Magnets and electromagnetsChina53.1%Japan · 6%$1.3 billion
Live pigsDenmark57.2%Netherlands · 34.2%$1.2 billion
Steel kitchenware and household articlesChina54.9%France · 9%$1.1 billion
Cocoa pasteNetherlands66.7%Switzerland · 7.2%$1 billion
Dried, salted and smoked fishPoland54.9%Norway · 13.1%$848 million

and 161 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%.

Some of these goods may have been produced in another country: countries record origin in different ways.

Countries that sell more than 50% of some product; the darker, the higher the value of those products.

Selling: who it relies on

Largest customer: United States
10.4%
Concentration (HHI)
428

Concentration index (HHI): 428 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting sales among 23 customers of the same size

Trend in shares

China went from 1.4% to 6.1% of what Germany sells

Share (%)

  • United States 10.4%
  • Netherlands 6.8%
  • France 6.7%
  • China 6.1%
  • Italy 5.6%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearLargest customerShare
1995France10.9%
1996France10.3%
1997France9.4%
1998France10%
1999United States10.3%
2000United States10.7%
2001United States10.6%
2002United States10.5%
2003United States9.5%
2004France9.2%
2005France9.1%
2006France8.6%
2007France8.7%
2008France8.8%
2009France8.9%
2010France9.1%
2011France9%
2012France9%
2013France8.7%
2014United States8.8%
2015United States10%
2016United States9.1%
2017United States8.7%
2018United States8.6%
2019United States9.1%
2020United States8.7%
2021United States8.8%
2022United States9.6%
2023United States10.1%
2024United States10.4%

89 of the 1,188 products Germany sells for more than $1 million have a customer buying more than 50% of what Germany sells of that product; in 20, more than 75%. In those products, sales to each one’s dominant customer add up to 1% of what Germany sells.

ProductCustomerShareSecondValue
Aircraft partsFrance51.9%United States · 10%$9.6 billion
Oxygen heterocyclic compoundsGreece55.6%Japan · 10.3%$1.9 billion
Coal tar oilsNetherlands54.8%Belgium · 21.1%$1.8 billion
Yachts and pleasure boatsCayman Islands82.2%over 75%United States · 1.9%$1.8 billion
Radioactive elementsUnited States50.6%Sweden · 25.6%$1.4 billion
Rapeseed and mustard oilNetherlands57.8%Belgium · 7.1%$1.3 billion
Paintings and drawingsUnited States50.6%Switzerland · 17.1%$1.2 billion
Live poultryNetherlands72.9%Poland · 10.1%$743 million
Live horses, donkeys and mulesUnited States56.9%Switzerland · 11.7%$409 million
Chemically modified fats and oilsNetherlands57.4%Belgium · 10.1%$401 million
Eggs in shellNetherlands50.3%Belgium · 7.6%$378 million
Live cattleNetherlands51.4%Turkey · 18.5%$342 million
Unwrought nickelAustria62.3%France · 14.5%$342 million
CokeFrance56.2%Belgium · 27.8%$329 million
Synthetic fiber extrusion machinesChina57.9%Turkey · 23%$300 million

and 74 more

Leaving out trade within the EU

Largest supplier outside the EU: China
25.8%
Concentration (HHI) · Supplier
1,072
Largest customer outside the EU: United States
21.8%
Concentration (HHI) · Customer
921

450 of the 1,135 products Germany buys from outside the EU for more than $1 million have a supplier selling more than 50% of what Germany buys of that product; in 140, more than 75%. In those products, purchases from each one’s dominant supplier add up to 23.4% of what Germany buys from outside the EU.

Who does the European Union rely on?

Concentration compared

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

RankCountryHHI
210Lebanon484
211Serbia481
212Germany461
213Greece460
214Bulgaria432
215China374

Sources and method

Sources and licenses

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.