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Who does the United Kingdom rely on?

The largest supplier of the United Kingdom in 2024 is China, with 13.4% of what the United Kingdom buys. Its share was 10% in 2019 and 1.2% in 1995. 271 of the 1,159 products the United Kingdom buys for more than $1 million have a supplier selling more than 50% of what the United Kingdom buys of that product; in 63, more than 75%. In those products, purchases from each one’s dominant supplier add up to 8.4% of what the United Kingdom buys.

Summary

Largest supplier: China
13.4%
Concentration (HHI)
531
Products with a supplier above 50%
271
Products with a supplier above 75%
63

Concentration index (HHI): 531 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting purchases among 19 suppliers of the same size

Trend

Trend in shares

China went from 1.2% to 13.4% of what the United Kingdom buys

Share (%)

  • China 13.4%
  • Germany 10.6%
  • United States 9.3%
  • France 5.3%
  • Italy 4.4%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearLargest supplierShare
1995Germany15.3%
1996Germany14.1%
1997Germany13.4%
1998United States13.7%
1999Germany13.4%
2000United States12.5%
2001Germany13%
2002Germany13.7%
2003Germany14.3%
2004Germany13.6%
2005Germany13.5%
2006Germany13.4%
2007Germany12.9%
2008Germany11.9%
2009Germany13.4%
2010Germany13%
2011Germany13%
2012Germany13%
2013Germany13.6%
2014Germany14.6%
2015Germany15.1%
2016Germany14%
2017Germany14.3%
2018Germany13.7%
2019Germany13%
2020China12.4%
2021China12.7%
2022China14.1%
2023China13.2%
2024China13.4%

Its suppliers

  1. China$96.9 billion · 13.4%
  2. Germany$76.4 billion · 10.6%
  3. United States$67 billion · 9.3%
  4. France$38.2 billion · 5.3%
  5. Italy$31.6 billion · 4.4%
  6. Norway$30.1 billion · 4.2%
  7. Netherlands$27 billion · 3.7%
  8. Spain$26.3 billion · 3.6%
  9. Ireland$20.5 billion · 2.8%
  10. Turkey$19.4 billion · 2.7%

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

Products with a dominant supplier

Of the 1,159 products the United Kingdom buys for more than $1 million in 2024, these are the highest-value ones with a dominant supplier.

ProductSupplierShareSecondValue
Natural gas and LPGNorway74.8%United States · 17.6%$17.1 billion
ComputersChina57%Poland · 7%$13.9 billion
ToysChina64.3%Czechia · 11.1%$2.9 billion
Electric heaters and hair dryersChina55%Germany · 7.6%$2.8 billion
Firewood and wood chipsUnited States72.2%Latvia · 11.5%$2.2 billion
Video game consoles and gamesChina76.3%over 75%United States · 5.5%$1.9 billion
Microphones and speakersChina52.9%Vietnam · 15.6%$1.9 billion
Lamps and light fittingsChina66.7%Germany · 5.3%$1.9 billion
Frozen vegetablesBelgium57.5%Netherlands · 32.2%$1.6 billion
Sports equipmentChina53.4%United States · 7.8%$1.4 billion
Other wristwatchesSwitzerland79.2%over 75%China · 8.9%$1.4 billion
Fragrance mixturesIreland64.7%Germany · 8.1%$1.4 billion
Cargo and cruise shipsItaly50.3%Japan · 18.3%$1.4 billion
Fresh beefIreland77.1%over 75%Poland · 6.5%$1.3 billion
Diodes, transistors and solar cellsChina62.4%United States · 6.4%$1.3 billion
Home appliancesChina68.7%Germany · 7.9%$1.3 billion
Rubber and plastic footwearChina50.7%Vietnam · 20.5%$1.2 billion
Dredgers and floating cranesNorway70.1%South Korea · 28.2%$1.1 billion
Bed, table and kitchen linenPakistan50.6%China · 23.8%$1.1 billion
Ethyl alcohol (ethanol)United States75%over 75%Netherlands · 5.2%$953 million
Fresh fishNorway59%Denmark · 18.4%$855 million
Live plants and cuttingsNetherlands71.5%Italy · 7.2%$837 million
Vacuum cleanersChina63.3%Romania · 6.6%$816 million
Tomato preservesItaly61.7%Portugal · 12.8%$780 million
Precious metal watchesSwitzerland92.6%over 75%Germany · 1.5%$776 million

and 246 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
15.9%
Concentration (HHI)
568

Concentration index (HHI): 568 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting sales among 18 customers of the same size

Trend in shares

The United States went from 11.5% to 15.9% of what the United Kingdom sells

Share (%)

  • United States 15.9%
  • Germany 9%
  • Netherlands 7.3%
  • France 7.1%
  • Ireland 5.9%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearLargest customerShare
1995Germany12%
1996Germany11.6%
1997United States12.2%
1998United States13%
1999United States14.3%
2000United States14.7%
2001United States14.4%
2002United States14.5%
2003United States14.5%
2004United States13.8%
2005United States14%
2006United States13.4%
2007United States12.9%
2008United States12.5%
2009United States13.2%
2010United States12.8%
2011Germany12.5%
2012United States12%
2013United States11.3%
2014United States11.1%
2015United States14.3%
2016United States13.9%
2017United States12.4%
2018United States13%
2019United States13.8%
2020United States13.1%
2021United States13.1%
2022United States12.9%
2023United States13.9%
2024United States15.9%

167 of the 1,105 products the United Kingdom sells for more than $1 million have a customer buying more than 50% of what the United Kingdom sells of that product; in 45, more than 75%. In those products, sales to each one’s dominant customer add up to 3% of what the United Kingdom sells.

ProductCustomerShareSecondValue
Forklifts and works trucksUnited States51.1%France · 8.6%$2.4 billion
Coal tar oilsNetherlands64.3%Belgium · 25%$1.8 billion
Precious metal scrapSpain71%Germany · 12.1%$1.3 billion
Nucleic acids and other heterocyclesGermany53.6%United States · 10.9%$1.3 billion
ElectricityIreland56.3%Netherlands · 17.1%$1 billion
Lamb and goat meatFrance83.5%over 75%Germany · 6.4%$783 million
Unwrought aluminumGermany61.6%Switzerland · 9.3%$692 million
Dredgers and floating cranesCanada50.3%Australia · 18.8%$669 million
Open-chain hydrocarbonsBelgium57.9%Netherlands · 24%$580 million
Fresh milk and creamIreland76.5%over 75%China · 10.8%$541 million
Stainless steel ingots and semi-finished productsSweden51.9%United States · 14%$480 million
Fresh beefFrance52.2%Ireland · 19.2%$476 million
Toilet paper and tissuesIreland60.4%Germany · 5.5%$393 million
Cyclic hydrocarbonsNetherlands61.1%France · 16.7%$339 million
AminesNetherlands81.2%over 75%Slovakia · 3.7%$333 million

and 152 more

Concentration compared

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

RankCountryHHI
204Qatar555
205Estonia542
206United Kingdom531
207Italy524
208Spain506
209Turkey503

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.