The US and 9 Other Countries Are the World's Largest Importers in 2023

The World Trade Organization (WTO) calculated the value of goods imports for several countries worldwide in 2023.

The report, *Global Trade Outlook and Statistics*, lists the top 10 largest importers. The United States (US) ranked first with a value of US$3.17 trillion in 2023.

Despite being the largest importer, this value decreased by 6% from the previous year. Its share reached 13.1% of total global imports.

China came in second, with a value of US$2.55 trillion. Similar to the US, this value decreased by 6%, representing a 10.6% share.

Germany ranked third, at US$1.46 trillion, down 8%. Its import share was 6%.

The Netherlands followed in fourth place with a value of US$842 billion, down 6%, representing a 3.5% share.

The United Kingdom ranked fifth, at US$791 billion, a decrease of 4%, accounting for 3.3% of the total.

The remaining countries are France, Japan, India, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

In total, the value of global goods imports reached US$24.23 trillion in 2023, down 6% from 2022.

The WTO projects that the volume of world merchandise trade will grow by 2.6% in 2024 and 3.3% in 2025. This is positive news after global merchandise trade fell by 1.2% in 2023, exceeding initial projections.

Real import demand was weak in 2023 across most regions, particularly in Europe, North America, and Asia. The main exceptions were the Middle East and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, where imports surged.