Mapped: The Top Export in Each EU Country

The European Union (EU) exports products worth over $6 trillion annually, thanks to a diversified economy that includes industries such as fuels and minerals, automobiles, vaccines, and technology.

In this map, we show the top exports of EU countries in 2022. The data comes from the Observatory of Economic Complexity. For Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Greece, Lithuania, Sweden, and the Netherlands, petroleum gas or refined petroleum is the main export.

Country	Top Export (2022)	Value (USD Billions)
Austria	Cars	$7.7B
Belgium	Petroleum Gas	$54.7B
Bulgaria	Refined Petroleum	$3.5B
Croatia	Refined Petroleum	$1.5B
Cyprus	Passenger and Cargo Ships	$1.3B
Czech Republic	Cars	$25.5B
Denmark	Packaged Medicines	$15.9B
Estonia	Electricity	$1.1B
Finland	Refined Petroleum	$6.9B
France	Planes, Helicopters, and/or Spacecraft	$26.6B
Germany	Cars	$149.0B
Greece	Refined Petroleum	$16.4B
Hungary	Cars	$12.3B
Ireland	Vaccines	$47.3B
Italy	Packaged Medicines	$34.4B

In 2022, the Netherlands exported refined petroleum worth $68.1 billion, ranking third among the world’s top exporters. The country is home to the BP Rotterdam refinery, the largest oil refinery in Europe. Besides petroleum, automobiles and their parts play a significant role in the EU economy. Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain have automotive products as their main exports.

With world-renowned automotive brands like Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Porsche, Germany alone generates around $150 billion annually from car exports.

Other products contribute to the diversification of the EU economy. France’s main exports are aircraft, helicopters, and spacecraft, while Italy and Denmark excel in packaged medicines. Ireland has a significant pharmaceutical industry, hosting major companies such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Novartis.