Germany‘s Top 10 Exports in 2017
JULY 31, 2018, article BY DANIEL WORKMAN
Europe’s most powerful economy, Germany, shipped US$1.445 trillion worth of goods around the globe in 2017. That dollar amount reflects a -0.4% retreat since 2013 but a 7.8% gain from 2016 to 2017. As of June 2018, Germany’s exported goods were valued at $802.4 billion up 16.2% compared to the first 6 months of 2017. Based on estimates from the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook, Germany’s exported goods plus services represent 47.3% of total German economic output or Gross Domestic Product. Please note that the overall value of exported goods and services includes a sizable share of re-exports. The analysis below focuses on exported products only.
From a continental perspective, 65.9% of German exports by value were delivered to other European countries while 18.3% were sold to Asian importers. Germany shipped another 10.5% worth of goods to North America. Smaller percentages went to customers in Africa (2%) and Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (1.6%).
Given Germany’s population of 80.6 million people, its total $1.445 trillion in 2017 exports translates to roughly $17,900 for every resident in the European gargantuan. Germany’s unemployment rate was 3.6% as of Jan 2018 , down from 4.3% two years earlier, according to Trading Economics.
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in German global shipments during 2017. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports:
1. Vehicles: US$257.2 billion (17.8% of total exports)
2. Machinery incl. computers: $245.4 billion (17%)
3. Electrical machinery, equipment: $148.8 billion (10.3%)
4. Pharmaceuticals: $84.1 billion (5.8%)
5. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $72.8 billion (5%)
6. Plastics, plastic articles: $63.6 billion (4.4%)
7. Aircraft, spacecraft: $41.8 billion (2.9%)
8. Articles of iron or steel: $30.5 billion (2.1%)
9. Mineral fuels including oil: $26.8 billion (1.9%)
10. Iron, steel: $26.4 billion (1.8%)
Source: http://www.worldstopexports.com/germanys-top-10-exports/
