Who buys from whom? Which nations buy from US, China?

I fricken knew it. Those bastards in China send they stuff to the Russkis!

Every G20 Economy’s Top Export Market

September 3, 2024

By Pallavi Rao, Visual Capitalist

This graphic shows the largest export market for each G20 member, based on the share of the goods exported.

The G20—a group of 19 countries and two regional unions—collectively accounts for 85% of the world economy, 75% of all exports, and 66% of the world’s population.

But who are all these major economies exporting their goods to? This graphic shows the largest export market for each G20 member, based on the share of the goods exported. Data was sourced from The Observatory of Economic Complexity, as of 2022.

Who Does the G20 Export To?

Interestingly, the U.S. and China were the primary export destinations for an equal number of G20 countries (seven each) in 2022.

Of course the percentage and value of exports they accounted for varied by country.

Note: The African Union and European Union are G20 members but for the purposes of this dataset have not been included.

There’s a distinct regional element to this breakdown. Most of the Asian countries sent the largest share of their exports to China, whereas North America and some of Europe exported primarily to the United States.

For China itself, the U.S. emerged as a key trading partner, but the reverse didn’t hold true. The U.S. sent 16% of its exports, the largest single share, to Canada, valued at $308 billion in 2022. Mexico was a close second (15%), and China is a distant third (8%).

The ranks are almost the same when looking at where the U.S. primarily imports from: with Mexico first, Canada second, and China third.

For three countries—France, Italy, and Türkiye—Germany became the largest export market.

Of course, as the three largest economies in the world, it makes sense the U.S., China, and Germany are the key trading partners for so many countries. Perhaps more interesting is how the export share varies between G20 members.

For example, the U.S. is the largest export market for both Mexico and the UK. However, 77% of Mexico’s exports go to the U.S., compared to just 13% of the UK’s. Tellingly, a low percentage of European countries’ exports go to their largest export markets by value, indicating strong regional trade within Europe.