The United States was the leading country for exports from the United Kingdom in 2024, with 16.1 percent of all UK exports going to this market. Germany was the second-largest export market for the UK in this year, followed by the Netherlands, with these countries accounting for 8.8 and 7.7 percent of UK exports respectively. During this year, cars were the most valuable goods commodity exported from the UK, while general business services were the most valuable type of service exported from the UK. UK imports most from Germany Although the United States was the largest export market, Germany was the country from which the UK imported the highest share of goods, with 12.5 percent of the UK’s imports coming from the country in 2024. The United States was the second-largest source of imports for the UK, with ten percent originating from there in 2024, with China a close third at 9.8 percent of UK imports. The main types of trade goods imported from the rest of the world in the UK included cars, oil, and mechanical power generators. The Balance of Trade In the fourth quarter of 2024, the United Kingdom had an overall trade deficit of over 11.5 billion pounds. Although service exports from the UK to the rest of the world amounted to more than 119.9 billion pounds, the UK imported far more goods than it exported, resulting in a goods trade deficit of 55.4 billion pounds, bringing down the overall trade balance. As of 2023, the UK was behind only the U.S. when it came to the overall size of the trade deficit.
Cars were the most valuable type of commodity exported from the United Kingdom in 2024, with exports of this commodity valued at approximately 32.9 billion British pounds. Mechanical power generators were the second-most valuable commodity in 2024, with an export value of around 32.7 billion pounds in this year. By comparison, the most valuable import commodity was also cars, amounting to over 38.4 billion British pounds. The next most valuable import commodity was medicinal and pharmaceutical products at over 27.2 million pounds in this year. UK main trading partners Although the share of both imports and exports from the European Union has been declining recently, the single market is still by far the UK's main trading partner. In terms of individual countries, the United States was the main export partner in 2024 at 16.1 percent of all exports, while Germany was the UK's main import partner with 12.5 percent of imports coming from there in 2024. A main argument of the Leave vote, was that the UK should seek to improve up its trade with the rest of the world, outside of Europe. The success of this 'Global Britain' strategy, depends on the UK significantly scaling up its trade with other continents, with countries outside of Europe still responsible for far less trade than European ones. Brexit and EU trade At the start of 2021, the United Kingdom exited both the European Single Market and the European Customs Union, with the UK's trading relationship with the EU now determined by a new Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). Although the TCA continued tariff and quota-free goods trade between the EU and UK, a number of customs checks came into force, increasing trade friction between the two parties. The status of Northern Ireland in the initial agreement was also different from the rest of the UK. Goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain were initially subject to customs checks, to prevent customs checks occurring at the border with the Republic of Ireland. In February 2023, it was announced that under a new EU-UK agreement called the Windsor Framework, some goods entering Northern Ireland from Britain will be subject to fewer checks.
The UK trade in numbers contains the latest published UK trade and investment statistics. It draws on a number of statistical sources including the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Trade statistics are derived from a number of sources and can be presented in different ways. The UK’s trade statistics are primarily provided by ONS releases, including the ONS monthly UK trade, ONS UK quarterly trade by partner country, and ONS UK balance of payments. These releases set out the UK’s economic relationship with other countries and illustrate the UK’s bilateral trade on top exports and imports for goods and services.
In addition, the UK trade in numbers depicts foreign direct investment, regional trade statistics, and the UK’s position in global rankings for exports and imports of goods and services.
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Exports in the United Kingdom increased to 75997 GBP Million in March from 75570 GBP Million in February of 2025. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Exports - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.
International trade is one of the most pressing topics on the UK’s Brexit checklist. With no definitive EU deal in immediate sight, it is not just the UK-EU trade that is at stake, but also the continuity of a number of trade agreements with third countries that take effect automatically with EU membership. It is fair to say that this uncertainty surrounding the UK’s international trade will not help the fluctuations experienced in the UK’s goods export as displayed in this statistic.
UK exports in and outside the EU
Since 2008, the UK ships more goods to non-EU countries than EU27. Nevertheless, even with its shrinking share in UK exports, the EU market accounts for the largest proportion of UK trade. This becomes more apparent when we look at the UK’s export trade partners as individual countries.
Trade balance swings
The UK is among the top exporting economies in the world, yet the country’s trade balance seems to be widening. In the first quarter of 2019, the UK’s trade deficit was the largest since 2016. This was down to increasing import activity, as export of trade goods still continued to improve over this period of time.
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The United Kingdom's total Exports in 2024 were valued at US$512.78 Billion, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. The United Kingdom's main export partners were: the United States, China and Germany. The top three export commodities were: Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers; Pearls, precious stones, metals, coins and Vehicles other than railway, tramway. Total Imports were valued at US$815.43 Billion. In 2024, The United Kingdom had a trade deficit of US$302.65 Billion.
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<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>
<li>U.K. exports for 2022 were <strong>1.045 trillion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>13.96% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>U.K. exports for 2021 were <strong>917.23 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>14.64% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>U.K. exports for 2020 were <strong>800.13 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>11.3% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Exports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services provided to the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services. They exclude compensation of employees and investment income (formerly called factor services) and transfer payments. Data are in current U.S. dollars.
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Monthly import country-by-commodity data on the UK's trade in goods, including trade by all countries and selected commodities, non-seasonally adjusted.
The leading food or drink product exported from the UK in 2023 was whiskey by far. The export value of whiskey reached *** billion British pounds that year. In comparison, milk, cream, and chocolate, the second and third most exported products, only reached about *** and *** million British pounds in export value, respectively. Scottish whisky Whisky has been distilled in Scotland for many years and is the origin of all Scotch whisky, so it is no surprise that whisky is a top export from the UK. The Scottish whisky brand, Johnnie Walker, sold **** million 9-liter cases of whisky in 2021. It is the ***** most sold whisky worldwide and it is among the top ten most popular spirit brands worldwide as well. UK trade within Europe Despite the impact of Brexit, the UK and the rest of Europe remain important trade partners to one another. After a sharp drop in exports in January 2021, exports of goods from the UK have begun to recover and even exceeded pre-Brexit levels. ************************************ are the leading destinations for food and drink exports from the UK as of 2021. Exports to Ireland reached ***** billion British pounds.
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Experimental dataset providing a breakdown of UK trade in services by industry, country and service type on a balance of payments basis. Data are subject to disclosure control.
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United States Exports to United Kingdom was US$79.89 Billion during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. United States Exports to United Kingdom - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on June of 2025.
The following tables contain EU and non-EU import and export data for July 2024 at chapter level.
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United Kingdom Exports to Canada was US$6.82 Billion during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. United Kingdom Exports to Canada - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on May of 2025.
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Quarterly estimates of total trade, trade in goods, and trade in services by country, seasonally adjusted.
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United Kingdom Exports to India was US$8.85 Billion during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. United Kingdom Exports to India - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on May of 2025.
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Country breakdown of trade in services values by mode of supply (imports and exports). Countries include only total services data, while regions include top-level Extended Balance of Payments Services (EBOPS) breakdown.
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United Kingdom Exports to China was US$46.83 Billion during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. United Kingdom Exports to China - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on June of 2025.
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United Kingdom Exports to Germany was US$38.51 Billion during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. United Kingdom Exports to Germany - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on June of 2025.
In 2024, the United Kingdom exported approximately 508 billion British pounds worth of services to the rest of the world, with approximately 101.4 billion of these services being financial. 'Other Business Services' that did not belong to a specific sector accounted for over 183 billion pounds of UK service exports.
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India Exports to United Kingdom was US$13.96 Billion during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. India Exports to United Kingdom - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on June of 2025.
The United States was the leading country for exports from the United Kingdom in 2024, with 16.1 percent of all UK exports going to this market. Germany was the second-largest export market for the UK in this year, followed by the Netherlands, with these countries accounting for 8.8 and 7.7 percent of UK exports respectively. During this year, cars were the most valuable goods commodity exported from the UK, while general business services were the most valuable type of service exported from the UK. UK imports most from Germany Although the United States was the largest export market, Germany was the country from which the UK imported the highest share of goods, with 12.5 percent of the UK’s imports coming from the country in 2024. The United States was the second-largest source of imports for the UK, with ten percent originating from there in 2024, with China a close third at 9.8 percent of UK imports. The main types of trade goods imported from the rest of the world in the UK included cars, oil, and mechanical power generators. The Balance of Trade In the fourth quarter of 2024, the United Kingdom had an overall trade deficit of over 11.5 billion pounds. Although service exports from the UK to the rest of the world amounted to more than 119.9 billion pounds, the UK imported far more goods than it exported, resulting in a goods trade deficit of 55.4 billion pounds, bringing down the overall trade balance. As of 2023, the UK was behind only the U.S. when it came to the overall size of the trade deficit.