That dollar amount reflects a 22.3% increase compared to $8.9 billion five years earlier for 2019.
From 2022 to 2023, the total value of Bolivian exported goods shrank by -20.1% from $13.7 billion.
Best Bolivian International Trade Customers
The latest available country-specific data from shows that 86.2% of products exported from Bolivia was bought by importers in: Brazil (14.4% of the Bolivian total), India (12.1%), mainland China (10.8%), Argentina (9.1%), Colombia (8.8%), United Arab Emirates (8.2%), Japan (6.2%), Peru (5.4%), South Korea (3.7%), Hong Kong (2.9%), Ecuador (2.4%) and the United States of America (2.3%).
From a continental perspective, 44.8% of Bolivia’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 42.8% was sold to importers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Bolivia shipped another 7.2% worth of goods to Europe.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in North America (4.3%), Oceania (0.9%) mainly Australia, then Africa (0.05%).
Given Bolivia’s population of 12.1 million people, its total $10.9 billion worth of 2023 exports translates to roughly $900 for each resident in the South American country. That per-capita dollar amount represents slippage from the average $1,150 one year earlier in 2022.
Bolivia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Bolivian global shipments during 2023 at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Bolivia.
- Gems, precious metals: US$2.6 billion (23.9% of total exports)
- Ores, slag, ash: $2.5 billion (23.1%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $2.1 billion (19.5%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $959.9 million (8.8%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $692.9 million (6.4%)
- Tin: $394.7 million (3.6%)
- Oil seeds: $331.9 million (3%)
- Meat: $189.2 million (1.7%)
- Fruits, nuts: $160.2 million (1.5%)
- Fertilizers: $97.9 million (0.9%)
Bolivia’s top 10 export groupings accounted for 92.5% of the overall value of Bolivian shipments.
Meat was the lone grower among the top 10 Bolivian export categories, up by 5.7% from 2022 to 2023.
The severest decliners compared to 2022 were Bolivia’s exports of fertilizers (down -56.4%), fruits and nuts (down -34.5%), mineral fuels including oil (down -31%), and animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes (down -30.9%).
The above information is presented at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
Drilling down to the more granular four-digit HTS codes, Bolivia’s most valuable export products are unwrought gold (22.8% of the Bolivian total) trailed by petroleum gases (19%), zinc ores and concentrates (12.2%), soya-bean oil cake plus other solid residues (8.4%), precious metal ores and concentrates (8.1%), soya-bean oil (5.2%), unprocessed tin (3.5%), soya beans (2%), lead ores and concentrates (also 2%), then frozen beef (1.2%).
Combined, those products accounted for 84.4% of overall Bolivian exports in 2023. Such a high percentage indicates that Bolivia offers a relatively concentrated portfolio of exported goods.
Products Generating Trade Surpluses for Bolivia
The following types of Bolivian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Gems, precious metals: US$2.6 billion (Down by -18.8% since 2022)
- Ores, slag, ash: $2.5 billion (Down by -11.6%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $899.9 million (Down by -5.1%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $670.9 million (Down by -31.5%)
- Tin: $394.6 million (Down by -22.8%)
- Oil seeds: $287.8 million (Down by -31.4%)
- Meat: $184.9 million (Up by 5.9%)
- Fruits, nuts: $141 million (Down by -37%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $80 million (Up by 1.7%)
- Wood: $40.1 million (Down by -16.5%)
Bolivia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of gold and to a lesser degree silver and jewellery. In turn, these cashflows indicate Bolivia’s strong competitive advantages under the gems and precious metals category.
Products Causing Trade Deficits for Bolivia
Bolivia racked up an overall -US$584.7 million trade deficit in 2023, reversing the $603.4 million surplus one year earlier for 2022.
Below are exports from Bolivia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Bolivia’s goods trail Bolivian importer spending on foreign products.
- Machinery including computers: -US$1.3 billion (Up by 0.3% since 2022)
- Vehicles: -$1.2 billion (Up by 11.9%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: -$895.6 million (Down by -32.2%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$583.1 million (Down by -9.7%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$545.1 million (Down by -12.7%)
- Iron, steel: -$407 million (Down by -29%)
- Other chemical goods: -$402.2 million (Down by -14%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$244 million (Down by -0.7%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$230.2 million (Down by -11.4%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: -$225.1 million (Down by -8.3%)
Bolivia has highly negative net exports and therefore competitive disadvantages under the product category machinery including computers.
Bolivian Export Companies
Not one Bolivian corporation ranks among companies listed by Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists some exports-related companies from Bolivia. Selected examples are shown below.
- Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz (financial services)
- Banco Nacional de Bolivia (financial services)
- Boliviana de Aviación (airlines)
- Línea Aérea Amaszonas (airlines)
- Transportes Aéreos Bolivianos (air cargo)
- YPFB (oil, gas)
In macroeconomic terms, Bolivia’s total exported goods represent 8.7% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($125.4 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 8.7% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 11.5% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Bolivia’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Bolivia’s unemployment rate averaged 4.9% for 2023, up from an average 4.74% according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Bolivia has two capital cities. La Paz is the de facto working capital, while Sucre is constitutionally the legal capital city.
See also Brazil’s Top 10 Imports, Bolivia’s Top Trade Partners, Brazil’s Top Trade Partners and Bolivia’s Top 10 Imports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on April 25, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 25, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on April 25, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 25, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 25, 2024
Wikipedia, Bolivia. Accessed on April 25, 2024
Wikipedia, Airlines of Bolivia. Accessed on April 25, 2024
Wikipedia, Category: Banks of Bolivia. Accessed on April 25, 2024
Wikipedia, Oil and Gas Companies of Bolivia. Accessed on April 25, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on April 25, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on April 25, 2024