That dollar amount reflects a 29.1% increase compared to $7 billion five years earlier for 2020.
From 2023 to 2024, the total value of Bolivian exported goods shrank by -17% from $10.9 billion.
Best Bolivian International Trade Customers
The latest available country-specific data from shows that 84.3% of products exported from Bolivia was bought by importers in: Brazil (16.9% of the Bolivian total), mainland China (14.9%), Japan (7.9%), Peru (6.6%), South Korea (6.1%), Colombia (5.8%), Argentina (5.7%), United Arab Emirates (5.3%), Belgium (4.2%), India (4.1%), Netherlands (3.4%) and the United States of America (3.4%).
From a continental perspective, 39.92% of Bolivia’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 39.87% was sold to importers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Bolivia shipped another 12.1% worth of goods to buyers located in Europe.
Smaller percentages went to customers in North America (5.6%), Oceania (2.1%) mainly Australia, then Africa (0.4%).
Given Bolivia’s population of 12.3 million people, its total $9.1 billion worth of 2024 exports translates to roughly $750 for each resident in the South American country. That per-capita dollar amount represents slippage from the average $900 one year earlier in 2023.
Bolivia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Bolivian global shipments during 2024 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.
- Ores, slag, ash: US$3 billion (33.5% of total exports)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $1.7 billion (18.7%)
- Gems, precious metals: $1 billion (11.2%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $570.7 million (6.3%)
- Tin: $529.3 million (5.8%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $502.3 million (5.5%)
- Meat: $237.2 million (2.6%)
- Fruits, nuts: $221.2 million (2.4%)
- Oil seeds: $191.5 million (2.1%)
- Fertilizers: $141.7 million (1.6%)
Bolivia’s top 10 export groupings accounted for 89.8% of the overall value of Bolivian shipments.
Fertilizers represent the fastest grower among the top 10 Bolivian export categories, up by 44.6% from 2023 to 2024.
In second place for improving export sales was the fruits and nuts category, via a 38.1% advance.
Bolivia’s shipments of tin posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 34.1%.
The leading decliner among Bolivia’s top 10 export categories was gems and precious metals, thanks to a -61.3% year-over-year drop. Bolivian exports of gold was a major driver for that reduction.
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 petroleum gases (18% of the Bolivian total) trailed zinc ores and concentrates (15.6%), precious metal ores and concentrates (13.3%), unwrought gold (7.6%), soya-bean oil cake plus other solid residues (6%), unprocessed tin (5.8%), soya-bean oil (4.3%), lead ores and concentrates (2.5%), jewelry (2.1%) then Brazil nuts and coconuts (also 2.1%).
Combined, those products accounted for over three-quarters (77.4%) of overall Bolivian exports in 2024. 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.
- Ores, slag, ash: US$3 billion (Up by 20.4% since 2023)
- Gems, precious metals: $1 billion (Down by -61.5%)
- Tin: $529.3 million (Up by 34.1%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $510.1 million (Down by -43.3%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $483.6 million (Down by -27.9%)
- Meat: $233.9 million (Up by 26.5%)
- Fruits, nuts: $201.7 million (Up by 43%)
- Oil seeds: $158.8 million (Down by -44.8%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $100.4 million (Up by 25.5%)
- Cereals: $84.9 million (Up by 273%)
Bolivia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of zinc ores and concentrates as well as precious-metal ores and concentrates. In turn, these cashflows indicate Bolivia’s strong competitive advantages under the ores, slag and ash product category.
Products Causing Trade Deficits for Bolivia
Bolivia racked up an overall -US$845 million trade deficit in 2024, expanding by the 44.5% from the -$584.7 million in red ink one year earlier for 2023.
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.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$1.2 billion (Up by 34% since 2023)
- Machinery including computers: -$1.1 billion (Down by -12.7%)
- Vehicles: -$774.4 million (Down by -35.9%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$505 million (Down by -7.4%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$497.6 million (Down by -14.7%)
- Other chemical goods: -$332.3 million (Down by -17.4%)
- Iron, steel: -$293 million (Down by -28%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$251.8 million (Up by 3.2%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$206.9 million (Down by -10.1%)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: -$197.3 million (Up by 3.9%)
Bolivia has highly negative net exports and therefore competitive disadvantages under the mineral fuels including oil and machinery including computers product categories.
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 6.5% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($139.2 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 6.5% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 8.7% for 2023. 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 5% for 2024, up from an average 4.9% 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 10, 2025
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 10, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on April 10, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 10, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 10, 2025
Wikipedia, Bolivia. Accessed on April 10, 2025
Wikipedia, Airlines of Bolivia. Accessed on April 10, 2025
Wikipedia, Category: Banks of Bolivia. Accessed on April 10, 2025
Wikipedia, Oil and Gas Companies of Bolivia. Accessed on April 10, 2025
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on April 10, 2025
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on April 10, 2025