That dollar amount reflects a 68.3% increase from $1.97 billion 5 years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, overall sales of Kyrgyzstan’s exported goods accelerated by 46.8% compared to $$2.3 billion during 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Kyrgyzstani som depreciated by -25.9% against the US dollar since 2019 and decreased by -4.4% from 2022 to 2023. Kyrgyzstan’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Kyrgyzstan’s Top Trading Partners
Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked Central Asian nation surrounded by the much larger Kazakhstan to its north, China to its east, Uzbekistan to its west and southwest, and Tajikistan to its southwest.
The latest available country-specific data shows that 96.5% of products exported from the Kyrgyz Republic was bought by importers in: Switzerland (32.9% of the Kyrgyzstani total), Russia (22.6%), Kazakhstan (13.8%), Uzbekistan (8.8%), United Arab Emirates (5.7%), Türkiye (4.5%), Hong Kong (3.5%), mainland China (2.4%), Belarus (0.82%), Iran (0.77%), Afghanistan (0.4%) and Serbia (0.3%).
From a continental perspective, 58.4% of the Kyrgyz Republic’s exports by value was delivered to European countries while 41.4% was sold to importers in Asia.
The Kyrgyz Republic shipped tinier percentages to buyers in North America (0.2%), Africa (0.09%), Latin America (0.004%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.003%) led by Australia.
Given Kyrgyzstan’s population of 6.93 million people, its total US$3.31 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $480 for every resident in the Central Asian country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $320 per capita one year earlier during 2022.
Kyrgyzstan’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Kyrgyzstani global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Kyrgyzstan.
- Gems, precious metals: US$1.3 billion (38.9% of total exports)
- Ores, slag, ash: $233.5 million (7.1%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $200.1 million (6%)
- Machinery including computers: $195.3 million (5.9%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $158 million (4.8%)
- Vehicles: $132.1 million (4%)
- Vegetables: $88.2 million (2.7%)
- Copper: $81.3 million (2.5%)
- Fruits, nuts: $67.5 million (2%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $63 million (1.9%)
The Kyrgyz Republic’s top 10 export product categories generated just over three-quarters (75.7%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Gems and precious metals was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 6,825% from 2022 to 2023. Higher revenues for this product category were propelled by exports of Kyrgyzstani gold.
In second place for improving export sales was machinery including computers via a 124.4% advance.
The Kyrgyz Republic’s shipments of vehicles posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 81.5%.
The leading decliner among the Kyrgyz Republic’s top 10 export categories was vegetables, recording a -35.1% year-over-year drop.
The above listed product categories are at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
Drilling down to the more detailed four-digit HTS codes, Kyrgyzstan’s most valuable exported product is unwrought gold (38.8% of the Kyrgyzstani total), precious metal ores and concentrates (5.9%), processed petroleum oils (3.4%), phone devices including smartphones (2.8%), copper waste and scrap (2.4%), cars (2.1%), dried shelled vegetables (1.9%), dishwashing, cleaning, drying or filling machines (1.8%), coal including solid fuels made from coal (1.5%) then bars and rods made from iron or non-alloy steel (also 1.5%).
Products Generating Kyrgyzstan’s Best Trade Surpluses
The following types of Kyrgyzstani 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$1.3 billion (Reversing a -$15 million deficit in 2022)
- Ores, slag, ash: $230.9 million (Up by 69.7% since 2022)
- Copper: $76.6 million (Down by -5.6%)
- Live animals: $42.4 million (Down by -34%)
- Vegetables: $36.1 million (Down by -49.4%)
- Cotton: $27.4 million (Down by -83.2%)
- Fish: $17.1 million (Up by 32%)
- Lead: $9.7 million (Up by 43.5%)
- Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $5 million (Up by 7.2%)
- Glass: $3.6 million (Down by -75.2%)
Kyrgyzstan has highly positive net exports in the international trade of gold. In turn, these cashflows indicate Kyrgyzstan’s strong competitive advantages under the gems and precious metals product category.
Products Causing Kyrgyzstan’s Worst Trade Deficits
The Kyrgyz Republic incurred an overall -US$9 billion trade deficit for 2023 expanding by 19.8% from the -$7.5 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.
Below are exports from Kyrgyzstan that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Kyrgyzstan’s goods trail Kyrgyzstani importer spending on foreign products.
- Vehicles: – US$3.1 billion (Up by 364.1% since 2022)
- Machinery including computers: -$2.4 billion (Up by 128.2%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: -$693.7 million (Down by -21%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$490.6 million (Up by 19.4%)
- Knit or crochet fabric: -$402.6 million (Down by -39.3%)
- Iron, steel: -$247.5 million (Up by 22.3%)
- Footwear: -$244.5 million (Down by -48.5%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$223.7 million (Down by -5.6%)
- Other base metal goods: -$200 million (Down by -51%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$198.5 million (Down by -21.6%)
Kyrgyzstan has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits cars, trucks and automotive parts or accessories under the vehicles product category.
Kyrgyzstani Export Companies
Not one Kyrgyzstani corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000 for 2019.
Wikipedia does list some exporters from Kyrgyzstan. Selected examples are shown below.
- Air Kyrgyzstan (domestic & international airliner)
- Asia Universal Bank (commercial bank)
- Enesay (beverages)
- Shoro (beverages)
In macroeconomic terms, Kyrgyzstan’s total exported goods represent 6.6% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($50.5 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 6.6% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 5.4% one year earlier. Those percentages seem to indicate a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Kyrgyzstan’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Kyrgyzstan’s unemployment rate averaged 9.014% in 2023, same as one year earlier according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
The Kyrgyz Republic’s capital city is Bishkek.
See also Kazakhstan’s Top 10 Exports, Crude Oil Exports by Country and Gold Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, Country Profiles, The World Factbook. Accessed on December 15, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on December 15, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (National Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on December 15, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on December 15, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on December 15, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on December 15, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on December 15, 2024
Wikipedia, Kyrgyzstan. Accessed on December 15, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Kyrgyzstan. Accessed on December 15, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on December 15, 2024