That dollar amount reflects an 17% increase from $14.7 billion five years earlier during 2019.
Year over year, Luxembourg’s revenues from its exports rose by 2.1% compared to $16.8 billion in 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, Luxembourg uses the euro which depreciated by -3.5% against the US dollar since 2019 but appreciated by 2.6% from 2022 to 2023. The weaker European Union currency since 2019 made goods exported from Luxembourg paid for in stronger US dollars relatively lesser expensive for international buyers.
Luxembourg’s Most Valuable Trade Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that over three-quarters (78.8%) of products exported from Luxembourg was bought by importers in: Germany (25% of Luxembourg’s total), France (15.2%), Belgium (11.7%), Netherlands (6.5%), Italy (4.3%), United States of America (3.2%), Spain (2.6%), United Kingdom (2.44%), Poland (2.41%), Türkiye (1.89%), Austria (1.88%) and Switzerland (1.7%).
From a continental perspective, 84.3% of Luxembourg’s exports by value was delivered to other European countries while 7.8% was sold to importers in Asia. Luxembourg shipped another 5.1% worth of goods to North America.
Luxembourg is one of the four institutional seats of the European Union and is home to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Other EU member states bought 79.1% of total Luxembourg export sales.
Smaller percentages went to Africa (1.28%), Latin America (1.26%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean then Oceania (0.2%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Luxembourg’s population of 657,000 people, its total $17.2 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $26,125 for every resident in the Western European country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $26,100 per capita one year earlier for 2022.
Luxembourg’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Luxembourg global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Luxembourg.
- Machinery including computers: US$2.4 billion (14.1% of total exports)
- Vehicles: $1.6 billion (9.4%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $1.6 billion (9.4%)
- Iron, steel: $1.5 billion (8.6%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $977.9 million (5.7%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $938.9 million (5.5%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $929.3 million (5.4%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $721.2 million (4.2%)
- Aluminum: $574.2 million (3.3%)
- Paper, paper items: $428.3 million (2.5%)
Luxembourg’s top 10 exports generated over two-thirds (68%) of the overall value of total shipments from Luxembourg.
Rubber (both as materials and items made from rubber) was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 26.6% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales was vehicles via a 17.7% advance.
Luxembourg’s shipments of electrical machinery and equipment recorded the third-fastest gain in value, up by 14.9%.
The severest decliner among Luxembourg’s top 10 export categories was for the metals iron and steel, pulled down by a -26.4% year-over-year drop.
The above listed product categories are at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
Drilling down to four-digit HTS codes, Luxembourg’s most valuable exported products are iron or non-alloy steel angles, shapes and sections (6.7% of the European country’s total), new rubber tires (4.9%), cars (4.8%), iron or sheet piling (3%), coated or laminated non-woven materials (2.4%), self-adhesive plastic in rolls (also 2.4%), cellulose fiber paper (2.2%), cheese or curd (also 2.2%), lifting and loading machinery (2.1%), then unwrought aluminum (2%).
Products Generating Luxembourg’s Best Trade Surpluses
The following types of Luxembourg 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 is 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.
- Articles of iron or steel: US$386.1 million (Down by -3.6% since 2022)
- Iron, steel: $351 million (Down by -38.9%)
- Felt, yarn, twine, ropes, cables: $314.4 million (Down by -7.2%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $258.3 million (Up by 53.1%)
- Coated/laminated textile fabric: $220.3 million (Up by 18.5%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $139.9 million (Up by 11%)
- Machinery including computers: $130.4 million (Reversing a -$82.1 million deficit)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $117.4 million (Up by 628.8%)
- Footwear: $111.9 million (Up by 251.3%)
- Gems, precious metals: $96.5 million (Reversing a -$40 million deficit)
Luxembourg has highly positive net exports in the international trade of iron or steel either items made from iron and steel or those metals as materials. In turn, these cashflows indicate Luxembourg’s strong competitive advantages under the iron or steel product category.
Products Causing Luxembourg’s Worst Trade Deficits
Luxembourg incurred an overall -US$8.42 billion trade deficit during 2023, reducing by -9.1% from -$9.3 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.
Below are exports from Luxembourg that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Luxembourg’s goods trail Luxembourg importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$3 billion (Down by -19.3% since 2022)
- Vehicles: -$2.1 billion (Up by 15.8%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$656.3 million (Down by -5.4%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$541.8 million (Up by 4.6%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: -$440.6 million (Up by 17.9%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$354.5 million (Up by 11.7%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: -$231.2 million (Up by 29%)
- Inorganic chemicals: -$188.9 million (Down by -28.1%)
- Base metal tools, cutlery: -$180.1 million (Up by 6.7%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: -$178.5 million (Up by 34%)
Luxembourg has a highly negative net exports and therefore a deep international trade deficit particularly for refined petroleum oils under the mineral fuels including oil category.
Luxembourg Export Companies
Seven corporations based in Luxembourg rank among Forbes Global 2000, including the bank Espirito Santo Financial. Below are the other major Luxembourg companies that Forbes included.
- ArcelorMittal (iron, steel)
- Millicom International (telecommunications)
- RTL Group (broadcasting, cable)
- SES (broadcasting, cable)
- Tenaris (oil services, equipment)
- Ternium (iron, steel)
Wikipedia also lists companies from Luxembourg, many of which are significant international trade players.
- Brasserie Nationale (brewery)
- Cargolux (cargo airliner)
- Ceratizit (hard metals)
- ROTAREX Group (medical equipment)
In macroeconomic terms, Luxembourg’s total exported goods represent 18.2% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($94.2 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 18.2% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 18.8% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Luxembourg’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Please note that those metrics include a significant amount of re-exporting activity.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Luxembourg’s unemployment rate averaged 5.237% in 2023, up from an average 4.806% for 2022 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Luxembourg’s capital is Luxembourg City.
See also Luxembourg’s Top Trading Partners, Germany’s Top Trading Partners, France’s Top Trading Partners, Belgium’s Top Trading Partners and Top EU Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Europe: Luxembourg. Accessed on May 1, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 1, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on May 1, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 1, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 1, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 1, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on May 1, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Luxembourg. Accessed on May 1, 2024
Wikipedia, Luxembourg. Accessed on May 1, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on May 1, 2024