Overall, the cost of electricity imports expanded by an average 121.6% for all importing countries since 5 years earlier in 2019 when international purchases of electricity were valued at $32.2 billion.
Year over year, purchases of globally imported electricity shrank by -45.4% compared to $130.6 billion starting from 2022.
The 5 biggest spenders on imported electricity are the European nations Germany, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Hungary. Combined, that powerful quintet bought over one-third (36.5%) worth of all electricity imported during 2023.
From a continental perspective, countries in Europe spent the most on imported electricity during 2023 with purchases costing $54.6 billion or over three-quarters (76.5%) of the world total. In second place were importers located in Asia at 10.1%. Another 6.6% of electricity imported worldwide was delivered to customers in North America.
Buyers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean bought 3.6% worth of imported electrical energy, trailed by customers in Africa at 3.2%. Oceania including Australia and New Zealand imported no electricity at all.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 2716 for electrical energy.
Top 15 Electricity Importers by Country
Below are the 15 countries that spent the most on imported electricity during 2023.
- Germany: US$7.3 billion (10.2% of total electricity imports)
- Italy: $7.2 billion (10.1%)
- Switzerland: $4.1 billion (5.8%)
- United Kingdom: $3.9 billion (5.5%)
- Hungary: $3.5 billion (5%)
- United States: $3.4 billion (4.8%)
- France: $3 billion (4.3%)
- Poland: $2.5 billion (3.5%)
- Austria: $2.4 billion (3.3%)
- Thailand: $2 billion (2.8%)
- Belgium: $1.96 billion (2.7%)
- Spain: $1.94 billion (2.7%)
- Slovakia: $1.7 billion (2.4%)
- Bangladesh: $1.42 billion (2%)
- Denmark: $1.39 billion (1.9%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased just over two-thirds (67.1%) of all electricity imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, growth markets for electricity since 2022 were Bangladesh (up 164.8%) and the United Kingdom (up 17.2%).
Listed buyer countries that posted annual declines in their imported electricity purchases were led by: France (down -81.9%), Denmark (down -57.3%), Switzerland (down -55.3%) and Hungary (down -52.4%).
Searchable List of Electricity Importer Countries in 2023
The 105 major importers of electrical energy from international markets accounted for 100% of electricity imported worldwide during 2023.
| Rank | Importer | Electricity Imports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Germany | $7,255,902,000 | -44.2% |
| 2. | Italy | $7,230,798,000 | -52% |
| 3. | Switzerland | $4,122,233,000 | -55.3% |
| 4. | United Kingdom | $3,920,773,000 | +17.2% |
| 5. | Hungary | $3,544,233,000 | -52.4% |
| 6. | United States | $3,446,973,000 | -18.8% |
| 7. | France | $3,038,315,000 | -81.9% |
| 8. | Poland | $2,511,264,000 | -27.6% |
| 9. | Austria | $2,357,729,000 | -51.1% |
| 10. | Thailand | $1,966,215,000 | -3.1% |
| 11. | Belgium | $1,961,893,000 | -51.5% |
| 12. | Spain | $1,943,137,000 | -45.6% |
| 13. | Slovakia | $1,731,552,000 | -49.8% |
| 14. | Bangladesh | $1,423,826,000 | +164.8% |
| 15. | Denmark | $1,390,774,000 | -57.3% |
| 16. | Greece | $1,381,462,000 | +39.7% |
| 17. | Portugal | $1,295,731,000 | -41.9% |
| 18. | Romania | $1,282,488,000 | -50.9% |
| 19. | Canada | $1,188,050,000 | +61.1% |
| 20. | Brazil | $1,058,728,000 | -27.2% |
| 21. | Czech Republic | $959,867,000 | -39% |
| 22. | Lithuania | $956,601,000 | -62.2% |
| 23. | Croatia | $952,039,000 | -57.6% |
| 24. | Slovenia | $948,933,000 | -53.9% |
| 25. | Serbia | $847,294,000 | +104.6% |
| 26. | Argentina | $835,858,000 | +8.1% |
| 27. | Hong Kong | $832,389,000 | -5.7% |
| 28. | Estonia | $800,101,000 | -45.9% |
| 29. | Norway | $782,468,000 | -66.2% |
| 30. | Finland | $592,059,000 | -81.3% |
| 31. | Türkiye | $582,230,000 | +22.2% |
| 32. | Sweden | $514,696,000 | -49.5% |
| 33. | Macao | $504,963,000 | +7.6% |
| 34. | Ireland | $486,116,000 | +27.4% |
| 35. | Bulgaria | $484,337,000 | +49.3% |
| 36. | Latvia | $420,272,000 | -68.9% |
| 37. | South Africa | $337,590,000 | +6.7% |
| 38. | Ecuador | $285,272,000 | +930.2% |
| 39. | Vietnam | $244,680,000 | +42.5% |
| 40. | Cambodia | $243,911,000 | -26.7% |
| 41. | Kazakhstan | $235,967,000 | +64.7% |
| 42. | North Macedonia | $231,415,000 | -62.7% |
| 43. | Morocco | $223,411,000 | -42.3% |
| 44. | Tunisia | $223,117,000 | +22.1% |
| 45. | Mozambique | $209,954,000 | +74.4% |
| 46. | China | $196,709,000 | -32% |
| 47. | Burkina Faso | $196,116,000 | +43.2% |
| 48. | Mongolia | $189,437,000 | +3.9% |
| 49. | Zimbabwe | $180,114,000 | -13.3% |
| 50. | Botswana | $155,805,000 | +59.2% |
| 51. | Ukraine | $154,647,000 | -10.3% |
| 52. | Guatemala | $147,935,000 | +15.4% |
| 53. | Uruguay | $140,358,000 | +30150% |
| 54. | Afghanistan | $140,272,000 | -9.7% |
| 55. | Uzbekistan | $139,559,000 | +14.5% |
| 56. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $118,937,000 | -42.5% |
| 57. | Benin | $118,878,000 | +47.4% |
| 58. | Mali | $118,197,000 | +909108% |
| 59. | Laos | $111,381,000 | +220.1% |
| 60. | Togo | $95,847,000 | +33.2% |
| 61. | Libya | $92,188,000 | +8.4% |
| 62. | Malta | $91,042,000 | -57.9% |
| 63. | Eswatini | $85,188,000 | +2.1% |
| 64. | Mexico | $82,557,000 | -68.8% |
| 65. | Albania | $73,501,000 | 0% |
| 66. | Kenya | $73,044,000 | +126.7% |
| 67. | Myanmar | $70,345,000 | +198.4% |
| 68. | Nepal | $64,411,000 | 0% |
| 69. | Montenegro | $63,208,000 | -71.3% |
| 70. | Indonesia | $60,644,000 | +8% |
| 71. | Syria | $58,337,000 | -13.7% |
| 72. | Moldova | $57,175,000 | -62.5% |
| 73. | Russia | $53,924,000 | -33.8% |
| 74. | Democratic Republic Congo | $46,573,000 | +1560% |
| 75. | Andorra | $44,891,000 | -40.7% |
| 76. | Lesotho | $44,248,000 | +2.7% |
| 77. | Niger | $41,462,000 | -41% |
| 78. | Djibouti | $40,244,000 | -2.8% |
| 79. | Colombia | $33,644,000 | +178.7% |
| 80. | El Salvador | $31,237,000 | -67.8% |
| 81. | Jordan | $26,557,000 | -3% |
| 82. | Palestine | $22,044,000 | -96.9% |
| 83. | Pakistan | $13,815,000 | -71.9% |
| 84. | Sierra Leone | $12,107,000 | +7865% |
| 85. | Singapore | $10,619,000 | -55.8% |
| 86. | Tajikistan | $9,877,000 | -39.9% |
| 87. | Zambia | $9,033,000 | +415% |
| 88. | India | $7,992,000 | -16.1% |
| 89. | Rwanda | $7,527,000 | 0% |
| 90. | Azerbaijan | $6,743,000 | +31.4% |
| 91. | Malaysia | $6,266,000 | +596.2% |
| 92. | Uganda | $4,009,000 | +47% |
| 93. | Guinea | $2,597,000 | 0% |
| 94. | Peru | $1,618,000 | +99.5% |
| 95. | Georgia | $1,246,000 | -97.4% |
| 96. | Iraq | $1,019,000 | -3.2% |
| 97. | Armenia | $821,000 | -88.5% |
| 98. | United Arab Emirates | $107,000 | +296.3% |
| 99. | North Korea | $33,000 | -23.3% |
| 100. | Cuba | $15,000 | 0% |
| 101. | Sudan | $11,000 | 0% |
| 102. | Ivory Coast | $5,000 | -97.2% |
| 103. | Oman | $3,000 | -96.2% |
| 104. | Saudi Arabia | $2,000 | 0% |
| 105. | South Korea | $1,000 | 0% |
Expanding our focus to encompass all importers of electricity, the fastest-growing buyers of imported electricity were Mali (up 909,108% from 2022), Uruguay (up 30,150%), Sierra Leone (up 7,865%), Democratic Republic of the Congo (up 1,560%) then Ecuador (up 930.2%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2023 data was unavailable.
Electricity Imported into Germany
Germany’s global purchases of imported electricity totaled US$7.26 billion in 2023. Below are the top suppliers from which Germany imported the highest dollar value worth of electricity during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- France: US$1.3 billion (up 59.8% from 2022)
- Austria: $1.2 billion (down -46.8%)
- Netherlands: $1 billion (down -54.7%)
- Denmark: $966.2 million (down -60.6%)
- Czech Republic: $780 million (down -56%)
- Switzerland: $681.1 million (down -5.5%)
- Norway: $635.6 million (down -51.4%)
- Sweden: $324.9 million (down -58.8%)
- Belgium: $307 million (down -48.9%)
- Poland: $72.9 million (up 0.9%)
By value, the listed countries shipped 100% of electricity imported by Germany in 2023.
Among the above countries, growth suppliers of electricity to Germany from 2022 to 2023 were France (up 59.8%) and Poland (up 0.9%).
Overall, the value of Germany’s imported electricity fell by an average -44.2% from all supplying countries from 2022 when electricity purchased cost $13 billion.
Electricity Imported into Italy
Italy’s global purchases of imported electricity totaled US$7.23 billion in 2023. Below are the top suppliers from which Italy imported the highest dollar value worth of electricity during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Switzerland: US$3.1 billion (down -49.6% from 2022)
- France: $2.6 billion (down -54.2%)
- Montenegro: $571.6 million (down -46.7%)
- Slovenia: $538.7 million (down -52%)
- Greece: $259.6 million (down -52.2%)
- Austria: $202.8 million (down -65.9%)
- Malta: $3.2 million (up 109.5%)
By value, the listed countries shipped 100% of electricity imported by Italy in 2023.
Among the above countries, the lone growing suppliers of electricity to Italy from 2022 to 2023 was Malta via a 109.5% gain.
Overall, the value of Italy’s imported electricity plummeted by an average -52% from all supplying countries from 2022 when electricity purchased cost $15.1 billion.
Electricity Imported into Switzerland
Switzerland’s global purchases of imported electricity totaled US$4.12 billion in 2023. Below are the top suppliers from which Switzerland imported the highest dollar value worth of electricity during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- France: US$2.4 billion (down -44.6% from 2022)
- Germany: $932.9 million (down -68.9%)
- Austria: $646 million (down -53%)
- Italy: $117.4 million (down -74.8%)
By value, the listed countries shipped 100% of electricity imported by Switzerland in 2023.
Overall, the value of Switzerland’s imported electricity shrank by an average -55.3% from all supplying countries from 2022 to 2023 when electricity purchased cost $9.2 billion.
Electricity Imported into the UK
The United Kingdom’s global purchases of imported electricity totaled US$3.92 billion in 2023. Below are the top suppliers from which the United Kingdom imported the highest dollar value worth of electricity during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- France: US$1.8 billion (up 163.6% from 2022)
- Norway: $1 billion (up 73.3%)
- Netherlands: $537.5 million (down -41.6%)
- Belgium: $476.4 million (down -40.9%)
- Ireland: $35 million (down -89.2%)
- Denmark: $3.1 million (2022 data unavailable)
By value, the listed countries shipped 100% of electricity imported by the UK in 2023.
Among the above countries, the growth suppliers of electricity to the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2023 were France (up 163.6%) and Norway (up 73.3%).
Overall, the value of the United Kingdom’s imported electricity inflated by an average 17.2% from all supplying countries from 2022 when electricity purchased cost $3.3 billion.
See also Electricity Exports by Country, Italy’s Top Trading Partners, Germany’s Top Trading Partners, France’s Top Trading Partners and United Kingdom’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on December 21, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on December 21, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on December 21, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on December 21, 2024