Smaller amounts were imported by South American countries ($892.6 billion in imports), Africa ($492 billion), Oceania ($290.4 billion) led by Australia, then Central America ($99.1 billion).
Continents spending more on imported goods from 2016 to 2017 were led by Central America (up 26%), Asia (up 14%), Oceania (up 13.9%), South America (up 10.8%) then Europe (up 10.5%).
Expanding their purchases by single-digits year over year were importers located in Africa (up 8.1%) and North America (up 7.3%).
Information presented below is chunked by continents starting with the greatest overall value in import purchases during 2017 (Asia, Europe, North America) followed by tabbed tables for continents buying a smaller totals of imported goods (South America, Africa, Oceania, Central America).
Most Powerful Import Markets by Continent
- Asia
- Europe
- N. America
Asia
Asia’s Major Imported Products
Asia is the leading continent for importing electronics components and solar power semi-conductors, as well as petroleum oils, coal, iron, copper, gold and soya beans. Asia is also the most valuable international market for mobile phones.
Please note that the percentage of global total amount shown applies to Asia’s share of the worldwide total purchases for each listed product.
- Integrated circuits/microassemblies: $636.7 billion (85.5% of global total)
- Crude oil: $452.9 billion (51%)
- Phone system devices including smartphones: $289.8 billion (47.1%)
- Processed petroleum oils: $215.7 billion (35.2%)
- Gold (unwrought): $209.6 billion (59.7%)
- Cars: $144 billion (19%)
- Petroleum gases: $133.8 billion (46.9%)
- Computers, optical readers: $110.8 billion (32.4%)
- Iron ores, concentrates: $99.9 billion (87.3%)
- Coal, solid fuels made from coal: $98.9 billion (74.3%)
- Diamonds (unmounted/unset): $81.7 billion (63.4%)
- Solar power diodes/semi-conductors: $80.4 billion (69.4%)
- Automobile parts/accessories: $76.3 billion (19.7%)
- Medication mixes in dosage: $70 billion (19.6%)
- Machinery for making semi-conductors: $68.5 billion (83.1%)
- Computer parts, accessories: $58.5 billion (48.5%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: $56.3 billion (38.2%)
- Liquid crystal/laser/optical tools: $54.4 billion (81.4%)
- Turbo-jets: $50.8 billion (32.8%)
- Soya beans: $50 billion (79.2%)
- Lower-voltage switches, fuses: $45.8 billion (43.3%)
- Copper ores, concentrates: $45.7 billion (79%)
- Electrical converters/power units: $41.1 billion (43.4%)
- Refined copper, unwrought alloys: $39.3 billion (65.5%)
- TV/radio/radar device parts: $38 billion (56%)
The listed products accounted for almost half (48%) of Asia’s total spending on imported goods during 2018.
Fastest-growing among Asia’s major imported goods is coal-related fuels (up 56.1% from 2016 to 2017), machinery for making semi-conductors (up 39%), processed petroleum oils (up 37.9%), crude oil (up 33.8%) then imported iron (up 33.1%) and copper (up 30.7%).
Europe
N. America
Smaller Import Markets by Continent
- S. America
- Africa
- Oceania
- C. America
S. America
South America’s Major Imported Products
South America performs as a relatively large market for corn, consuming 19.4% of worldwide corn imports in 2017.
Fertilizer mixes (19.8%) and packaged insecticides, fungicides, or herbicides (14.4%) are other imports on which South America spent a considerable portion of the overall global purchases for each commodity class.
Please note that the percentage of global total amount shown applies to South America’s share of the worldwide total purchases for each listed product.
- Processed petroleum oils: $30.9 billion (5% of global total)
- Cars: $19.7 billion (2.6%)
- Phone system devices including smartphones: $14.9 billion (2.4%)
- Automobile parts/accessories: $10.7 billion (2.8%)
- Crude oil: $9.22 billion (1%)
- Trucks: $8.80 billion (6.4%)
- Medication mixes in dosage: $8.5 billion (2.4%)
- Petroleum gases: $6.9 billion (2.4%)
- Corn: $6.3 billion (19.4%)
- Air or vacuum pumps: $5.6 billion (7.8%)
- Computers, optical readers: $5.6 billion (1.6%)
- Blood fractions (including antisera): $5.5 billion (3.4%)
- Coal, solid fuels made from coal: $5.5 billion (4.1%)
- Electrical converters/power units: $5.5 billion (5.8%)
- Transmission shafts, gears, clutches: $5.3 billion (9%)
- Packaged insecticides/fungicides/herbicides: $5.1 billion (14.4%)
- Miscellaneous machinery: $5.1 billion (6.7%)
- Ethylene polymers: $4.7 billion (5.9%)
- Integrated circuits/microassemblies: $4.5 billion (0.6%)
- Centrifuges, filters and purifiers: $4.3 billion (6.9%)
- Fertilizer mixes: $4.3 billion (19.8%)
- Liquid pumps and elevators: $4.2 billion (6.6%)
- Solar power diodes/semi-conductors: $4.2 billion (3.6%)
- Electric motors, generators: $4.2 billion (7.9%)
- Rubber tires (new): $3.9 billion (5.1%)
The listed products accounted for over a fifth (21.7%) of South America’s total spending on imported goods during 2017.
Solar power diodes and semi-conductors were the fastest-growing among South America’s major import products via a 374.2% gain in value from 2016 to 2017. In second place were South American imports of electrical converters or power units which appreciated by 173.9% trailed by air or vacuum pumps (up 166.6%), electric motors or generators (up 157%) then imported miscellaneous machinery (up 153.4%).
Africa
Oceania
C. America
See also Major Exports by Continent, Top Continents for Exported Products and Top EU Import Countries
Research Sources:
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Imports, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on December 5, 2018
Trade Map, International Trade Centre, www.intracen.org/marketanalysis. Accessed on December 5, 2018
Wikipedia, List of countries by imports. Accessed on December 5, 2018