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Uranium Exports by Country

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Nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
Uranium is a silvery-white metal that is radioactive with unique nuclear properties. Uranium’s major uses are as high-density penetrators in the military sector and as a fuel for nuclear power plants in the civilian sphere.

Worldwide exports of uranium were worth US$13.5 billion during 2023, up by 155.4% over the 5-year period starting from $5.6 billion in 2019.

Year over year, the value of exported uranium grew by 32.5% compared to $10.2 billion starting from 2022.

Different Types of Exported Uranium

There are three major subcategories for exported uranium. The 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 284410 for natural uranium and its compounds. Code prefix 284420 represents enriched uranium, while 284430 is for depleted uranium.

Natural uranium exports by country totaled US$5.84 billion in 2023, up by an average 113.3% for all exporting countries since 2019. From 2022 to 2023, exported natural uranium appreciated by 31.6%.

The value of exported enriched uranium was $7.6 billion, spiking by 203.2% from the comparable amount for 2019 and accelerating by 33.8% year over year.

Exports for the third and smallest type, depleted uranium export sales amounted to $76.1 million. That dollar amount results from a 60.4% expansion from 2019 but a -4.3% slowdown from 2022 to 2023.

Natural Uranium Exports by Country

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of natural uranium during 2023.

  1. Kazakhstan: US$3.4 billion (58.7% of natural uranium exports)
  2. Canada: $1.8 billion (31.6%)
  3. United States: $297.9 million (5.1%)
  4. Uzbekistan: $146.2 million (2.5%)
  5. Russia: $62.9 million (1.1%)
  6. Ukraine: $27 million (0.5%)
  7. South Africa: $26.9 million (0.46%)
  8. Germany: $2.9 million (0.05%)
  9. Netherlands: $1.3 million (0.02%)
  10. France: $586,000 (0.01%)
  11. Norway: $253,000 (0.004%)
  12. Japan: $177,000 (0.003%)
  13. United Kingdom: $150,000 (0.0026%)
  14. United Arab Emirates: $49,000 (0.0008%)
  15. Singapore: $24,000 (0.0004%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.9991% of globally exported natural uranium in 2023.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing natural uranium exporters since 2022 were: Russia (up 33,912%), Uzbekistan (up 397%), United Arab Emirates (up 276.9%) and United States (up 184.2%).

Two major suppliers posted declines in their exported natural uranium sales, namely France (down -99.8% from 2022) and the United Kingdom (down -25.7%).

Enriched Uranium Exports by Country

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of enriched uranium during 2023.

  1. Russia: US$2.7 billion (35% of enriched uranium exports)
  2. France: $1.9 billion (24.4%)
  3. Netherlands: $1.24 billion (16.3%)
  4. Germany: $1.23 billion (16.2%)
  5. mainland China: $444.9 million (5.9%)
  6. Uzbekistan: $71.5 million (0.9%)
  7. United States: $66.1 million (0.9%)
  8. Kazakhstan: $20.3 million (0.27%)
  9. Sweden: $13.7 million (0.18%)
  10. Greece: $266,000 (0.004%)
  11. Belgium: $224,000 (0.003%)
  12. Spain: $109,000 (0.001%)
  13. United Kingdom: $63,000 (0.001%)
  14. Israel: $51,000 (0.001%)
  15. Japan: $31,000 (0.0004%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.999% of globally exported enriched uranium in 2023.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing enriched uranium exporters since 2022 were: Israel (up 1,175%), Sweden (up 616.4%), mainland China (up 581.5%) and Spain (up 67.7%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported enriched uranium sales were: Japan (down -73.7% from 2022), Belgium (down -54.6%), United States (down -24.1%), United Kingdom (down -23.2%) and then Netherlands (down -1%).

Depleted Uranium Exports by Country

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of depleted uranium during 2023.

  1. South Africa: US$52.8 million (69.4% of depleted uranium exports)
  2. Sweden: $10.3 million (13.5%)
  3. United States: $7.5 million (9.9%)
  4. Czech Republic: $804,000 (1.1%)
  5. Italy: $742,000 (1%)
  6. Spain: $611,000 (0.8%)
  7. France: $554,000 (0.7%)
  8. Australia: $546,000 (0.7%)
  9. Malaysia: $440,000 (0.6%)
  10. United Arab Emirates: $320,000 (0.4%)
  11. Greece: $243,000 (0.32%)
  12. India: $227,000 (0.3%)
  13. Germany: $207,000 (0.27%)
  14. Israel: $160,000 (0.21%)
  15. Netherlands: $145,000 (0.19%)

The listed 15 countries shipped 99% of globally exported depleted uranium in 2023 by value.

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing depleted uranium exporters since 2022 were: United Arab Emirates (up 15,900%), Israel (up 3,900%), Malaysia (up 225.9%) and Sweden (up 108.3%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported depleted uranium sales were led by: Germany (down -98.3% from 2022), Italy (down -80.6%), France (down -74.9%), Netherlands (down -52.8%) and Spain (down -40.4%).

Major Uranium Companies

According to MiningFeeds.com, the following companies represent established players engaged in the international uranium trade. Their home country is shown within parenthesis.

  • Altius Minerals (Canada)
  • BHP Billiton Ltd (Australia)
  • Cameco (Canada)
  • Energy Resources of Australia (Australia)
  • Rio Tinto Ltd (Australia)
  • Uranium Energy Corp (United States)
  • Uranium Participation Corp (Canada)
  • Ur-Energy Inc (United States)

 

Continental Sources by Type of Exported Uranium

Suppliers in Asia collected the most revenue from natural uranium exported during 2023 with shipments valued at $3.57 billion or 61.2% of the global total. In second place were exporters in North America at 36.7%.

Another 1.6% of natural uranium shipments came from Europe.

A tiny source for natural uranium exports was Africa (0.5% of the world’s total).

At 92.1%, European exporters were responsible for the bulk of the world’s exports of enriched uranium in 2023.

Suppliers in Asia, and to a lesser extent, North America accounted for the remainder of enriched uranium sold on international markets.

Africa is the world’s number one exporter of depleted uranium via its 69.4% worldwide share.

Europe is the second-leading source for depleted uranium exports, given its 18.3% portion of the global total.

North America furnishes another 10% for exports of depleted uranium.

Much smaller exporters of depleted uranium are Asia (1.6%), Oceania’s Australia (0.7%) and Latin America (0.04%).

See also Gold Exports by Country, Silver Exports by Country, Platinum Exports by Country and US Uranium Imports by Supplying Country

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 5, 2024

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 5, 2024

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 5, 2024

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 5, 2024

Mining Feeds, Uranium Mining Companies Listed in All Countries. Accessed on August 5, 2024

Wikipedia, Uranium. Accessed on August 5, 2024