Every Country's Biggest Imports & Exports

From Israel's massive influx of diamonds to Nepal's unique speciality - exporting flavored water - every country has a unique set of natural resources and intricate economy. And with everything from cloves (Comoros) to cocoa beans (Ivory Coast) being a nation's biggest export, and recreational boats (Saint Kitts and Nevis) and diamonds (Israel) among a nation's biggest imports, some of the results are pretty interesting.

And with everything from cloves (Comoros) to cocoa beans (Ivory Coast) being a nation's biggest export, and recreational boats (Saint Kitts and Nevis) and diamonds (Israel) among a nation's biggest imports, some of the results are pretty interesting.

When it comes to the biggest import for each country, fuel dominates overall. In fact, 97 of 187 countries - over half - import some kind of fuel more than anything else, with crude petroleum (18 countries) and refined petroleum (74 countries) the most common. It does run the world, after all. 

Transportation is something of a surprise second place (54 countries), with fully manufactured products showing quite the contrast from some of the raw materials and fuels that many countries import. In fact, cars are imported by 26 countries more than anything else - including the likes of Australia, the UK and the USA - with passenger ships, special purpose ships and even planes, helicopters and spacecraft making up the rest of the total.

Food is the biggest import for many of the world's poorest and most remote countries, with the likes of Somalia, South Sudan and Syria importing food more than anything else. Of the 12 countries importing food and produce more than anything else, three import wheat, two pull in poultry and two more reap in rice.

The map shows a significant divide between the richest and poorest nations around the world, especially across American and Western Europe - most of which deals in transportation and technology more than anything else. Eastern Europe and Asia then switches the focus back to fuels, with the more remote and smaller island nations around the world also understandably needing to import fuel more than anything else.. And yes, the Central African Republic imports weapons more than anything else.

 

Things are a little more varied when it comes to each country's biggest export - every country's unique offering when it comes to natural resources, trades and skills is shown off in earnest here. Fuel is still the most common export overall, though only 53 of 187 countries export some kind of fuel more than anything else. Crude petroleum (24 countries) and refined petroleum (18 countries) split the difference here, though petroleum gas (11 countries) is also high on the list.

Metal, mineral and organic exports are in 2nd place, with 50 countries exporting raw materials above anything else. Gold is the biggest export among them, making up 16 of the 51 countries' greatest offering to the world. Indonesia and North Korea, on the other hand, export coal briquettes more than anything else - while Lebanon provides jewellery, Niger deals in radioactive chemicals, and Gambia and the Solomon Islands go back to basics with a largest export of rough wood.

Food is the biggest export for many countries - 35 of the 187 included - though it covers most of the smaller countries and island nations. This might explain why the foods also make for some of the more eclectic exports - concentrated milk (New Zealand), hard liquor (Barbados), grapes (Afghanistan), fish fillets (Maldives) and cloves (Comoros) are among the more unique items that make for a country's biggest export around the world.
Source: Vouchercloud