Netherlands comes third again in list of EU countries with most exports

The Netherlands was once again the third largest exporter of goods and services among the countries within the European Union (EU) last year, and it was also third in 2022. Statistics Netherlands reported that only Germany and France exported more last year.

Italy is in fourth place, followed by Ireland. The top five was the same as a year before.

When it comes to just goods, the Netherlands is second behind Germany as the largest goods exporter in the EU. The export of goods is a relatively large share of the Netherlands' export total, but the share of services is increasing.

The export of services grew by almost 15 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2000 to over 25 percent of the GDP in 2023. Other countries also saw an increase in service exportation. The EU average almost doubled from over eight percent in 2000 to 16 percent in 2023.

The export of goods made up over 63 percent of the Dutch GDP in 2023.

In 2023, business services and chemical and pharmaceutical products had the largest share of Dutch exports. In addition, the Netherlands exported a lot of food and luxury items, machines, and electrical equipment.

The Netherlands also exports more than it imports, which means that international trade contributed positively to the GDP, the benchmark for economic growth.

Since the Netherlands exports relatively much, exports relative to GDP are also high compared to the EU average. Total exports amounted to almost 89 percent of GDP last year. In the EU as a whole, exports accounted for 53 percent of GDP in 2023.