Exports from Luxembourg amounted to US$12.6 billion in 2015, down by -22.6% since 2011 and down by -14.5% from 2014 to 2015. Luxembourg’s top 10 exports accounted for 67.5% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Based on statistics from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook Database, Luxembourg’s total Gross Domestic Product amounted to $56.5 billion in 2015.

Therefore, exports accounted for about 22.3% of Luxembourg’s total economic output.

From a continental perspective, $10.1 billion or 79.8% of Luxembourg exports by value were delivered to other European Union members while 7.6% were sold to Asian importers. Luxembourg shipped another 4.7% worth of goods to North America with 1.9% going to clients in Africa.

Given Luxembourg’s population of 570.3 thousand people, its total $12.6 billion in 2015 exports translates to roughly $22,100 for every resident in that country.

Luxembourg’s unemployment rate was 6.6% as of April 2016, according to Trading Economics.

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Luxembourg global shipments during 2015. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Luxembourg.

1. Iron and steel: US$1.6 billion (13% of total exports)
2. Machines, engines, pumps: $1.4 billion (11.3%)
3. Plastics: $1.2 billion (9.7%)
4. Vehicles: $855.2 million (6.8%)
5. Iron or steel products: $707.5 million (5.6%)
6. Rubber: $691.3 million (5.5%)
7. Electronic equipment: $668.9 million (5.3%)
8. Dairy, eggs, honey: $522.8 million (4.1%)
9. Aluminum: $460 million (3.6%)
10. Paper: $330.6 million (2.6%)

Dairy, eggs and honey (up 27.9% in value) and machinery (up 1.5%) were the only two top categories to increase in value from 2011 to 2015.

Rubber exported from Luxembourg led the decliners with a -50.6% drop outpacing the -40.4% setback for exported iron and steel.

The following types of Luxembourg product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports is the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Iron and steel: US$470.5 million (Down by -8.7% since 2011)
2. Iron or steel products: $288.5 million (Down by -45.2%)
3. Felt, yarn, twine, cordage: $208.3 million (Up by 7.5%)
4. Glass: $190.2 million (Up by 15.9%)
5. Coated textile fabric: $153.8 million (Down by -54.4%)
6. Plastics: $151.7 million (Down by -1.8%)
7. Rubber: $141.8 million (Down by -9.5%)
8. Vegetable/fruit preparations: $112.5 million (Down by -480.8%)
9. Dairy, eggs, honey: $97.6 million (Down by -404.2%)
10. Copper: $35.7 million (Up by 346.9%)

Luxembourg has highly positive net exports in the international trade of the metals iron and steel. In turn, these cashflows indicate Luxembourg’s strong competitive advantages under the iron and steel materials category.

Below are exports from Luxembourg that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Luxembourg’s goods trail Luxembourg importer spending on foreign products.

1. Oil: -US$1.7 billion (Down by -50.6% since 2011)
2. Vehicles: -$1.5 billion (Down by -23.3%)
3. Aircraft, spacecraft: -$1.1 billion (Up by 18%)
4. Electronic equipment: -$546.4 million (Down by -2.1%)
5. Pharmaceuticals: -$317.4 million (Down by -16.7%)
6. Furniture, lighting, signs: -$271.3 million (Down by -26%)
7. Alcoholic beverages: -$260.3 million (Down by -2.9%)
8. Machines, engines, pumps: -$255.2 million (Down by -31.4%)
9. Fruits, nuts: -$230.6 million (Up by 99.8%)
10. Inorganic chemicals: -$169.9 million (Down by -44.1%)

Luxembourg has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for refined petroleum oils.

Luxembourg Export Companies

Seven corporations based in Luxembourg rank among Forbes Global 2000 for 2015, including the bank Espirito Santo Financial. Below are the other major Luxembourg companies that Forbes included:

• ArcelorMittal (iron, steel)
• Tenaris (oil services, equipment)
• RTL Group (broadcasting, cable)
• SES (broadcasting, cable)
• Ternium (iron, steel)
• Millicom International (telecommunications)

Wikipedia lists companies from Luxembourg, many of which are significant international trade players.

• Brasserie Nationale (brewery)
• Cargolux (cargo airliner)
• Ceratizit (hard metals)
• ROTAREX Group (medical equipment)