Exports from Belgium amounted to US$469.4 billion in 2013, up 26.6 per cent since 2009. Belgium’s top 10 exports accounted for 68.1% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Given Belgium’s population of 10.4 million people, the total $469.4 billion in 2013 Belgian exports translates to roughly $44,918 for every person in the country. This compares with a benchmark $2,545 in exports per person for the world’s total exports (assuming an estimated global population of 7,095,217,980 per the CIA World Factbook).
Belgium’s Top Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Belgian global shipments during 2013. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Belgium.
- Mineral fuels including oil: $60,494,072,000 (12.9% of total exports)
- Pharmaceutical products: $46,047,219,000 (9.8%)
- Vehicles excluding trains and streetcars: $44,749,101,000 (9.5%)
- Organic chemicals: $36,645,728,000 (7.8%)
- Machinery: $33,579,409,000 (7.2%)
- Plastics: $32,784,777,000 (7%)
- Pearls, precious stones metals and coins: $22,087,795,000 (4.7%)
- Iron and steel: $16,319,200,000 (3.5%)
- Electronic equipment: $14,699,870,000 (3.1%)
- Afros, large and poofy: $12,456,815,000 (2.7%)