Misc
Visualizing Ukraine’s Top Trading Partners and Products
Visualizing Ukraine’s Top Trading Partners and Products
International trade was equal to 65% of Ukraine’s GDP in 2020, totaling to $102.9 billion of goods exchanged with countries around the world.
In 2014, Russia’s annexation of Crimea contributed to a 30% year-over-year drop in Ukraine’s 2015 trade value ($75.6B). Now, Ukraine’s international trade has been irreversibly disrupted since Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24th, 2022.
The current conflict continues to reshape geopolitical relations and international trade—and to give context to the situation, we’ve created this graphic using IMF and UN Comtrade data to showcase Ukraine’s largest trading partners and goods traded in 2020.
Ukraine’s Largest Trading Partners
Ukraine’s largest trading partner in 2020 was China, with the value of trade between the two countries reaching $15.3 billion, more than double the value of any other trading partner.
Germany ($7.4B), Poland ($7.4B), and Russia ($7.2B) were Ukraine’s next three largest trading partners, with the majority of Ukraine’s trade with these countries being imports.
Country | Trade with Ukraine (2020) | Exports from Ukraine (%) | Imports to Ukraine (%) |
---|---|---|---|
🇨🇳 China | $15.3B | 46% | 54% |
🇩🇪 Germany | $7.4B | 28% | 72% |
🇵🇱 Poland | $7.4B | 45% | 55% |
🇷🇺 Russia | $7.2B | 37% | 63% |
🇹🇷 Turkey | $4.8B | 50% | 50% |
🇧🇾 Belarus | $4.2B | 32% | 68% |
🇮🇹 Italy | $4.1B | 48% | 52% |
🇺🇸 U.S. | $3.9B | 25% | 75% |
🇮🇳 India | $2.7B | 73% | 27% |
🇳🇱 Netherlands | $2.6B | 71% | 29% |
Source: IMF
While most of Ukraine’s trade with top partners is made up of imports, trade with both India and the Netherlands (Ukraine’s ninth and tenth largest trading partners respectively) was more export driven, with exports holding a greater than 70% share of total trade value.
Ukraine’s Top Exports and Imports
Ukraine’s strong agricultural industry makes up a large share of the country’s exports in the form of cereals, animal and vegetable oils, and seed oils. These products made up nearly 35% of Ukraine’s exports in 2020, at a value of $17 billion collectively.
Goods Exported from Ukraine (2020) | Dollar Value | Share of Exports |
---|---|---|
Cereals | $9.4B | 19.1% |
Iron and steel | $7.7B | 15.6% |
Animal or vegetable fats, oils, and other products | $5.8B | 11.7% |
Ores, slag, and ash | $4.4B | 8.9% |
Electrical machinery and equipment | $2.6B | 5.2% |
Other goods | $19.4B | 39.5% |
Source: UN Comtrade
The other two cornerstones of Ukraine’s industry and exports are iron ore and steel, along with refined electrical machinery, equipment, and other mechanical appliances. In 2020, exports of crude iron and steel along with their refined products made up $13 billion in value, making up more than a quarter of Ukraine’s exports.
Ukraine’s imports are primarily vehicles, machinery, and the fuels necessary to power these goods. With the country’s energy consumption outpacing domestic energy production, mineral fuels and oils are Ukraine’s top import in 2020 at $7.42 billion.
Goods Imported from Ukraine (2020) | Dollar Value | Share of Imports |
---|---|---|
Mineral fuels, oil, and mineral products | $7.4B | 13.8% |
Boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances | $6.3B | 11.7% |
Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock | $5.5B | 10.2% |
Electrical machinery and equipment | $5.3B | 9.9% |
Pharmaceutical products | $2.5B | 4.7% |
Other goods | $26.6B | 49.7% |
Source: UN Comtrade
Primarily importing from Belarus, Russia, and Germany, Ukraine’s need for energy fuels was greatly exacerbated by Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, which held 80% of Ukraine’s oil and natural gas deposits in the Black Sea.
Various kinds of machinery, vehicles, and electrical equipment are the next largest categories of goods imported, cumulatively making up 31% ($17.1B) of Ukraine’s imports.
Ukraine’s Shift Away from Russian Trade Dependence
Since its independence from the former USSR in 1991, Ukraine has steadily shifted towards Western trading partners, especially as conflicts with Russia escalated in the 2010s.
After years of negotiations, Ukraine’s Association Agreement with the EU in 2014 facilitated free trade between EU nations and Ukraine, reducing the country’s dependence on trade with Russia.
Ukraine is one of the most important economic centers of the former Soviet Union, and it had long been the breadbasket of the USSR thanks to its fertile chernozem soil and strong agricultural industry.
Trade value between Russia and Ukraine peaked in 2011 at $49.2 billion, and since then has fallen by 85% to $7.2 billion in 2020. During this time, European nations like Poland and Germany overtook Russia in terms of trade value with Ukraine, and in 2021 trade with the EU totaled to more than $58 billion.
War’s Effect on Ukraine’s Future Trading Partners
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is rapidly reshaping both countries’ international relations and trading partners.
Four days into the recent conflict, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy filed for Ukraine’s special admission into the EU, which would further strengthen Ukraine’s trade with European Union members. Combining the likely breakdown of Ukrainian-Russian trade with China’s lack of condemnation of Russia’s actions, Ukraine’s trade seems likely to continue shifting towards the European Union and its Western allies.
While not exactly international trade, on February 26th the U.S. committed an additional $350 million in support to Ukraine, with American financial security assistance to Ukraine totaling $1 billion over the past year. Alongside the U.S., the EU recently committed €500 million in financial support, and multiple EU and non-EU nations are providing Ukraine with military aid.
Although it’s impossible to determine the results of this conflict and its effects on international trade, the countries supporting Ukraine’s defense today are likely to become the Ukraine’s top trading partners in the future.
Energy Shift
Oil & Gas Leases on Public Lands Under Obama, Trump, and Biden
President-elect Donald Trump wants a massive boost in U.S. oil production to reduce energy costs.

Oil & Gas Leases on Public Lands Under Obama, Trump, and Biden
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
President-elect Donald Trump wants a massive boost in U.S. oil production to reduce energy costs. The data shows that over the last decade, the Republican’s previous administration has been by far the most favorable for the oil and gas industry.
This graphic shows the number of acres leased on public lands to oil and gas companies during the fiscal years 2013–2023. The data is sourced from the Bureau of Land Management as of October 2023.
Drill, Baby, Drill
The amount of public land leased to the oil and gas sector has varied significantly by administration.
In Trump’s first year in office, there was a 93% increase in leases compared to the final year of the Obama administration.
Year | Acres Leased | Administration |
---|---|---|
2013 | 1,172,808 | Obama |
2014 | 1,197,852 | Obama |
2015 | 810,068 | Obama |
2016 | 577,317 | Obama |
2017 | 1,114,218 | Trump |
2018 | 1,253,369 | Trump |
2019 | 2,245,906 | Trump |
2020 | 1,871,962 | Trump |
2021 | 249,132 | Biden |
2022 | 74,758 | Biden |
2023 | 91,712 | Biden |
Then, following a series of executive actions aimed at reducing GHG emissions from federal lands, leases dropped sharply during the Biden administration. In 2021, the Democrat temporarily paused new oil and gas leases on federal lands.
Since Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, Biden has moved to further limit oil drilling.
The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently finalized the restrictions on an oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, the largest wildlife refuge in the country. In its decision, the BLM limited the lease sales to 400,000 acres, which is one-quarter of the refuge’s coastal plain section.
Environmental groups have opposed oil development in the refuge for decades, while Trump has said his new administration would pursue oil drilling in the area.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
If you enjoyed this topic, check out this graphic showing how much Americans spend on gas in each state.
Misc
Ranked: The Top Countries Relying on Mining Exports
For these economies, mining exports (minerals, ores, and metals) are the primary category of goods sent abroad.

Ranked: The Top Countries Relying on Mining Exports
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
This graphic ranks the countries where mining exports (minerals, ores, and metals) are more than 60% of their total exports. Data is from sourced from UN Trade and Development, based on 2019–2021 averaged figures
This sort of resource dependency can make a country vulnerable to economic shocks via price fluctuations.
Diamonds, Gold, and Copper: Key Exports for Many Countries
Around 90% of Botswana’s exports are concentrated in mining, making it the most mineral resource dependent country in the world. Within the sector, diamonds alone account for 80% of all exports.
As a result, Botswana is the top producer of raw, uncut diamonds in the world. The IMF estimates that 25% of the country’s $20 billion GDP is from diamond mining.
Rank | Country | % of Exports from Mining | Top Mineral/Metal Export (2022) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | 92% | 💎 Diamonds |
2 | 🇬🇳 Guinea | 87% | 🏅 Gold |
3 | 🇲🇱 Mali | 85% | 🏅 Gold |
4 | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | 84% | 🏅 Gold |
5 | 🇸🇷 Suriname | 83% | 🏅 Gold |
6 | 🇿🇲 Zambia | 79% | 🪨 Copper |
7 | 🇨🇩 DRC | 77% | 🪨 Copper |
8 | 🇲🇷 Mauritania | 66% | 🏅 Gold |
9 | 🇬🇾 Guyana | 64% | 🏅 Gold |
10 | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | 62% | 🏅 Gold |
11 | 🇳🇦 Namibia | 61% | 💎 Diamonds |
12 | 🇵🇪 Peru | 61% | 🪨 Copper |
Figures rounded. The top mining export per country sourced from The Observatory of Economic Complexity.
Meanwhile, in Mali (#3), Burkina Faso (#4), and Suriname (#5) gold is responsible for most of the mining export dependency. However, Guinea (#2) also exports a significant amount of aluminum ore as well.
In Zambia (#6) and the DRC (#7) where more than 70% of their exports are from mining, copper plays a crucial role. However Zambia also exports a significant amount of gold, and the DRC is a major cobalt exporter.
Of the top 10 countries whose exports are predominantly mining-based, seven are from Africa.
It’s also apparent that this kind of commodity dependence is more common in developing economies (wealthy oil nations are exceptions to the rule). And as commodity demand tends to run in boom-bust cycles, it leaves these less-wealthy countries particularly susceptible to price shocks.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
Resource dependency comes in many flavors. Check out Ranked: The Countries Most Dependent on Agricultural Exports for the economies where food products take center stage.
-
Energy Shift3 years ago
What Are the Five Major Types of Renewable Energy?
-
Electrification2 years ago
The Six Major Types of Lithium-ion Batteries: A Visual Comparison
-
Real Assets2 years ago
Which Countries Have the Lowest Inflation?
-
Misc2 years ago
How Is Aluminum Made?
-
Electrification3 years ago
EVs vs. Gas Vehicles: What Are Cars Made Out Of?
-
Electrification2 years ago
The World’s Top 10 Lithium Mining Companies
-
Real Assets1 year ago
200 Years of Global Gold Production, by Country
-
Electrification3 years ago
Visualized: Battery Vs. Hydrogen Fuel Cell