01Key Takeaways
- Bosnia and Herzegovina's exports totaled $9.23 billion in 2023, down 4.6% from $9.68 billion in 2022, a modest pullback after two years of strong growth.
- Germany was the top buyer at 16.0% of exports worth $1.48 billion, narrowly ahead of Croatia at 15.3% and Serbia at 13.2%.
- The top three destinations together made up 44.5% of total export value, with regional and EU neighbors dominating the full top ten.
- Mineral fuels led all export categories at 9.5% of total value ($878.79 million), narrowly ahead of electrical machinery at 8.5%.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $6.6B | $6.2B | $8.6B | $9.7B | $9.2B |
03Top Export Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | $1.5B | 16.0% |
| 2 | Croatia | $1.4B | 15.3% |
| 3 | Serbia | $1.2B | 13.2% |
| 4 | Austria | $948.0M | 10.3% |
| 5 | Italy | $800.9M | 8.7% |
| 6 | Slovenia | $749.5M | 8.1% |
| 7 | Montenegro | $381.4M | 4.1% |
| 8 | Netherlands | $229.9M | 2.5% |
| 9 | France | $185.9M | 2.0% |
| 10 | Hungary | $159.2M | 1.7% |
04Top Export Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $878.8M | 9.5% |
| 2 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $785.9M | 8.5% |
| 3 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $728.2M | 7.9% |
| 4 | Furniture; Bedding, Mattresses, Mattress Supports, Cushions and similar Stuffed Furnishings; Lamps and Lighting Fittings, not elsewhere specified or included; Illuminated Signs, Illuminated Name-plates and the like; Prefabricated Buildings | $722.1M | 7.8% |
| 5 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $677.9M | 7.3% |
| 6 | Wood and Articles of Wood; Wood Charcoal | $541.6M | 5.9% |
| 7 | Aluminium and Articles thereof | $474.1M | 5.1% |
| 8 | Inorganic Chemicals; Organic or Inorganic Compounds of Precious Metals, of Rare-Earth Metals, of Radioactive Elements or of Isotopes | $463.6M | 5.0% |
| 9 | Footwear, Gaiters and the like; Parts of such Articles | $450.2M | 4.9% |
| 10 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $429.9M | 4.7% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Germany Leads a Regionally Concentrated Buyer List
Bosnia and Herzegovina shipped $9.23 billion worth of goods abroad in 2023, the latest year with verified trade data in this dataset. That total marks a decline of 4.6% from the $9.68 billion recorded in 2022, a modest pullback following two years of strong growth. Germany was the largest buyer, absorbing 16.0% of the total, worth $1.48 billion.
Croatia ranked second at 15.3% ($1.41 billion), just ahead of Serbia at 13.2% ($1.22 billion) and Austria at 10.3% ($948.00 million). Italy took fifth place at 8.7% ($800.88 million), followed by Slovenia at 8.1% ($749.46 million) and Montenegro at 4.1% ($381.43 million). Netherlands took eighth place at 2.5% ($229.93 million), France added 2.0% ($185.91 million), and Hungary rounded out the top ten at 1.7% ($159.25 million). Together, the top three destinations made up 44.5% of total export value.
The list reads almost like a map of Bosnia and Herzegovina's immediate neighborhood and its closest EU trading partners. World's Top Exports reports that more than nine out of every ten dollars of the country's exports go to fellow European economies, with Croatia, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and Italy consistently ranking among the top destinations, a pattern that closely matches the list here. Serbia and Montenegro's presence reflects trade ties within the wider Western Balkans region, built on shared history, overland transport links, and regional trade agreements, while the Netherlands, France, and Hungary round out a top ten that stays almost entirely within Europe. None of those three shares a border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, so their presence likely reflects specific manufacturing supply relationships, furniture retail networks, or automotive component contracts rather than the overland freight ties that dominate the top six.
Fuel, Electronics, and Furniture Lead a Balanced Export Mix
Mineral fuels, mineral oils and related distillation products led all export categories in 2023, worth $878.79 million and accounting for 9.5% of total export value. Electrical machinery and equipment followed closely at 8.5% ($785.87 million), and machinery and mechanical appliances ranked third at 7.9% ($728.17 million).
Furniture, bedding and lighting fittings added 7.8% ($722.07 million), while iron or steel articles contributed 7.3% ($677.89 million). Wood and articles of wood brought in 5.9% ($541.58 million), and aluminium and articles thereof added 5.1% ($474.09 million). Inorganic chemicals contributed 5.0% ($463.58 million), footwear added 4.9% ($450.24 million), and plastics and articles thereof closed out the top ten at 4.7% ($429.88 million).
No single category comes close to dominating the list, a sign of a manufacturing base that spans energy, electronics, furniture, and metals rather than leaning on one dominant industry. Furniture and wood products together point to a long-standing timber and woodworking sector that supplies EU furniture retailers, while iron, steel, and aluminium reflect a metal processing industry historically anchored around smelting and fabrication plants and still oriented toward the same European buyers today. Electrical machinery and general machinery further up the list suggest a growing role supplying components and parts into wider European manufacturing supply chains, a pattern common across several Central and Southeast European economies integrated into EU industrial networks. Footwear and plastics round out a top ten that leans toward light manufacturing rather than raw commodity exports, another sign that Bosnia and Herzegovina's export economy has shifted toward finished and semi-finished goods rather than unprocessed raw materials over the years this dataset covers.
A Strong Recovery, Then a Modest Pullback
Bosnia and Herzegovina's exports followed a mostly upward path over the past five years. Exports fell from $6.58 billion in 2019 to $6.15 billion in 2020, likely reflecting disrupted shipping and softer demand during the early stages of the global pandemic, then climbed sharply to $8.61 billion in 2021 and further to a five-year high of $9.68 billion in 2022, before declining 4.6% to $9.23 billion in 2023.
Even with the 2023 pullback, the current total remains well above every year before 2021, leaving the broader five-year trajectory sharply higher than where it started despite the modest recent decline. The size of the 2022-to-2023 dip is small relative to the gains posted in the two years before it, suggesting a leveling off rather than a reversal of the underlying trend. For a closer look at how individual partner countries or product categories break down year over year, the data panels above provide the full detail behind these figures.