01Key Takeaways
- Iran exported $80.90 billion worth of goods in 2022, the most recent year with confirmed trade data available in this dataset, up 20.26% from $67.27 billion in 2021.
- Mineral fuels, overwhelmingly crude oil, made up 56.37% of exports ($45.60 billion), by far the largest category.
- Nearly 30% of exports were recorded under unspecified or aggregated destination categories rather than a named country, a pattern common in sanctioned oil trade.
- China was Iran's largest named export partner at 27.72% ($22.43 billion).
024-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $41.9B | $34.4B | $67.3B | $80.9B |
03Top Export Markets (2022)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $22.4B | 27.7% |
| 2 | Other Asia, nes | $13.1B | 16.2% |
| 3 | Areas, nes | $10.5B | 13.0% |
| 4 | Iraq | $7.3B | 9.1% |
| 5 | United Arab Emirates | $6.0B | 7.4% |
| 6 | Turkey | $5.8B | 7.1% |
| 7 | India | $1.9B | 2.3% |
| 8 | Afghanistan | $1.6B | 2.0% |
| 9 | Pakistan | $1.4B | 1.7% |
| 10 | Oman | $1.1B | 1.4% |
04Top Export Categories (2022)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $45.6B | 56.4% |
| 2 | Iron and Steel | $6.5B | 8.0% |
| 3 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $5.8B | 7.2% |
| 4 | Organic Chemicals | $4.3B | 5.3% |
| 5 | Fertilisers | $2.9B | 3.6% |
| 6 | Copper and Articles thereof | $1.8B | 2.2% |
| 7 | Edible Fruit and Nuts; Peel of Citrus Fruit or Melons | $1.8B | 2.2% |
| 8 | Aluminium and Articles thereof | $1.2B | 1.5% |
| 9 | Ores, Slag and Ash | $899.5M | 1.1% |
| 10 | Salt; Sulphur; Earths and Stone; Plastering Materials, Lime and Cement | $827.1M | 1.0% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Crude Oil Dominates Iran's Exports, With Petrochemicals a Distant Second
Iran exported $80.90 billion worth of goods in 2022, the most recent year for which confirmed trade data is available in this dataset. Mineral fuels, overwhelmingly crude oil and related petroleum products, made up 56.37% of the total, worth $45.60 billion, by far the largest category by a wide margin.
Iron and steel ranked second at 8.01% ($6.48 billion), and plastics and articles thereof took third at 7.18% ($5.81 billion). Organic chemicals added 5.32% ($4.30 billion), and fertilizers contributed 3.56% ($2.88 billion), together forming a petrochemical export base built on the country's access to cheap domestic natural gas as feedstock. Iran typically exports roughly 29 million tons of petrochemical products a year worth about $13 billion, with the Asaluyeh complex alone accounting for about half of the country's total petrochemical production.
Copper and articles thereof added 2.23% ($1.80 billion), and fruit and nuts, largely pistachios and dried fruit, contributed 2.22% ($1.79 billion). Aluminium took 1.50% ($1.21 billion), ores, slag, and ash added 1.11% ($899.50 million), and salt, sulphur, and stone closed out the top ten categories at 1.02% ($827.11 million).
Nearly Three in Ten Export Dollars Go to Unspecified Destinations
China was Iran's largest named export partner at 27.72% of the total, worth $22.43 billion. Two other large categories, labeled Other Asia, not elsewhere specified, at 16.22% ($13.12 billion), and Areas, not elsewhere specified, at 13.02% ($10.53 billion), together account for nearly 30% of exports without pointing to a single named country. That pattern is common in Iran's sanctioned oil trade, where cargoes often change hands, flags, or ships mid-voyage before reaching a final buyer. U.S. authorities have sanctioned a major Chinese refinery described as one of the largest buyers of Iranian crude, along with tankers accused of moving billions of dollars of Iranian crude, LPG, and petrochemical cargoes into China, the UAE, and Bangladesh. Much of the oil recorded under vague destination labels likely ends up in China regardless of what the trade data shows for the final port of entry.
Iraq took 9.08% ($7.34 billion), a neighboring market connected by overland and river trade routes that face fewer of the shipping complications affecting seaborne oil exports. United Arab Emirates added 7.42% ($6.01 billion), and Turkey contributed 7.14% ($5.78 billion), both serving as regional trading and transshipment hubs. India took 2.33% ($1.89 billion), and Afghanistan added 2.03% ($1.65 billion). Pakistan contributed 1.68% ($1.36 billion), and Oman closed out the top ten list at 1.39% ($1.13 billion).
Exports Climbed in 2022, But the Data Trail Stops There
Iran's export total climbed sharply across the years with confirmed data. It stood at $41.92 billion in 2019, then fell to $34.41 billion in 2020 as the pandemic and sanctions pressure both weighed on oil sales. It rebounded strongly to $67.27 billion in 2021, then continued climbing to $80.90 billion in 2022, up 20.26% year over year. This dataset has no confirmed figure for 2023 or later, so 2022 is the most recent snapshot available rather than the start of a trend that can be tracked any further here.
That gap likely reflects the practical difficulty of compiling complete trade statistics for a heavily sanctioned economy, rather than a genuine pause in Iranian export activity. Oil almost certainly kept moving through the channels described above well past 2022, even if this particular dataset doesn't yet capture it in the same structured format available for more transparent economies.