01Key Takeaways
- Russia imported $293.50 billion worth of goods in 2021, up 26.7% from $231.66 billion in 2020, the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Machinery, boilers and nuclear reactors led import categories at 18.5% ($54.38 billion), followed by electrical machinery at 12.6% ($36.84 billion).
- China supplied 24.8% of imports ($72.69 billion), by far the largest single partner.
- Germany ranked second among partners at 9.3% ($27.35 billion), more than three times the size of the third-largest supplier.
023-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $247.2B | $231.7B | $293.5B |
03Top Import Markets (2021)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $72.7B | 24.8% |
| 2 | Germany | $27.4B | 9.3% |
| 3 | United States | $17.3B | 5.9% |
| 4 | Belarus | $15.6B | 5.3% |
| 5 | South Korea | $13.0B | 4.4% |
| 6 | France | $12.2B | 4.2% |
| 7 | Italy | $12.0B | 4.1% |
| 8 | Japan | $9.1B | 3.1% |
| 9 | Kazakhstan | $7.1B | 2.4% |
| 10 | Turkey | $6.5B | 2.2% |
04Top Import Categories (2021)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $54.4B | 18.5% |
| 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 | $36.8B | 12.6% |
| 3 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $26.8B | 9.1% |
| 4 | Commodities not specified according to kind | $13.9B | 4.7% |
| 5 | Pharmaceutical Products | $13.8B | 4.7% |
| 6 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $12.6B | 4.3% |
| 7 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $8.7B | 3.0% |
| 8 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $6.4B | 2.2% |
| 9 | Iron and Steel | $5.9B | 2.0% |
| 10 | Organic Chemicals | $5.9B | 2.0% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
The Most Recent Verified Year Shows Import Growth Too
Russia imported $293.50 billion worth of goods in 2021, up 26.7% from $231.66 billion in 2020. As with the export side of Russian trade, covered in the companion data for this country, this dataset's coverage runs from 2019 through 2021 only. That is three confirmed years rather than the five-year window available for most other countries here, and 2021 is the most recent year with verified data.
Imports stood at $247.16 billion in 2019, then eased to $231.66 billion in 2020, before climbing sharply to $293.50 billion in 2021. That growth pattern mirrors the export side of Russian trade over the same three years, both dipping in 2020 and both rebounding strongly in 2021, though the export rebound was considerably larger in percentage terms. Because this dataset's coverage stops at 2021, these figures describe a specific historical period rather than current Russian trade activity.
Machinery and Electronics Lead a Diversified Import List
Machinery, boilers and nuclear reactors led every import category in 2021, worth $54.38 billion, or 18.5% of the total. Electrical machinery followed at 12.6% ($36.84 billion), and vehicles added 9.1% ($26.79 billion). A category labeled "commodities not specified according to kind," the same broad classification that appears on the export side of Russian trade, added 4.7% ($13.86 billion).
Pharmaceutical products contributed a nearly identical 4.7% ($13.78 billion), and plastics added 4.3% ($12.63 billion). Optical and measuring instruments contributed 3.0% ($8.68 billion), and iron and steel articles added 2.2% ($6.45 billion). Iron and steel itself contributed 2.0% ($5.93 billion), and organic chemicals closed out the top ten at a nearly identical 2.0% ($5.85 billion).
Machinery, electronics and vehicles topping this list describes an economy importing capital equipment and finished manufactured goods rather than raw materials, a pattern common among large economies that produce their own energy and commodities but rely on imports for advanced manufactured products.
China Supplies Nearly a Quarter of Russia's Imports
China supplied 24.8% of Russia's imports in 2021, worth $72.69 billion, by far the largest single partner. Germany ranked second at 9.3% ($27.35 billion), and the United States followed at 5.9% ($17.27 billion). Together, those three suppliers made up 40.0% of total import value.
Belarus added 5.3% ($15.64 billion), and the South Korea contributed 4.4% ($12.99 billion). France added 4.2% ($12.21 billion), and Italy contributed 4.1% ($12.03 billion). Japan added 3.1% ($9.13 billion), and Kazakhstan contributed 2.4% ($7.13 billion). Turkey closed out the top ten at 2.2% ($6.51 billion).
China's share of Russia's imports, at close to a quarter of the total, is considerably larger than its share of Russia's exports, covered in the companion export data for this country, where China ranked first but at a smaller 14.0% share. That gap between the two sides of the trade relationship is itself a notable feature of this dataset's 2021 snapshot.
Taken together, Russia's 2021 import data, the most recent confirmed year available, describes an economy buying machinery, electronics and finished manufactured goods from a geographically wide set of suppliers, with China standing well ahead of every other partner on the list.