01Key Takeaways
- Slovakia imported $115.36 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 0.4% from $115.78 billion in 2022, essentially flat, the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Electrical machinery and equipment led import categories at 19.8% ($22.82 billion), closely followed by vehicles at 18.5%.
- Germany supplied 14.9% of imports ($17.16 billion), by far the largest single partner.
- Czechia ranked second among partners at 10.5% ($12.10 billion).
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $90.9B | $85.2B | $105.1B | $115.8B | $115.4B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | $17.2B | 14.9% |
| 2 | Czechia | $12.1B | 10.5% |
| 3 | Other Europe, nes | $10.3B | 8.9% |
| 4 | China | $8.6B | 7.5% |
| 5 | Poland | $7.0B | 6.1% |
| 6 | South Korea | $6.5B | 5.6% |
| 7 | Hungary | $6.1B | 5.2% |
| 8 | Russia | $4.9B | 4.3% |
| 9 | Vietnam | $4.6B | 4.0% |
| 10 | Italy | $3.9B | 3.4% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 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 | $22.8B | 19.8% |
| 2 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $21.3B | 18.5% |
| 3 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $13.9B | 12.0% |
| 4 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $9.9B | 8.6% |
| 5 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $4.4B | 3.8% |
| 6 | Iron and Steel | $3.5B | 3.0% |
| 7 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $2.9B | 2.5% |
| 8 | Pharmaceutical Products | $2.7B | 2.4% |
| 9 | 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 | $2.2B | 1.9% |
| 10 | Rubber and Articles thereof | $2.1B | 1.8% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Held Nearly Flat After Strong Growth
Slovakia imported $115.36 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 0.4% from $115.78 billion in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years in total, from 2019 all the way through 2023.
Import value held roughly steady in the first two years of this five-year window, at $90.92 billion in 2019 and $85.22 billion in 2020, before shifting course. It then climbed for two straight years in a row, reaching $105.14 billion in 2021 and $115.78 billion in 2022, the highest point in this five-year window, before holding essentially flat at $115.36 billion in 2023.
This pattern differs from the export side of trade for this country, which continued climbing through 2023 rather than holding flat. This dataset does not include information explaining either movement. Import value nonetheless remains well above every year in this dataset before 2021, echoing the same overall growth pattern seen on the export side across this five-year window, even as the two sides diverged in their most recent movement.
Electrical Machinery and Vehicles Lead Imports, Mirroring the Export List
Electrical machinery and equipment led every import category in 2023. They were worth $22.82 billion, or 19.8% of the total, narrowly ahead of vehicles at 18.5% ($21.29 billion). These are the same two categories that lead Slovakia's export list, covered in the companion export data for this country. Samsung Electronics has built substantial manufacturing and logistics infrastructure in Slovakia, including an LCD module production plant at Voderady and a logistics center at Galanta. That presence is consistent with electrical machinery's leading position on this list, and with South Korea's place among Slovakia's top ten import suppliers, covered below.
Machinery, boilers and mechanical appliances contributed a further 12.0% ($13.88 billion), and mineral fuels added 8.6% ($9.94 billion), rounding out the top four categories. Plastics contributed 3.8% ($4.44 billion), and iron and steel added 3.0% ($3.49 billion). Iron or steel articles contributed 2.5% ($2.88 billion), and pharmaceutical products added 2.4% ($2.74 billion). Furniture contributed 1.9% ($2.17 billion), and rubber closed out the top ten at 1.8% ($2.12 billion).
Electrical machinery, vehicles and general machinery together make up more than half of the total, describing an import list built around the same automotive and electronics manufacturing base that dominates Slovakia's exports. That overlap is consistent with an economy that imports components and materials for assembly, then exports finished vehicles and electronics. Mineral fuels, plastics and metal categories further down this list point to the energy and industrial materials the same manufacturing base depends on, layered on top of the finished-goods trade that dominates the top of the list.
Germany and Czechia Supply a Quarter of All Imports
Germany clearly supplied 14.9% of Slovakia's imports in 2023, worth $17.16 billion, by far the largest single partner overall. Czechia then ranked second at 10.5% ($12.10 billion). A category labeled "Other Europe, nes," a recognized catch-all classification within international trade statistics for shipments not assigned to a single specific origin, ranked third at 8.9% ($10.26 billion). Together, these top three entries alone made up 34.3% of total import value. China followed closely at 7.5% ($8.62 billion).
Poland contributed 6.1% ($7.02 billion), and South Korea added 5.6% ($6.51 billion). Hungary contributed 5.2% ($6.05 billion), and Russia added 4.3% ($4.95 billion). Vietnam contributed 4.0% ($4.63 billion), and Italy closed out the top ten at 3.4% ($3.94 billion), the smallest share among the ten partners listed here.
This import partner list closely resembles the export side of trade for this country, with Germany, Czechia, Poland, Hungary and Italy all featuring on both lists. China, South Korea, Russia and Vietnam appear only among the import suppliers, not the export top ten, describing a broader Asian and Eastern European sourcing base than the mostly Central European destinations that dominate Slovakia's exports. That contrast, a narrower set of nearby customers on the export side and a wider global set of suppliers on the import side, is a pattern common among manufacturing economies embedded in international supply chains.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes a mid-sized economy importing components, machinery and fuel from a partner base anchored in Germany and its Central European neighbors. That base is supplemented by a wider set of Asian suppliers feeding the same automotive and electronics industries that drive its exports.