01Key Takeaways
- Slovenia imported $61.69 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 3.5% from $59.58 billion in 2022, the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Organic chemicals led import categories at 19.0% ($11.73 billion), with pharmaceutical products close behind at 14.1% ($8.73 billion).
- Switzerland supplied 16.9% of imports ($10.43 billion), the largest single partner, with China close behind at 15.7% ($9.67 billion).
- The top three import partners together accounted for 43.3% of total import value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $38.2B | $36.5B | $49.1B | $59.6B | $61.7B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | $10.4B | 16.9% |
| 2 | China | $9.7B | 15.7% |
| 3 | Germany | $6.6B | 10.7% |
| 4 | Italy | $5.6B | 9.1% |
| 5 | Austria | $3.5B | 5.6% |
| 6 | Croatia | $2.3B | 3.8% |
| 7 | India | $1.9B | 3.1% |
| 8 | France | $1.5B | 2.4% |
| 9 | Hungary | $1.3B | 2.2% |
| 10 | Poland | $1.3B | 2.2% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Organic Chemicals | $11.7B | 19.0% |
| 2 | Pharmaceutical Products | $8.7B | 14.1% |
| 3 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $5.6B | 9.0% |
| 4 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $5.1B | 8.2% |
| 5 | 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 | $4.7B | 7.6% |
| 6 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $4.3B | 6.9% |
| 7 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $2.1B | 3.4% |
| 8 | Iron and Steel | $2.1B | 3.4% |
| 9 | Aluminium and Articles thereof | $1.5B | 2.4% |
| 10 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $1.0B | 1.7% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Kept Climbing Through 2023
Slovenia imported $61.69 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 3.5% from $59.58 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 through 2023.
Import value dipped slightly in the first two years of this window, from $38.16 billion in 2019 to $36.51 billion in 2020. It then rose for three consecutive years in a row, reaching $49.07 billion in 2021 and $59.58 billion in 2022, before topping out at $61.69 billion in 2023, the highest point in this five-year window.
This dataset does not explain either the early dip or the growth that followed. Import value in 2023 nonetheless remained well above every year in this dataset before 2021. That pattern describes a sustained climb after an initial two-year decline. This pattern closely mirrors the export side of trade for this country, covered in the companion export data. That companion dataset also fell slightly through 2020 before rising every year through 2023. The two sides diverged somewhat in 2023, when import growth of 3.5% ran ahead of the more modest pace on the export side that same year. Both sides nonetheless still reached new five-year highs together, extending a five-year run with no sharper single-year decline than the mild dip recorded in 2020.
Organic Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Lead a Chemistry-Heavy Import List
Organic chemicals led every import category in 2023. They were worth $11.73 billion, or 19.0% of the total, ahead of pharmaceutical products at 14.1% ($8.73 billion). Sandoz, whose Lek subsidiary is one of Slovenia's largest employers, has warned that roughly 90% of the world's antibiotic active pharmaceutical ingredients are now manufactured outside Europe, predominantly in China. That dependency helps explain why organic chemicals and pharmaceutical products together dominate this country's import list. These two categories combined sit well ahead of every other category on this list.
Mineral fuels ranked third at 9.0% ($5.56 billion), and vehicles followed at 8.2% ($5.08 billion). Electrical machinery and equipment contributed 7.6% ($4.69 billion), and machinery and mechanical appliances added 6.9% ($4.29 billion), rounding out the top six categories.
Plastics contributed 3.4% ($2.11 billion), and iron and steel added 3.4% ($2.09 billion), essentially tied with each other. Aluminium contributed 2.4% ($1.50 billion), and optical and medical instruments closed out the top ten at 1.7% ($1.04 billion), the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. Unlike the export side of trade for this country, where a single pharmaceutical category towers over every other, this import list splits its weight differently. Organic chemicals and pharmaceutical products together lead the way, before spreading more evenly across fuels, vehicles and machinery further down the list. That broader spread is itself a meaningful contrast with the sharply top-heavy export list for this same country.
Switzerland and China Together Supply a Third of All Imports
Switzerland supplied 16.9% of Slovenia's imports in 2023, worth $10.43 billion, the largest single partner. China followed closely behind at 15.7% ($9.67 billion), a much narrower gap than the one separating the top two partners on the export side of trade for this country. Germany ranked third at 10.7% ($6.61 billion). Together, these top three partners accounted for 43.3% of total import value.
Italy contributed 9.1% ($5.63 billion), and Austria added 5.6% ($3.45 billion). Croatia contributed 3.8% ($2.32 billion), and India added 3.1% ($1.90 billion), rounding out the top eight partners.
France contributed 2.4% ($1.48 billion), and Hungary added 2.2% ($1.34 billion). Poland closed out the top ten at 2.2% ($1.33 billion), essentially tied with Hungary and the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. China and India appear only among the import suppliers, not the export top ten for this country. That contrast describes a sourcing base that reaches further into Asia than the mostly European destinations that dominate Slovenia's exports. Both countries rank among the world's largest chemical and pharmaceutical ingredient producers, a fact consistent with organic chemicals and pharmaceutical products leading this country's import categories.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an import profile built around chemical and pharmaceutical inputs. That profile is sourced from a partner base split fairly evenly between Switzerland, China and Germany at the top. From there, it spreads across a wider and more Asia-facing group of suppliers than the export side of trade for this country.