01Key Takeaways
- Switzerland imported $365.37 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 2.6% from $356.24 billion in 2022, a fifth consecutive year of growth and the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Pearls, precious stones and metals led every import category at 33.4% ($121.97 billion), with pharmaceutical products ranking a distant second at 16.0% ($58.47 billion).
- Germany was Switzerland's largest import partner, supplying 18.1% of imports, worth $66.31 billion.
- The top three import partners together accounted for 35.0% of total import value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $276.4B | $290.4B | $323.4B | $356.2B | $365.4B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | $66.3B | 18.1% |
| 2 | United States | $33.0B | 9.0% |
| 3 | Italy | $28.4B | 7.8% |
| 4 | France | $21.7B | 5.9% |
| 5 | China | $20.5B | 5.6% |
| 6 | Slovenia | $13.5B | 3.7% |
| 7 | Austria | $10.9B | 3.0% |
| 8 | United Arab Emirates | $10.4B | 2.9% |
| 9 | Spain | $10.4B | 2.8% |
| 10 | Uzbekistan | $8.2B | 2.2% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natural or Cultured Pearls, Precious or Semi-Precious Stones, Precious Metals, Metals Clad with Precious Metal, and Articles thereof; Imitation Jewellery; Coin | $122.0B | 33.4% |
| 2 | Pharmaceutical Products | $58.5B | 16.0% |
| 3 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $22.7B | 6.2% |
| 4 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $20.5B | 5.6% |
| 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 | $18.6B | 5.1% |
| 6 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $14.4B | 3.9% |
| 7 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $9.8B | 2.7% |
| 8 | Organic Chemicals | $9.0B | 2.5% |
| 9 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $7.7B | 2.1% |
| 10 | 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 | $5.2B | 1.4% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Has Also Climbed for Five Straight Years
Switzerland imported $365.37 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 2.6% from $356.24 billion in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023.
Import value stood at $276.39 billion in 2019. As on the export side of trade for this economy, it did not fall in 2020. Import value instead rose to $290.40 billion that year, before climbing further to $323.36 billion in 2021 and $356.24 billion in 2022. Import value then reached $365.37 billion in 2023, a fifth consecutive year of growth.
This dataset does not explain why import value kept climbing through 2020 while many other economies covered here saw a decline that year. Growth of 2.6% in 2023 is slower than in the three years before it, describing a gradual leveling off rather than a reversal. Import value in 2023 nonetheless still extended an uninterrupted run that began at the start of this five-year window, a pattern that matches what shows up on the export side of trade for this same economy. Both sides of trade for this country moved through the same five-year shape, rising every year without a single setback, even as the pace of that growth slowed noticeably in the final year.
Precious Metals Lead a Gold-Linked Import List
Pearls, precious stones and precious metals led every import category in 2023, worth $121.97 billion, or 33.4% of the total. That is an even larger share than the same category holds on the export side of trade for this economy. Switzerland imported 2,372 tonnes of raw gold in 2023, refining roughly a third of the world's newly mined gold each year before re-exporting it, a cycle that helps explain why this single category leads both the import and export lists.
Pharmaceutical products ranked a distant second at 16.0%, worth $58.47 billion. Machinery and mechanical appliances followed at 6.2%, worth $22.73 billion, and vehicles added 5.6%, worth $20.53 billion.
Electrical machinery and equipment contributed 5.1% ($18.63 billion), and mineral fuels added 3.9% ($14.36 billion). Optical, photographic and medical instruments contributed 2.7% ($9.80 billion), and organic chemicals added 2.5% ($8.96 billion). Plastics contributed 2.1% ($7.71 billion), and furniture closed out the top ten at 1.4%, worth $5.17 billion, the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. Precious metals alone are worth more than twice pharmaceutical products, the second-largest category on this list. That gap at the top is even wider than the one separating first and second place on the export side of trade for this country. Machinery, vehicles and electrical equipment cluster closely together in the middle of this list, each holding a mid-single-digit share, before a longer tail of smaller categories fills out the remaining spots.
Germany Leads a Partner List That Also Includes Major Gold-Trading Hubs
Germany was Switzerland's largest import partner in 2023, taking 18.1% of imports, worth $66.31 billion. United States ranked second at 9.0%, worth $33.04 billion. Italy followed at 7.8%, worth $28.41 billion. Together, these top three partners accounted for 35.0% of total import value.
France contributed 5.9% ($21.71 billion), and China added 5.6% ($20.48 billion), rounding out a top five split between neighboring Europe, North America and Asia. Slovenia followed at 3.7% ($13.49 billion), the same smaller European market that also ranks among this country's top export destinations.
Austria contributed 3.0% ($10.89 billion), and United Arab Emirates added 2.9% ($10.44 billion). Spain followed at 2.8% ($10.36 billion), and Uzbekistan closed out the top ten at 2.2%, worth $8.18 billion, the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates both rank among the world's notable gold-producing or gold-trading economies, a detail consistent with precious metals leading this country's import list above. Ranks four through ten here are packed within a narrow band of well under four percentage points, a similarly tight cluster to the one seen among this country's export partners outside the top three.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an import profile dominated by precious metals tied to Switzerland's gold refining industry, alongside pharmaceuticals and machinery. That profile is sourced from a partner base led by Germany but including several markets closely tied to global gold flows, echoing the pattern already seen on the export side of this country's trade.