01Key Takeaways
- The United Kingdom imported $791.66 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 2.7% from $813.77 billion in 2022, a modest pullback and the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Machinery and mechanical appliances led every import category at 12.3% ($97.26 billion), with mineral fuels a close second at 11.7% ($92.44 billion).
- China was the United Kingdom's largest import partner, supplying 12.5% of imports, worth $99.22 billion.
- The top three import partners together accounted for 34.0% of total import value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $692.5B | $634.2B | $688.2B | $813.8B | $791.7B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $99.2B | 12.5% |
| 2 | United States | $94.9B | 12.0% |
| 3 | Germany | $74.9B | 9.5% |
| 4 | France | $40.6B | 5.1% |
| 5 | Norway | $32.5B | 4.1% |
| 6 | Italy | $30.3B | 3.8% |
| 7 | Netherlands | $27.2B | 3.4% |
| 8 | Spain | $26.5B | 3.3% |
| 9 | Ireland | $20.9B | 2.6% |
| 10 | Poland | $19.0B | 2.4% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $97.3B | 12.3% |
| 2 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $92.4B | 11.7% |
| 3 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $90.4B | 11.4% |
| 4 | 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 | $74.0B | 9.3% |
| 5 | Natural or Cultured Pearls, Precious or Semi-Precious Stones, Precious Metals, Metals Clad with Precious Metal, and Articles thereof; Imitation Jewellery; Coin | $63.2B | 8.0% |
| 6 | Pharmaceutical Products | $27.3B | 3.5% |
| 7 | Commodities not specified according to kind | $26.5B | 3.3% |
| 8 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $23.6B | 3.0% |
| 9 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $19.7B | 2.5% |
| 10 | Aircraft, Spacecraft and parts thereof | $15.0B | 1.9% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Pulled Back in 2023 After a 2022 Peak
The United Kingdom imported $791.66 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 2.7% from $813.77 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, tracking the import side of trade for this major European trading economy.
Import value stood at $692.49 billion in 2019. It fell to $634.17 billion in 2020, the low point of this five-year window, before climbing for two consecutive years. Import value reached $688.24 billion in 2021 and $813.77 billion in 2022, the high point of this five-year window, before easing back to $791.66 billion in 2023.
This dataset does not explain the 2020 dip or the two-year climb that followed. A decrease of 2.7% describes a modest pullback rather than a sharp reversal. It holds on to almost all of the gains built up over the previous two years. Import value in 2023 nonetheless remains well above every year in this window before 2022. That shape closely mirrors the export side of trade for this same country, which also eased back modestly from its own 2022 peak. Both sides of this country's trade peaked in the same year before pulling back together.
Machinery and Fuel Anchor an Import List Tied to Energy Security
Machinery and mechanical appliances led every import category in 2023, worth $97.26 billion, or 12.3% of the total, by a narrow margin the largest single category on this list. Mineral fuels ranked a close second at 11.7%, worth $92.44 billion. Norway has become the United Kingdom's primary gas supplier, with pipeline volumes from Norway now exceeding the UK's own North Sea output. That shift is reflected in Norway ranking among the United Kingdom's top five import partners and mineral fuels ranking second on this import list. Vehicles followed at 11.4%, worth $90.37 billion. These first three categories together account for well over a third of total import value.
Electrical machinery and equipment contributed 9.3%, worth $74.00 billion, and precious stones and metals added a further 8.0%, worth $63.17 billion overall. These first five categories together account for well over half of total import value.
Pharmaceutical products contributed 3.5%, worth $27.35 billion. A grouping recorded in trade statistics as "commodities not specified according to kind" added 3.3% ($26.48 billion). Optical, measuring and medical instruments contributed 3.0%, worth $23.55 billion, and plastics added 2.5%, worth $19.65 billion. Aircraft, spacecraft and parts closed out the top ten at 1.9%, worth $15.00 billion, the smallest share among all ten categories here on this list. A long tail of pharmaceuticals, instruments and industrial materials fills out the rest of this list. These ten categories span heavy industry, energy, electronics and life sciences, reflecting a diversified advanced economy rather than one built around a single sector.
China, the USA and Germany Lead a Moderately Concentrated Partner List
China was the United Kingdom's largest import partner in 2023, taking 12.5% of imports, worth $99.22 billion. United States ranked second at 12.0%, worth $94.93 billion. Germany followed at 9.5%, worth $74.93 billion. Together, these top three partners accounted for 34.0% of total import value, a somewhat higher concentration than seen on the export side of trade for this country. That gap reflects a partner base led here by two large manufacturing economies rather than a wider spread of destinations.
France contributed 5.1% ($40.64 billion), and Norway added 4.1% ($32.47 billion). Italy followed at 3.8% ($30.32 billion), and Netherlands added 3.4% ($27.19 billion).
Spain contributed 3.3% ($26.51 billion), essentially tied with the unclassified-goods category described above. Ireland ranked ninth at 2.6%, worth $20.87 billion. Poland closed out the top ten at 2.4%, worth $19.03 billion, the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. This list spans Asia, North America and Europe, with China and the USA together supplying nearly a quarter of all imports.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an import profile built around machinery and energy, easing back modestly after a 2022 peak, closely mirroring the export side of trade for this same country. That profile is sourced from a partner base led by China and the USA, a somewhat more concentrated grouping than the wider spread seen among this country's export partners.