Moscow - Saba:
Russia emerged as the fourth-largest economy globally with the least dependence on imports in 2024, according to an analysis by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. Conversely, Belgium was identified as the most import-dependent among the largest economies.
RIA Novosti's analysis of 25 countries with the largest nominal economies in 2024 revealed that Belgium's imports accounted for a maximum of 55.4% of its GDP, making it the most reliant on foreign goods. The average import dependence across these countries stood at 25.3%.
Russia's import dependence by the end of last year was notably low at just 13% of its GDP, nearly half the global average. Only Argentina (9.6%), the United States (11.2%), and Brazil (12.6%) demonstrated lower reliance on imports.
China completed the top five, with imports making up 13.8% of its GDP in 2024. Interestingly, all five of these countries are significant producers of food, a crucial global commodity.
The top ten least import-dependent economies also included Indonesia (16.2%), Australia (16.5%), Japan (18.5%), India (18.6%), and Saudi Arabia (20.1%).
In contrast, after Belgium, the Netherlands followed as another highly import-dependent nation, with imports accounting for 50.2% of its economy. Both Belgium and the Netherlands are recognized as major trading hubs within the European Union.
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