Foreign trade in figures

Spain is open to foreign trade, which represented 68% of its GDP in 2021 (up from 60% one year earlier - World Bank). The country mainly exports motor cars (8.7% - 86% of the vehicles and 60% of the auto-parts manufactured in Spain were exported worldwide in 2021), petroleum products other than crude, medicaments, and vehicle parts; importing crude oil (6.9% of total imports), cars and vehicle parts, and medicaments (Comtrade).

According to official government data, in 2021 the main destinations for Spanish exports included France (15.9%), Germany (10.2%), Italy (8.4%), Portugal (7.9%) and the UK (5.9%); while imports came chiefly from Germany (11.2%), China (10.2%), France (10%), Italy (6.6%) and the U.S. (5%). Overall, the EU-27 represented 61.8% of total exports and 49.9% of imports.

The country's trade balance for merchandise is structurally negative due to high imports of fuel and high added-value goods; although the trade in services is generally positive. In 2021, Spanish goods exports reached USD 383 billion, up by 24.7% year-on-year, as opposed to USD 418.1 billion in imports (+28.6%). Trade in services followed a similar trend, with exports totalling USD 119 billion against USD 73 billion in imports (+32.8% and +21.2%, respectively – data WTO). In the same year, the overall trade balance of the country was positive by 1.5% of GDP (World Bank). According to the latest data available from the Spanish Institute of Statistics, in the first ten months of 2022 exports of goods grew by 23.6% year-on-year to EUR 319.7 billion, while imports increased by 38% to EUR 380 billion. In real terms, exports grew by 4.2% year-on-year, as export prices grew by 18.7%, while imports rose by 9.7% y-o-y, with import prices growing by 25.9%. Exports to the EU represented 62.4% of total exports and 44.2% of total imports in the reference period.