High-technology exports (current US$) - Country Ranking

Definition: High-technology exports are products with high R&D intensity, such as aerospace, computers, pharmaceuticals, scientific instruments, and electrical machinery. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Source: United Nations, Comtrade database through the WITS platform.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 China 757,683,000,000.00 2020
2 Hong Kong SAR, China 340,122,000,000.00 2020
3 Germany 182,352,000,000.00 2020
4 Korea 163,987,000,000.00 2020
5 Singapore 160,491,000,000.00 2020
6 United States 141,539,000,000.00 2020
7 Japan 102,751,000,000.00 2020
8 Vietnam 101,534,000,000.00 2020
9 Malaysia 92,107,690,000.00 2020
10 Netherlands 87,143,360,000.00 2020
11 France 87,120,400,000.00 2020
12 Mexico 71,003,020,000.00 2020
13 United Kingdom 58,143,800,000.00 2020
14 Thailand 45,837,990,000.00 2020
15 Ireland 42,490,860,000.00 2020
16 Czech Republic 39,603,320,000.00 2020
17 Italy 34,663,650,000.00 2020
18 Belgium 34,420,440,000.00 2020
19 Philippines 32,818,760,000.00 2020
20 Switzerland 29,244,240,000.00 2020
21 Canada 25,521,900,000.00 2020
22 India 21,583,200,000.00 2020
23 Poland 19,966,820,000.00 2020
24 Hungary 18,155,660,000.00 2020
25 Sweden 17,724,960,000.00 2020
26 Austria 15,986,050,000.00 2020
27 Spain 15,725,220,000.00 2020
28 Israel 12,960,520,000.00 2020
29 Denmark 10,492,370,000.00 2020
30 Slovak Republic 7,860,066,000.00 2020
31 Romania 6,984,613,000.00 2020
32 Russia 6,603,644,000.00 2020
33 Indonesia 6,411,913,000.00 2020
34 Brazil 5,944,927,000.00 2020
35 Australia 5,597,905,000.00 2020
36 Finland 4,419,533,000.00 2020
37 Turkey 4,172,700,000.00 2020
38 Norway 4,101,874,000.00 2020
39 Portugal 3,370,855,000.00 2020
40 Lithuania 2,619,107,000.00 2020
41 Slovenia 2,542,422,000.00 2020
42 Kazakhstan 2,492,254,000.00 2020
43 Bulgaria 2,153,930,000.00 2020
44 Estonia 2,150,753,000.00 2020
45 Greece 2,006,302,000.00 2020
46 Latvia 1,837,827,000.00 2020
47 South Africa 1,835,041,000.00 2020
48 Chile 1,363,952,000.00 2020
49 Panama 1,361,751,000.00 2017
50 Ukraine 1,175,952,000.00 2020
51 United Arab Emirates 1,155,954,000.00 2020
52 Croatia 1,084,083,000.00 2020
53 Costa Rica 1,038,666,000.00 2020
54 Morocco 857,153,700.00 2020
55 Tunisia 840,506,100.00 2019
56 Belarus 801,645,500.00 2020
57 Malta 791,982,500.00 2020
58 Colombia 689,645,100.00 2020
59 Luxembourg 618,589,000.00 2020
60 New Zealand 590,426,000.00 2020
61 Argentina 546,445,800.00 2020
62 Dominican Republic 493,620,300.00 2020
63 Qatar 465,899,500.00 2020
64 Serbia 458,079,500.00 2018
65 Egypt 343,563,000.00 2020
66 Pakistan 309,393,300.00 2020
67 Cambodia 308,424,300.00 2020
68 Guatemala 300,037,200.00 2020
69 El Salvador 236,033,600.00 2020
70 North Macedonia 232,386,300.00 2020
71 Lao PDR 229,427,400.00 2019
72 Saudi Arabia 217,407,500.00 2020
73 Bosnia and Herzegovina 212,050,900.00 2020
74 Myanmar 202,309,300.00 2020
75 Nigeria 190,326,700.00 2020
76 Tanzania 186,258,400.00 2018
77 Peru 172,740,800.00 2020
78 Bahrain 171,028,600.00 2019
79 Iran 153,101,900.00 2018
80 Iceland 144,572,400.00 2020
81 Côte d'Ivoire 141,805,000.00 2019
82 Uruguay 113,421,800.00 2020
83 Bangladesh 93,607,700.00 2015
84 Kenya 85,950,660.00 2020
85 Sri Lanka 83,149,830.00 2020
86 Jordan 78,697,330.00 2020
87 Angola 77,770,740.00 2019
88 Lebanon 76,215,320.00 2020
89 Oman 73,302,560.00 2018
90 Cyprus 62,939,860.00 2020
91 Fiji 61,615,520.00 2019
92 Paraguay 54,397,920.00 2020
93 Ecuador 52,973,240.00 2020
94 Ethiopia 43,185,590.00 2020
95 Uzbekistan 42,220,500.00 2020
96 Mongolia 39,589,730.00 2019
97 Syrian Arab Republic 38,812,400.00 2010
98 New Caledonia 38,232,170.00 2015
99 Congo 37,906,540.00 2020
100 Azerbaijan 33,914,980.00 2020
101 Andorra 33,913,480.00 2018
102 Kuwait 30,598,850.00 2020
103 Armenia 28,749,970.00 2020
104 Kyrgyz Republic 27,637,570.00 2020
105 Barbados 25,313,810.00 2020
106 Mauritius 20,091,030.00 2020
107 Moldova 18,904,900.00 2020
108 Dem. Rep. Congo 17,445,950.00 2020
109 Cameroon 16,426,310.00 2018
110 Botswana 16,238,760.00 2020
111 Brunei 15,965,130.00 2020
112 Papua New Guinea 15,611,410.00 2012
113 Georgia 14,030,860.00 2020
114 Bolivia 13,485,140.00 2020
115 Honduras 12,597,310.00 2019
116 Uganda 11,771,660.00 2020
117 Mali 11,053,680.00 2019
118 Zambia 10,697,410.00 2020
119 Ghana 9,928,827.00 2019
120 Montenegro 9,914,687.00 2020
121 Nicaragua 9,890,064.00 2020
122 Algeria 9,027,398.00 2017
123 Niger 8,778,472.00 2020
124 Zimbabwe 8,275,258.00 2020
125 Central African Republic 8,173,212.00 2018
126 Senegal 7,555,947.00 2020
127 St. Kitts and Nevis 6,842,006.00 2017
128 Rwanda 6,816,497.00 2019
129 The Bahamas 6,222,843.00 2018
130 Trinidad and Tobago 5,675,253.00 2015
131 St. Lucia 5,341,647.00 2019
132 Nepal 5,285,142.00 2019
133 Albania 5,055,767.00 2020
134 Madagascar 4,736,756.00 2020
135 Burkina Faso 4,121,020.00 2020
136 Namibia 3,763,324.00 2020
137 Eswatini 3,735,561.00 2020
138 Yemen 3,030,318.00 2015
139 Suriname 2,914,164.00 2019
140 Mozambique 2,250,357.00 2020
141 Benin 2,051,159.00 2020
142 Dominica 1,949,279.00 2012
143 Tajikistan 1,554,883.00 2020
144 Jamaica 1,518,793.00 2019
145 Malawi 1,343,178.00 2020
146 Djibouti 1,331,100.00 2009
147 Mauritania 1,278,413.00 2020
148 Guyana 1,133,987.00 2020
149 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 1,120,024.00 2019
150 Lesotho 958,398.00 2020
151 Togo 913,794.00 2020
152 Sudan 869,554.00 2018
153 Guinea 799,558.00 2016
154 Seychelles 598,551.00 2020
155 Greenland 487,975.00 2018
156 Palau 401,591.00 2018
157 Sierra Leone 378,768.00 2018
158 São Tomé and Principe 191,951.00 2019
159 Solomon Islands 171,263.00 2018
160 Grenada 112,035.00 2020
161 Samoa 105,679.00 2019
162 Kiribati 83,777.00 2020
163 Belize 64,217.00 2020
164 Cabo Verde 62,458.00 2020
165 Bhutan 58,575.00 2012
166 Comoros 39,177.00 2020
167 Burundi 37,511.00 2020
168 Tonga 28,003.00 2014
169 The Gambia 1,274.00 2020
170 Macao SAR, China 0.00 2020
170 Afghanistan 0.00 2019
170 Antigua and Barbuda 0.00 2019

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Development Relevance: The OECD has developed a four-way classification of exports: high, medium-high, medium-low and low-technology. The classification is based on the importance of expenditures on research and development relative to the gross output and value added of different types of industries that produce goods for export. Examples of high-technology industries are aircraft, computers, and pharmaceuticals; medium-high-technology includes motor vehicles, electrical equipment and most chemicals; medium-low-technology includes rubber, plastics, basic metals and ship construction; low-technology industries include food processing, textiles, clothing and footwear.

Limitations and Exceptions: Because industrial sectors specializing in a few high-technology products may also produce low-technology products, the product approach is more appropriate for international trade. The method takes only R&D intensity into account, but other characteristics of high technology are also important, such as knowhow, scientific personnel, and technology embodied in patents. Considering these characteristics would yield a different list (see Hatzichronoglou 1997). The indicator is based on data reported by countries to COMTRADE. The export values presented in the World Development Indicators represent Gross Exports less Re-Exports. The values may be impacted in cases of reporting errors or missing data, for example if countries do not report Re-Exports for one or more periods.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: High technology products are defined according to SITC Rev.4 as the sum of the following products: Aerospace, Computers-office machines, Electronics-telecommunications, Pharmacy, Scientific instruments, Electrical machinery, Chemistry, Non-electrical machinery, Armament. The following product codes are used: Aerospace: (714 – 71489 -71499)+7921+7922+7924+7925+79291+79293+87411; Computers-office machines: 75194+75195+752+75997; Electronics-communication: 76331+7638+(764-76493-76499)+7722+77261+77318+77625+77627+7763+7764+7768+89844+89846; Pharmacy: 5413+5415+5416+5421+5422; Scientific instruments: 774+871+87211+(874-87411-8742)+88111+88121+88411+88419+(8996-89965-89969); Electrical machinery: (7786-77861-777866-77869)+7787+77884; Chemistry: 52222+52223+52229+52269+525+531+57433+591; Non-electrical machinery: 71489+71499+7187+72847+7311+73131+73135+73142+73144+73151+73153+73161+73163+73165+73312+73314+73316+7359+73733+73735; Armament: 891 The list can also be accessed on the Eurostat website. This list, based on the OECD definition, contains technical products of which the manufacturing involved a high intensity of R&D. The original high-tech products classification is based on SITC Rev. 3 and is taken from Table 4 of Annex 2 of the 1997 working paper of Thomas Hatzichronouglou, OECD. In September 2019 the definition in the World Development Indicators database was updated to SITC Rev.4 from SITC Rev. 3. The data are in current U.S. dollars and are sourced from the UN's Comtrade database.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual