Xifres de comerç exterior de República Txeca

Foreign Trade in Figures

The Czech Republic’s economy is very open to the outside world: according to the World Bank, external trade accounts for 152% of the GDP. The automobile industry is the backbone of trade, both for imports and exports. Data from the CZSO show that the main exports in 2022 were motor vehicles (23.6%), machinery and equipment (11.2%), electrical equipment (9.4%), computer, electronic and optical products (9.3%), fabricated metal products (6.2%); whereas imports were led by motor vehicles (12.6%), computer, electronic and optical products (10.6%), electrical equipment (9.4%), machinery and equipment (8.6%), chemicals and chemical products (8.5%).

As a medium-sized, open, export-driven economy, the Czech market is strongly dependent on foreign demand, especially from EU partners. In 2022, Germany was the Czech Republic's major trading partner, receiving 32.8% of its exports and supplying 19.8% of its imports. Slovakia was the second top destination for Czech exports (8.4%), followed by Poland (7.1%), France (4.6%) and Austria (4.4%). China (18.8%) was the second-largest supplier of goods and services to the Czech Republic after Germany, followed by Poland (8%), Russia (4.8%), and Slovakia (4.2% – data Comtrade).

Czechia recorded a structurally positive trade balance since entering the EU. In 2022, the country’s trade balance was estimated to be positive by 1% of GDP by the World Bank (from 3% one year earlier, with a declining trend recorded in recent years). In the same year, exports of goods totalled USD 241.9 billion (+6.7% year-on-year) whereas imports stood at USD 236.2 billion (+11.4% y-o-y). Concerning trade in services, exports increased to USD 33.6 billion against USD 29.8 billion in imports (+13.3% and +21.1%, respectively). According to the latest figures from the Czech Statistical Office, in the first three quarters of 2023, the current-price international trade balance for goods and services reached CZK 91.5 billion, representing a significant increase of CZK 60.1 billion compared to the same period in the previous year.