EU International Trade: share of intra- and extra-EU exports in total 2002-2024

The share of total exports from European Union member states which goes to other EU countries underwent a decline from its early 2000s high point during the global financial crisis, great recession and Eurozone crisis (2007-2012), before rebounding back to around 61.77 percent of total exports in 2023. This share is a good indicator of the relative importance of intra-EU trade, that is, trade governed by the "four freedoms" of the European Single Market (freedom of movement for goods, services, capital, and labor), vis-a-vis international trade with partners outside of the European Union.

It is worth keeping in mind that the United Kingdom, a key trading partner of many European Union countries, left the EU in 2020, meaning that the country was added to the extra-EU share. The fact that this did not have a notable effect on the share of exports going to extra-EU countries points to the declining relative importance of the UK as a trade partner for the EU.