2026-03-22 · percent of global trade openness
European economies are highly trade-dependent
Single market integration shows up in GDP ratios.
Trade openness — exports plus imports as a share of GDP — shows how much of an economy crosses its own borders. Europe's single market makes its members roughly twice as trade-reliant as the Americas, where the vast US domestic economy dwarfs cross-border flows. Asia & Pacific averages the highest openness; Africa falls in between.
1 cell = 0.1 percent of global trade openness (0.1% of world trade) · 1,000 cells
Context
Much of Europe's trade happens inside the EU single market, so goods and services cross national borders repeatedly before reaching final consumers. Our World in Data notes that trade is much smaller relative to the domestic economy in the US than in almost all European countries — partly because of this intra-EU volume.
Today's openness is the product of two globalization waves. Before 1800 the global trade openness index never exceeded 10% of world GDP; today the sum of world exports and imports amounts to more than 50% of global output.
Because openness is scaled to GDP, it captures exposure rather than absolute trade volumes. Figures are the latest World Bank estimates via Our World in Data (2026 edition).
Exports plus imports relative to GDP (World Bank via OWID).
Share and export
Credit this grid as Inagrid — https://inagrid.com/e/2026-03-22-pol-trade-open-eu