Signal The EU remains the world's second-largest economy and its largest trader in goods and services

Summary

IMF data put the EU's 2025 nominal GDP at about 21.2 trillion US dollars, roughly 18.0 percent of the world economy. That places the bloc second behind the United States at 30.8 trillion dollars and slightly ahead of China at 19.6 trillion, although the EU and China have swapped ranks at times during the 2020s. Germany, France, Italy and Spain together account for about 60.6 percent of EU output, a share that has stayed stable over the long run. On the trade side, extra-EU exports of goods and services reached about 4.8 trillion dollars in 2025, well above the United States and China. The United States, the United Kingdom and China are the main export destinations, while China, the United States and the United Kingdom are the main sources of imports.