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Colorful paper (Pixabay)Worldwide purchases of imported paper cost a total US$193 billion in 2025.
Overall, the cost of paper imports increased by an average 4.7% for all importing countries since 2021 when international purchases of paper were valued at $184.3 billion.
Year over year, globally imported purchases of paper flatlined via a 0.9% gain compared to $191.3 billion starting from 2024.
The biggest buyers of imported paper on international markets are the United States of America, Germany, France, United Kingdom and Italy. Collectively, those countries accounted for almost a third (31%) of imported paper purchased in 2025.
Paper is produced by pressing together moist cellulose pulp fibers derived from wood, grasses or rags, which is then dried into flexible sheets. There are many different types of paper and a myriad of uses encompassing currency, wrapping materials, containers, books, newspapers, magazines, note papers, toilet paper, paper towels, clothing plus many more varieties.
From a continental perspective, buyers in European countries spent the most on imported paper during 2025 with purchases costing $93.3 billion or 48.4% of the global total. In second place were importers located in Asia at 22.9% while another 17.3% of paper imported worldwide was delivered to customers in North America.
Smaller percentages arrived in Latin America (5.3%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (4.4%) then Oceania (1.7%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
For research purposes, the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 48 for paper.
Below are the 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of paper during 2025.
- United States: US$19.9 billion (10.3% of total imported paper)
- Germany: $14.8 billion (7.7%)
- France: $9.7 billion (5%)
- United Kingdom: $8.2 billion (4.2%)
- Italy: $7.3 billion (3.8%)
- Canada: $6.9 billion (3.6%)
- Poland: $6.7 billion (3.5%)
- Mexico: $6.6 billion (3.4%)
- Netherlands: $6.6 billion (3.4%)
- mainland China: $5.9 billion (3.1%)
- Belgium: $5.6 billion (2.9%)
- Spain: $5.1 billion (2.6%)
- Vietnam: $3.6 billion (1.9%)
- India: $3.1 billion (1.6%)
- Türkiye: $2.9 billion (1.5%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 58.4% of globally imported paper in 2025.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for paper since 2024 were: Vietnam (up 11.9%), Spain (up 9.9%), Belgium (up 7%) and Italy (up 6.3%).
Those buyer countries that posted year-over-year declines in their imported paper purchases were led by: mainland China (down -11.6% from 2024), India (down -4.3%), Mexico (down -4.1%) and the United States of America (down -3.9%).
The 100 importing nations buying paper in 2025 accounted for 97.5% of all purchases of the commodity.
| 1 | United States | $19,938,006,000 | -3.9% |
| 2 | Germany | $14,780,496,000 | +3.8% |
| 3 | France | $9,651,782,000 | +1.1% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | $8,167,929,000 | -0.8% |
| 5 | Italy | $7,278,111,000 | +6.3% |
| 6 | Canada | $6,895,054,000 | -2.1% |
| 7 | Poland | $6,749,430,000 | +4.3% |
| 8 | Mexico | $6,559,384,000 | -4.1% |
| 9 | Netherlands | $6,552,935,000 | +6.3% |
| 10 | mainland China | $5,898,850,000 | -11.6% |
| 11 | Belgium | $5,566,616,000 | +7% |
| 12 | Spain | $5,076,048,000 | +9.9% |
| 13 | Vietnam | $3,643,065,000 | +11.9% |
| 14 | India | $3,101,240,000 | -4.3% |
| 15 | Türkiye | $2,887,748,000 | -0.4% |
| 16 | Japan | $2,833,523,000 | +2% |
| 17 | Czech Republic | $2,791,582,000 | +5.1% |
| 18 | Austria | $2,566,689,000 | +2.7% |
| 19 | Switzerland | $2,432,673,000 | +3% |
| 20 | Thailand | $2,391,531,000 | +13% |
| 21 | Australia | $2,345,509,000 | -3.9% |
| 22 | South Korea | $2,234,306,000 | -1.5% |
| 23 | United Arab Emirates | $2,056,914,000 | -9.6% |
| 24 | Malaysia | $1,899,320,000 | +2% |
| 25 | Indonesia | $1,831,349,000 | +5.7% |
| 26 | Sweden | $1,810,130,000 | +4.2% |
| 27 | Saudi Arabia | $1,751,404,000 | -6.4% |
| 28 | Taiwan | $1,634,913,000 | -2.5% |
| 29 | Hungary | $1,633,240,000 | -0.2% |
| 30 | Romania | $1,613,575,000 | -0.8% |
| 31 | Portugal | $1,597,593,000 | +11.7% |
| 32 | Denmark | $1,541,874,000 | -0.7% |
| 33 | Philippines | $1,520,435,000 | -3.9% |
| 34 | Greece | $1,430,546,000 | -3.5% |
| 35 | Ireland | $1,424,408,000 | +3.4% |
| 36 | Egypt | $1,375,525,000 | -4.7% |
| 37 | Russia | $1,274,816,000 | -11.9% |
| 38 | Hong Kong | $1,162,945,000 | -4.1% |
| 39 | Singapore | $1,144,755,000 | +13.2% |
| 40 | Morocco | $1,126,854,000 | +14.9% |
| 41 | South Africa | $1,075,561,000 | -1.3% |
| 42 | Brazil | $1,061,070,000 | +10.2% |
| 43 | Chile | $1,036,502,000 | +14.3% |
| 44 | Cambodia | $993,130,000 | +44.1% |
| 45 | Norway | $990,085,000 | +4.6% |
| 46 | Slovakia | $971,479,000 | +1% |
| 47 | Colombia | $948,372,000 | +14.8% |
| 48 | Guatemala | $914,788,000 | +9.8% |
| 49 | Israel | $857,585,000 | +1.4% |
| 50 | Peru | $820,672,000 | +17.9% |
| 51 | Costa Rica | $799,939,000 | +5.3% |
| 52 | Croatia | $781,105,000 | +8.7% |
| 53 | Bangladesh | $773,825,000 | +0.9% |
| 54 | Dominican Republic | $766,539,000 | +6.2% |
| 55 | Serbia | $756,835,000 | +1.2% |
| 56 | Algeria | $734,857,000 | -20.1% |
| 57 | New Zealand | $728,331,000 | +7.5% |
| 58 | Argentina | $705,244,000 | -0.2% |
| 59 | Lithuania | $702,841,000 | +7.8% |
| 60 | Finland | $702,608,000 | +10.5% |
| 61 | Ukraine | $698,272,000 | -12.5% |
| 62 | Bulgaria | $672,544,000 | -0.8% |
| 63 | Slovenia | $639,617,000 | +1.1% |
| 64 | Kazakhstan | $560,111,000 | -1.4% |
| 65 | Pakistan | $545,178,000 | +18.2% |
| 66 | Iraq | $535,888,000 | -23.9% |
| 67 | Luxembourg | $495,240,000 | -1.1% |
| 68 | Ecuador | $423,123,000 | +7.9% |
| 69 | Kenya | $414,932,000 | -2.5% |
| 70 | Nigeria | $407,224,000 | -15.3% |
| 71 | Honduras | $400,505,000 | +14.1% |
| 72 | Latvia | $400,370,000 | +10.6% |
| 73 | Sri Lanka | $390,329,000 | -10.1% |
| 74 | Tunisia | $365,806,000 | +6.9% |
| 75 | El Salvador | $358,623,000 | +7.9% |
| 76 | Jordan | $331,936,000 | -13.7% |
| 77 | Estonia | $308,065,000 | +6.6% |
| 78 | Panama | $283,846,000 | -3.4% |
| 79 | Azerbaijan | $282,315,000 | +3.3% |
| 80 | Oman | $275,046,000 | +7.7% |
| 81 | Myanmar | $272,176,000 | +43.6% |
| 82 | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $268,634,000 | +1.6% |
| 83 | Paraguay | $265,693,000 | +6.8% |
| 84 | Uzbekistan | $241,190,000 | -29.7% |
| 85 | Nicaragua | $240,483,000 | +2.5% |
| 86 | Ivory Coast | $239,024,000 | +10.8% |
| 87 | Kuwait | $236,210,000 | -36.4% |
| 88 | Ghana | $227,277,000 | +18.7% |
| 89 | Lebanon | $218,597,000 | +3.5% |
| 90 | Iran | $205,336,000 | -28.7% |
| 91 | Libya | $195,952,000 | -21.9% |
| 92 | Uganda | $193,003,000 | +10.1% |
| 93 | Tanzania | $189,477,000 | +1.3% |
| 94 | Georgia | $184,705,000 | +4% |
| 95 | Armenia | $182,306,000 | +20.3% |
| 96 | Uruguay | $179,799,000 | -2.8% |
| 97 | Cyprus | $159,198,000 | +1.6% |
| 98 | Venezuela | $154,659,000 | -1.6% |
| 99 | Qatar | $153,391,000 | -28.2% |
| 100 | Senegal | $153,113,000 | +13.4% |
Focusing on these 100 major buyer countries, the fastest gainers were Cambodia (up 44.1% from 2024), Myanmar (up 43.6%), Armenia (up 20.3%), Ghana (up 18.7%) then Pakistan (up 18.2%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2024 data was unavailable.
Paper Imported into the United States
America’s global purchases of imported paper totaled US$19.9 billion in 2025. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the US imported the highest dollar value worth of paper during 2025. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2024 to 2025.
- Canada: US$6.6 billion (down -4.2% from 2024)
- mainland China: $1.9 billion (down -37.5%)
- Mexico: $1.7 billion (up 1.6%)
- Vietnam: $1 billion (up 22.6%)
- Finland: $989.9 million (down -7.7%)
- Germany: $941 million (down -6.7%)
- Indonesia: $743.9 million (up 29.8%)
- South Korea: $665.1 million (down -7.3%)
- India: $499.3 million (up 5%)
- Sweden: $444.8 million (down -15.6%)
- Malaysia: $341.8 million (up 136.9%)
- Thailand: $334.4 million (up 131.9%)
- Italy: $318.4 million (up 3.5%)
- France: $315.5 million (up 9.6%)
- Brazil: $298.8 million (down -4.9%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 86% of paper imported by the United States of America in 2025.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of paper to the US since 2024 were: Malaysia (up 136.9%), Thailand (up 131.9%), Indonesia (up 29.8%) and Vietnam (up 22.6%).
Countries that experienced year-over-year declines in the value of their paper supplied to American importers included: mainland China (down -37.5% from 2024), Sweden (down -15.6%), Finland (down -7.7%) and South Korea (down -7.3%).
Overall, the value of America’s imported paper slipped by an average -3.9% from all supplying countries since 2024 when paper purchased cost $20.8 billion.
Paper Imported into Germany
Germany’s global purchases of imported paper totaled US$14.8 billion in 2025. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Germany imported the highest dollar value worth of paper during 2025. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2024 to 2025.
- Poland: US$2 billion (up 8.4% from 2024)
- Sweden: $1.9 billion (down -0.2%)
- Austria: $1.5 billion (down -4%)
- Finland: $1.4 billion (up 10.7%)
- Italy: $1.26 billion (up 3.5%)
- France: $1.21 billion (up 0.8%)
- Netherlands: $1.1 billion (up 3.7%)
- mainland China: $741.7 million (up 18.7%)
- Switzerland: $574 million (down -2.7%)
- Czech Republic: $534.3 million (up 20.5%)
- Belgium: $357.1 million (up 3.3%)
- Spain: $293.3 million (up 0.9%)
- United Kingdom: $239.6 million (down -4%)
- United States: $209.9 million (down -5.5%)
- Portugal: $184.2 million (down -12.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 90.4% of paper imported by Germany in 2025.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of paper to Germany since 2024 were: Czech Republic (up 20.5%), mainland China (up 18.7%), Finland (up 10.7%) and Poland (up 8.4%).
Countries that experienced year-over-year declines in the value of their paper supplied to German importers included: Portugal (down -12.2% from 2024), United States of America (down -5.5%), Austria (down -4%) and the United Kingdom (also down -4%).
Overall, the value of Germany’s imported paper rose by an average 3.8% from all supplying countries since 2024 when paper purchased cost $14.2 billion.
Paper Imported into France
France’s global purchases of imported paper totaled US$9.65 billion in 2025. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which France imported the highest dollar value worth of paper during 2025. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2024 to 2025.
- Germany: US$2.1 billion (down -2.3% from 2024)
- Italy: $1.4 billion (up 4%)
- Spain: $1 billion (down -6.6%)
- Belgium: $602.4 million (up 3.7%)
- mainland China: $538.4 million (up 2.1%)
- Netherlands: $484.7 million (up 8.4%)
- United Kingdom: $414.3 million (up 1.3%)
- Finland: $405.6 million (up 10.6%)
- Sweden: $404.6 million (down -5.6%)
- Poland: $374.6 million (down -1.4%)
- Austria: $305.9 million (down -3%)
- Portugal: $287.3 million (up 5.5%)
- United States: $107.7 million (down -16.3%)
- Luxembourg: $102.9 million (up 9.9%)
- Hungary: $83.5 million (down -13.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 89.4% of paper imported by France in 2025.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of paper to France since 2024 were: Finland (up 10.6%), Luxembourg (up 9.9%), Netherlands (up 8.4%) and Portugal (up 5.5%).
Countries that experienced year-over-year declines in the value of their paper supplied to French importers included: United States of America (down -16.3% from 2024), Hungary (down -13.7%), Spain (down -6.6%) and Sweden (down -5.6%).
Overall, the value of France’s imported paper went up by an average 1.1% from all supplying countries since 2024 when paper purchased cost $9.5 billion.
Paper Imported into the UK
The United Kingdom’s global purchases of imported paper totaled US$8.17 billion in 2025. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Britain imported the highest dollar value worth of paper during 2025. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2024 to 2025.
- Germany: US$1.3 billion (up 0.03% from 2024)
- mainland China: $1.1 billion (up 2.4%)
- Sweden: $758.2 million (down -6.6%)
- Finland: $567.5 million (up 2.3%)
- Italy: $507.2 million (down -1.4%)
- France: $449.8 million (up 1.4%)
- Netherlands: $415.5 million (up 7.7%)
- Türkiye: $358.5 million (down -0.04%)
- Poland: $358 million (up 6.7%)
- United States: $287.8 million (down -1.3%)
- Spain: $238.6 million (down -13.3%)
- Belgium: $213.2 million (down -3.1%)
- Austria: $204.6 million (down -1.2%)
- Portugal: $188.1 million (down -8%)
- Ireland: $156.4 million (down -6.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 86.9% of paper imported by the United Kingdom in 2025.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of paper to the UK since 2024 were: Netherlands (up 7.7%), Poland (up 6.7%), mainland China (up 2.4%) and Finland (up 2.3%).
Countries that experienced year-over-year declines in the value of their paper supplied to UK importers included: Spain (down -13.3% from 2024), Portugal (down -8%), Sweden (down -6.6%) and Ireland (down -6.4%).
Overall, the value of the United Kingdom’s imported paper slowed by an average -0.8% from all supplying countries since 2024 when paper purchased cost $8.2 billion.
See also Paper Exports by Country, Top Newsprint Exports by Country, Top Toilet Paper Exporters by Country and Sawn Wood Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on August 21, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 21, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 21, 2026
Wikipedia, Paper. Accessed on August 21, 2026
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