Indonesia flag Indonesia: Economic and Political Overview

Foreign trade figures of Indonesia

Foreign Trade in Figures

Indonesia is open to foreign trade, which represents around 41% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available). The country’s main exports include coal; briquettes, ovoids and similar solid fuels (16.0%), palm oil and its fractions, whether or not refined (9.5%), ferroalloys (4.7%), petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons (3.4%), and copper ores and concentrates (3.2%); whereas imports are led by petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous (14.7%), telephone sets, including telephones for cellular (2.8%), petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons (2.1%), parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles (1.7% - data Comtrade for 2023). Exports of manufacturing products from January–December 2023 fell by 9.2%, while exports of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries decreased by 10.0%. Exports from the mining and other sectors dropped by 20.6% compared to the same period in 2022. During the same period, the country’s largest exports came from Jawa Barat, valued at USD 36.63 billion (14.1%), followed by Kalimantan Timur at USD 27.94 billion (10.8%) and Jawa Timur at USD 22.43 billion (8.6% - data BPS).

China remained Indonesia's largest trading partner in 2023, buying up 22.6% of India’s exports, followed by the United States (9.7%), Japan (8.5%), India (8%), and Malaysia (5.3%). In the same year, the main suppliers were China (28.5%), Singapore (8.2%); Japan (7.2%), Malaysia (5.3%), and South Korea (4.9% - data Comtrade). In 2020 Indonesia signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with 14 other Indo-Pacific countries. This free trade agreement is the largest trade deal in history, covering 30% of the global economy. It includes the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and ASEAN’s free trade agreement partners (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea). The RCEP covers goods, services, investment, economic and technical cooperation. It also creates new rules for electronic commerce, intellectual property, government procurement, competition, and small and medium-sized enterprises. In February 2025, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto signed a regulation requiring exporters of resources, excluding oil and gas, to hold all proceeds locally for at least a year. The move is expected to add USD 80 billion to the country's forex reserves.

Indonesia’s trade balance has been positive in recent years. According to WTO data, in 2023, the country exported USD 258.8 billion worth of goods (-11.3% y-o-y), importing USD 221.8 billion (-6.5%). As per services, exports stood at USD 33.4 billion against USD 51.3 billion in imports (+44% and +18.9%, respectively). For the year as a whole, the World Bank estimated the trade balance to be positive by 2.2% of GDP (it was 3.5% one year earlier). According to preliminary figures from Statistics Indonesia, the country’s exports in 2024 amounted to USD 264.7 billion, marking a 2.3% year-on-year increase. The total import value stood at USD 233.6 billion, up by 5.3%.

 
Foreign Trade Values 20192020202120222023
Imports of Goods (million USD) 171,276141,622196,190237,447221,886
Exports of Goods (million USD) 167,683163,306231,506291,979258,857
Imports of Services (million USD) 39,28224,77128,55043,16551,353
Exports of Services (million USD) 31,64215,01613,95123,20833,434

Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Indicators 20192020202120222023
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) 37.633.040.245.541.3
Trade Balance (million USD) 3,50828,30143,80662,67246,194
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) -4,13318,54629,20842,71528,222
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) -7.1-17.624.915.0-1.6
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) -0.5-8.418.016.21.3
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 19.015.618.821.019.6
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 18.617.321.424.521.7

Source: World Bank ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Forecasts 20242025 (e)2026 (e)2027 (e)2028 (e)
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) 1.46.010.56.96.9
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) 8.810.710.07.27.4

Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data

Note: (e) Estimated Data

 
International Economic Cooperation
Indonesia is a member of the following international economic organisations: IMF, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), ICC, Colombo Plan, WTO, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), G-15, G-20, G-77, among others. For the full list of economic and other international organisations in which participates Indonesia click here. International organisation membership of Indonesia is also outlined here.
Free Trade Agreements
Indonesia is a member of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) signed on 15 November 2020. The complete and up-to-date list of Free Trade Agreements signed by Indonesia can be consulted here.
 

Main Partner Countries

Main Customers
(% of Exports)
2022
China 22.6%
United States 9.7%
Japan 8.5%
India 8.0%
Malaysia 5.3%
See More Countries 45.9%
Main Suppliers
(% of Imports)
2022
China 28.5%
Singapore 8.2%
Japan 7.2%
Malaysia 5.3%
South Korea 4.9%
See More Countries 45.9%

Source: Comtrade, 2024. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

Main Products

292.0 bn USD of products exported in 2022
Coal; briquettes, ovoids and similar solid fuels...Coal; briquettes, ovoids and similar solid fuels manufactured from coal 16.0%
Palm oil and its fractions, whether or not refined...Palm oil and its fractions, whether or not refined (excl. chemically modified) 9.5%
Ferro-alloysFerro-alloys 4.7%
Petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbonsPetroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons 3.4%
Copper ores and concentratesCopper ores and concentrates 3.2%
See More Products 63.3%
237.5 bn USD of products imported in 2022
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals 9.9%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude 4.8%
Telephone sets, incl. telephones for cellular...Telephone sets, incl. telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, incl. apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network [such as a local or wide area network]; parts thereof (excl. than transmission or reception apparatus of heading 8443, 8525, 8527 or 8528) 2.8%
Petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbonsPetroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons 2.1%
Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles...Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, motor vehicles for the transport of goods and special purpose motor vehicles of heading 8701 to 8705, n.e.s. 1.7%
See More Products 78.8%

Source: Comtrade, 2024. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

To go further, check out our service Import-Export Flows.

 

Main Services

23.1 bn USD of services exported in 2022
29.15%
25.73%
20.29%
10.29%
3.80%
3.22%
2.01%
1.62%
1.60%
0.93%
0.68%
0.67%
43.4 bn USD of services imported in 2022
29.70%
24.36%
15.12%
13.15%
5.08%
4.82%
4.76%
1.36%
1.30%
0.23%
0.12%

Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2024. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

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Latest Update: February 2025