In today’s economy, global power is not just measured by factories or ships, but also by data, software, and digital platforms. 

The visualization above reviews major economies by their goods and digital service export value. 

It’s based on data from the World Trade Organization on merchandise and commercial services trade for 2024–2025.

While the United Kingdom now exports almost as much in digital services as it does in physical goods, China remains overwhelmingly dependent on manufacturing exports. 

The contrast reveals how uneven the global shift toward digital trade has become.

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TL;DR

• Britain exports almost as many digital services as goods.
• China gets just 6% of export revenue from digital services.
• India and Ireland are emerging digital superpowers.

Top Exporters of Goods and Digital Services

Top Goods Exporters

In 2024, the UK exported $513 billion worth of goods and $488 billion in digital services. Digital exports are now worth 95% as much as physical exports, an almost perfect parity that few major economies can match.

China presents the opposite picture. The world’s largest exporter shipped $3.58 trillion in goods, but only $221 billion in digital services. That means digital exports account for just 6% of the value of its goods exports.

The contrast reveals two very different paths to economic power.

Britain’s economy increasingly depends on “invisible exports”—financial services, software, intellectual property and professional services. China, despite its growing technology sector, still derives the overwhelming majority of its export strength from factories and global supply chains.

The numbers also show that the world’s biggest economies are not necessarily the biggest digital players.

The United States remains the undisputed leader, exporting $741 billion in digital services—more than any other country—alongside $2.07 trillion in goods. America has managed to dominate both worlds at the same time.

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Biggest Surprises From Smaller Countries

Ireland exported $425 billion in digital services, far exceeding its $283 billion in goods exports. In other words, Ireland now earns more from digital trade than from physical products.

India is also emerging as a digital heavyweight. The country exported $276 billion in digital services against $443 billion in goods, meaning digital exports are already worth more than half of its physical exports.

Meanwhile, Germany, despite being the world’s third-largest goods exporter at $1.68 trillion, exported just $280 billion in digital services. Japan and South Korea show similar patterns, relying much more heavily on manufacturing than on digital trade.

Mexico represents the starkest imbalance in the dataset. It exported $617 billion in goods but only $2 billion in digital services, highlighting how some economies remain deeply tied to physical production.

ELI5

Imagine countries make money in two ways: by selling physical things like cars and phones, or by selling digital things like software, banking services and online tools. Britain now earns almost the same amount from both. 

China, however, still makes most of its money from factories. The data shows that the future of trade may depend not only on who makes products, but also on who owns the ideas and technology behind them.

Sources:

World Trade Organization | China’s Global Output | Top Manufacturing Countries