How Much Does Israel Export and Import? NIS 193.8 Billion Out, NIS 291.4 Billion In
Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics recorded NIS 193.8 billion in gross goods exports and NIS 291.4 billion in imports in 2021, with 2025 figures.
Israel exported NIS 170,718.0 million in goods and imported NIS 292,225.1 million in January to November 2025, on the trade figures the Central Bureau of Statistics published in media release 409/2025. For the last full calendar year in this record, the Central Bureau of Statistics recorded gross goods exports of NIS 193.8 billion and gross goods imports of NIS 291.4 billion in 2021, a gross goods trade deficit of NIS 97.6 billion. Every figure here is goods only, gross, and in shekels, which is how the Bureau publishes these series.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| NIS 193.8 billion | Goods exports, gross | Calendar 2021 |
| NIS 291.4 billion | Goods imports, gross | Calendar 2021 |
| NIS 97.6 billion | Gross goods trade deficit | Calendar 2021 |
| NIS 170,718.0 million | Goods exports, gross | January to November 2025 |
| NIS 292,225.1 million | Goods imports, gross | January to November 2025 |
| Minus NIS 121,507.1 million | Goods trade balance, gross | January to November 2025 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, media release 028/2022 for calendar 2021 and media release 409/2025 for January to November 2025. Goods only, gross, in shekels; the cumulative 2025 figures are printed in millions and the 2021 figures in billions.
Israel exported NIS 193.8 billion in goods in 2021
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded gross goods exports of NIS 193.8 billion in 2021, a rise of NIS 21.5 billion, which the Bureau puts at 12.5% against 2020. The total is gross rather than net, and covers goods rather than goods and services.
- Goods exports, gross, 2021: NIS 193.8 billion
- Rise against 2020: NIS 21.5 billion, stated by the Bureau as 12.5%
- Universe: goods, gross, shekels, calendar year
Goods imports reached NIS 291.4 billion, a NIS 97.6 billion deficit
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded gross goods imports of NIS 291.4 billion in 2021, a rise of NIS 53.5 billion, which the Bureau puts at 22.5% against 2020, and it printed the gross goods trade deficit for the year as NIS 97.6 billion. The same release reports that imports from European countries rose 12.7% in October to December 2021. The deficit is the gap between the two goods totals, in shekels, and is not a balance across trade in services.
The Bureau publishes no services figure in this goods release
Media release 028/2022 covers trade in goods, and every total in it is a goods total, gross, in shekels. The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes no services export figure, no software or research and development export figure, and no combined goods-and-services total in that release, and no such combined total appears in the other sources used on this page.
- In the release: gross goods exports, gross goods imports, the gross goods balance, and country movements
- Not in the release: services exports, services imports, or any goods-and-services total
- Consequence: a goods total and a total that includes services are different quantities and are not one series
Which countries does the Bureau name in the 2021 release?
The Central Bureau of Statistics names Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, El Salvador, Gabon, Morocco and the Congo as the countries accounting for the main rise in goods exports excluding diamonds in 2021 against 2020, and Zambia, Honduras, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Kenya and Armenia on the import side. These are rankings of year-on-year movement, not of size, so they are not a list of Israel’s largest trading partners.
| Side | Countries the Bureau names | What the list ranks |
|---|---|---|
| Exports | Ireland, United Arab Emirates, El Salvador, Gabon, Morocco, Congo | Main rise in goods exports excluding diamonds, 2021 against 2020 |
| Imports | Zambia, Honduras, Panama, United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Kenya, Armenia | Main rise in goods imports, 2021 against 2020 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, media release 028/2022.
On the United Arab Emirates, the Ministry of Economy and Industry’s Foreign Trade Administration published an assessment in October 2020 giving Emirati nominal gross domestic product of $405.8 billion in 2019 against $387 billion in Israel. Those figures are the Ministry’s own compilation of Emirati and international data rather than a Bureau series, and the document is an assessment of potential written one month after normalisation, not a record of trade that took place.
Gross totals include diamonds; the Bureau’s country rises exclude them
The NIS 193.8 billion and the NIS 291.4 billion are gross totals for 2021, while the country attribution for the main export rise is given by the Central Bureau of Statistics for goods exports excluding diamonds. The two rest on different universes, so the named countries are not shares of the gross export total.
| Figure | Universe | Period |
|---|---|---|
| NIS 193.8 billion | Goods exports, gross, diamonds included | Calendar 2021 |
| Export country list | Goods exports excluding diamonds | Rise, 2021 against 2020 |
| NIS 291.4 billion | Goods imports, gross | Calendar 2021 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, media release 028/2022.
Which figures here may not be added together?
The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes these totals gross and for goods, so a goods balance is not a trade balance. The 2021 figures cover twelve months and the 2025 figures cover eleven, January to November, so the two are not comparable as annual totals and must not be subtracted from one another. The cumulative 2025 figures are printed in millions of shekels and the 2021 figures in billions; the unit travels with the number. The country lists rank year-on-year movement and are stated by the Bureau for exports excluding diamonds, while the headline totals include them.
Questions readers ask
How much did Israel export in goods in 2021?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded gross goods exports of NIS 193.8 billion in 2021.
How much did Israel import in goods that year?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded gross goods imports of NIS 291.4 billion in 2021.
What was the trade deficit?
The Central Bureau of Statistics printed a gross goods trade deficit of NIS 97.6 billion for 2021, and a goods trade balance of minus NIS 121,507.1 million for January to November 2025.
Are these figures in dollars?
No. The Central Bureau of Statistics published these totals in shekels; the same office also publishes a dollar presentation, and figures from the two presentations are not mixed here.
Do the totals include services?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reports goods in these releases. No services figure and no goods-and-services total appears in them.
How fast did trade grow in 2021?
The Central Bureau of Statistics puts the export rise at 12.5% and the import rise at 22.5% against 2020, being NIS 21.5 billion and NIS 53.5 billion.
Which are Israel’s largest trading partners?
The Central Bureau of Statistics names, in media release 028/2022, the countries behind the main year-on-year rises rather than the largest partners by value, so that release does not answer the question as a ranking by size.
What are the most recent figures?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded exports of NIS 170,718.0 million and imports of NIS 292,225.1 million for January to November 2025 in media release 409/2025.
What did November 2025 alone look like?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported exports of NIS 16.1 billion and imports of NIS 26.5 billion in November 2025, a deficit of NIS 10.4 billion.
How is trade split by region in 2025?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported January to November 2025 exports of NIS 57,206.0 million to Europe, NIS 37,349.3 million to Asia, NIS 54,057.4 million to America and NIS 22,105.3 million to other destinations, and those four sum to the printed total.
Does America run a surplus or a deficit with Israel on goods?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded exports to America of NIS 54,057.4 million against imports of NIS 35,673.5 million in January to November 2025, the only one of its four regions where exports exceed imports.
Does this include natural gas exports?
These are goods totals in shekels. Separately, the Knesset Research and Information Centre reported that about 9.2 BCM of natural gas went to export in 2022, a volume figure in a different unit and period, and Israel’s natural gas export volumes are not additive to these shekel totals.
Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2022. Israel’s Foreign Trade in Goods by Country, 2021. Media release 028/2022. cbs.gov.il. Official statistics.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2025. Israel’s Foreign Trade in Goods, by Country, November 2025. Media release 409/2025. cbs.gov.il. Official statistics.
- Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2023. Analysis of Natural Gas Production Potential, Domestic Demand Forecast and Export Options to 2045. fs.knesset.gov.il. Official record.
- Ministry of Economy and Industry, Foreign Trade Administration, 2020. The Economic Potential with the United Arab Emirates. Official record.
