The United States was the UK's largest export market in 2025, buying £202.7 billion of British goods and services, according to ONS data compiled in the government's trade statistics book. That represented 21.8% of total UK exports.
Germany was a distant second at £62.4 billion, followed by Ireland, the Netherlands and France. The gap shows why changes in US demand, tariffs or sterling-dollar conditions can matter disproportionately to British exporters.
Europe still supplies most of the depth
Although the US is the largest single market, European countries dominate the rest of the ranking. Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Spain and Sweden all sit inside the top ten.
For many companies this reflects proximity, integrated supply chains and the continued importance of European customers even after the UK's exit from the EU. Services exporters can have a different geographic mix from manufacturers, so the total ranking should not be applied mechanically to every industry.
Ireland and Spain posted strong growth
Ireland's UK imports rose 8.4% in 2025, while Spain's rose 7.6% and Sweden's 6.9%. Switzerland also grew strongly. Belgium was the main top-ten market to contract materially in the government's comparison.
Those changes are useful for sales planning because the fastest-growing market is not necessarily the largest. A company looking for incremental growth may care more about momentum and product fit than the absolute size of the destination.
Goods and services tell different stories
Goods accounted for 41.4% of total UK exports in 2025. Services therefore make up the larger share, which helps explain why the total export ranking differs from a simple customs-based goods table.
The United States leads both measures, but sectors such as finance, consulting, software and other professional services give the transatlantic relationship extra weight in the combined figures.