Germany vs Netherlands: Share of global plastic waste imports
Germany
10.8%
in 2024
Netherlands
13.8%
in 2024
Germany rank
3rd
Netherlands rank
2nd
Share of global plastic waste imports over time
- Germany
- Netherlands
How they compare
Netherlands currently reports 13.8% against 10.8% in Germany, a difference of 3.0%.
That makes Netherlands's figure about 1.3 times Germany's.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 33 shared years of data; in 1992 it was Netherlands ahead.
Germany ranks 3rd and Netherlands ranks 2nd of 183 countries.
Netherlands has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Netherlands | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.3% | 6.6% | 4.3% | Netherlands |
| 2000s | 1.8% | 1.9% | 0.1% | Netherlands |
| 2010s | 3.9% | 4.1% | 0.2% | Netherlands |
| 2020s | 5.9% | 14.8% | 8.9% | Netherlands |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of global plastic waste imports, Germany or Netherlands?
- Netherlands, at 13.8% against 10.8% in Germany as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of global plastic waste imports between Germany and Netherlands?
- 3.0%, with Netherlands ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Netherlands?
- 33 years are reported by both, from 1992 to 2024.
- How do Germany and Netherlands rank globally for share of global plastic waste imports?
- Germany ranks 3rd and Netherlands ranks 2nd of 183 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of global plastic waste imports. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The percentage of global plastic waste imports that a country accounts for.