Share of plastic waste exports in Netherlands

Netherlands: Share of plastic waste exports was 17.4% in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
17.4%
Change on year
up 49.1%
World rank
2nd
of 162 countries
All-time high
17.4%
in 2024
All-time low
0.0%
in 2014
Years of data
21
1994–2024

Share of plastic waste exports in Netherlands, 1994–2024

0510151994200920241994: 10.3 %1995: 5.6 %1996: 5.7 %2001: 5.9 %2005: 3.8 %2007: 3.4 %2010: 2.4 %2011: 2.6 %2012: 2.9 %2013: 3.7 %2014: 0 %2015: 3.7 %2016: 4.3 %2017: 3.8 %2018: 4.9 %2019: 6.7 %2020: 8.8 %2021: 12.4 %2022: 16.1 %2023: 11.6 %2024: 17.4 %

Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, share of plastic waste exports in Netherlands stood at 17.4%. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.

That represents a change of up 49.1% on the previous year and up 160.6% over five years.

Over the whole period, share of plastic waste exports in Netherlands peaked at 17.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2014.

Netherlands ranks 2nd of 162 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 7.2% 5.6% 10.3% 3
2000s 4.4% 3.4% 5.9% 3
2010s 3.5% 0.0% 6.7% 10
2020s 13.3% 8.8% 17.4% 5

Countries ranked near Netherlands

  1. 1 Japan 21.3% compare
  2. 3 Belgium 11.3% compare
  3. 4 Poland 4.3% compare
  4. 5 Sweden 3.8% compare

See the full ranking of 162 places →

More environment data for Netherlands

All data for Netherlands →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of plastic waste exports in Netherlands?
Share of plastic waste exports in Netherlands was 17.4% in 2024, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Netherlands?
The highest recorded value was 17.4% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Netherlands?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2014.
How does Netherlands rank for share of plastic waste exports?
Netherlands ranks 2nd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
Where does this Netherlands data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of plastic waste exports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of plastic waste exports
Unit
%
Source
United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
162 places, 2,674 data points, 1988–2024
Last refreshed

The percentage of global plastic waste exports that a country accounts for.