M. Garside
Research Lead covering energy, environment, chemicals & resources
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This statistic shows the consumption of chemical products worldwide in 2018, distributed by region. In that year, the consumption of chemical products was worth some 673 billion euros in Europe. Of that amount, products worth more than 528 billion euros were consumed in the European Union.
Global consumption of chemicals
Chemical consumption worldwide in 2018 accounted for more than 3.45 trillion euros. Products worth more than two trillion euros of that amount were consumed in Asia, followed by Europe and North America (NAFTA), at 673 billion euros and 527 billion euros, respectively. Overall, regional chemical consumption is expected to grow most rapidly in Asia in the coming years, as Asia-Pacific is the only region that shows growth in demand for both chemicals and chemical products in a forecast for 2020.
Asia plays a sizable role in the global chemicals market, but China in particular is largely responsible for the recent increases in Asia’s growing exports and consumption of chemicals. In 2018, Chinese chemical consumption accounted for approximately 1.25 trillion euros. This value was more than twice as much as the consumption of chemicals in the United States, while Germany and Japan came in a distant third and fourth, respectively. Germany, the United States, and China held the leading positions as the countries with the largest share of global chemical exports that year.
The chemical industry worldwide has been on a steady growth track over the last decade, reporting revenues of more than four trillion U.S. dollars in 2018. The largest chemical companies in 2019 were mostly based in Germany and the United States. That year, Linde and BASF were the top chemical companies worldwide, with revenues of around 109 billion U.S. dollars and 67 billion U.S. dollars, respectively.
Global consumption of chemicals
Chemical consumption worldwide in 2018 accounted for more than 3.45 trillion euros. Products worth more than two trillion euros of that amount were consumed in Asia, followed by Europe and North America (NAFTA), at 673 billion euros and 527 billion euros, respectively. Overall, regional chemical consumption is expected to grow most rapidly in Asia in the coming years, as Asia-Pacific is the only region that shows growth in demand for both chemicals and chemical products in a forecast for 2020.
Asia plays a sizable role in the global chemicals market, but China in particular is largely responsible for the recent increases in Asia’s growing exports and consumption of chemicals. In 2018, Chinese chemical consumption accounted for approximately 1.25 trillion euros. This value was more than twice as much as the consumption of chemicals in the United States, while Germany and Japan came in a distant third and fourth, respectively. Germany, the United States, and China held the leading positions as the countries with the largest share of global chemical exports that year.
The chemical industry worldwide has been on a steady growth track over the last decade, reporting revenues of more than four trillion U.S. dollars in 2018. The largest chemical companies in 2019 were mostly based in Germany and the United States. That year, Linde and BASF were the top chemical companies worldwide, with revenues of around 109 billion U.S. dollars and 67 billion U.S. dollars, respectively.
