Export share of iron ore worldwide 2023, by leading country

Australia was by far the country exporting the largest amount of iron ore worldwide in 2023. Some 56.4 percent of global iron ore exports came from Australia, worth 91 billion U.S. dollars that year. Australia is able to export the most iron ore worldwide due to the fact that it also has the world's largest reserves of iron ore.

What is iron ore?

Iron ores are rocks from which metallic iron can be extracted for profit. The ores usually have a lot of iron oxides and come in multiple colors. However, they appear dark grey or rusty grey and come in different chemical compounds. These compounds include hematite, magnetite, siderite, limonite, or goethite. One of the main uses of iron is to produce steel.

Global iron ore trade

Australia is consistently the leading iron ore exporting country in the world. On the other hand, China is the world’s largest importer of iron ore, accounting for a 70 percent share of the total global iron ore imports based on value in 2021.