Natural Gas Imports by Country

Natural gas imports by country measures how much dry natural gas is imported in each country, measured in billion cubic feet (Bcf) per year. The figures refer to dry natural gas imports, in line with the underlying sources; production, consumption and exports are reported separately. The statistics are based on the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) International Energy Statistics. The table covers 90 countries with a reported 2024 import value, from 2019 to 2024. The World total stood at 44,298 billion cubic feet in 2024, up from 43,583 in 2023.

Dry natural gas imports measure the quantity of dry natural gas imported across international borders, as reported in the EIA dataset.

Natural Gas Imports by Country

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#	Country	2024 (billion cubic feet)
1	China CN	6,307
2	United States US	3,145
3	Japan JP	3,107
4	Germany DE	2,622
5	Mexico MX	2,365
6	South Korea KR	2,228
7	Netherlands NL	2,174
8	Italy IT	2,111
9	Türkiye TR	1844
10	France FR	1489
11	United Kingdom GB	1470
12	India IN	1289
13	Spain ES	1065
14	Taiwan TW	1022
15	Canada CA	1012
16	United Arab Emirates AE	771
17	Belgium BE	680
18	Thailand TH	666
19	Greece GR	597
20	Poland PL	565
21	Belarus BY	527
22	Egypt EG	504
23	Singapore SG	498
24	Pakistan PK	365
25	Kuwait KW	332
26	Denmark DK	297
27	Brazil BR	292
28	Iraq IQ	282
29	Uzbekistan UZ	272
30	Bangladesh BD	244
31	Czech Republic CZ	202
32	Chile CL	196
33	Hong Kong HK	196
34	Hungary HU	194
35	Malaysia MY	191
36	Austria AT	189
37	Jordan JO	163
38	Kazakhstan KZ	157
39	Tunisia TN	146
40	Slovakia SK	145
41	Ireland IE	142
42	South Africa ZA	136
43	Portugal PT	125
44	Russia RU	118
45	Georgia GE	114
46	Switzerland CH	104
47	Argentina AR	104
48	Lithuania LT	100
49	Bulgaria BG	95
50	Armenia AM	94
51	Dominican Republic DO	93
52	Croatia HR	90
53	Puerto Rico PR	89
54	Romania RO	85
55	Serbia RS	84
56	Colombia CO	81
57	Finland FI	77
58	Moldova MD	77
59	Ukraine UA	63
60	Philippines PH	57
61	Oman OM	43
62	Sweden SE	34
63	Morocco MA	31
64	Indonesia ID	31
65	Slovenia SI	31
66	Latvia LV	30
67	Ghana GH	28
68	Jamaica JM	26
69	Estonia EE	23
70	Luxembourg LU	21
71	Panama PA	20
72	Kyrgyzstan KG	19
73	Azerbaijan AZ	19
74	El Salvador SV	16
75	Malta MT	15
76	Vietnam VN	14
77	North Macedonia MK	12
78	Bosnia and Herzegovina BA	7
79	Macau MO	6
80	Benin BJ	5
81	Togo TG	5
82	Tajikistan TJ	3
83	Uruguay UY	3
84	Norway NO	3
85	Gibraltar GI	2
86	Barbados BB	1
87	Bahamas BS	0
88	Haiti HT	0
89	Guyana GY	0
90	Ecuador EC	0

China alone accounted for about 14 percent of the World total in 2024, and China and the United States together for about 21 percent; the top three countries accounted for about 28 percent, the top five for about 40 percent, and the top ten for about 62 percent. China's imports were about 2.0 times those of the United States, the second-largest importer.

Countries With the Largest Natural Gas Imports in 2024

China imported the most natural gas in 2024 with 6,307 billion cubic feet. The United States ranked second with 3,145, followed by Japan (3,107), Germany (2,622), Mexico (2,365), South Korea (2,228), the Netherlands (2,174), Italy (2,111), Türkiye (1,844), and France (1,489).

Natural Gas Imports Around the World

In Asia, China (6,307) leads by a wide margin, ahead of Japan (3,107), South Korea (2,228) and Türkiye (1,844); India and Thailand import smaller volumes. In Europe, Germany (2,622) is the largest importer, ahead of the Netherlands (2,174), Italy (2,111), France (1,489) and the United Kingdom.

In North America, the United States (3,145) leads, ahead of Mexico (2,365) and Canada (1,012). In South America, Brazil and Argentina import smaller volumes. In the Middle East, importers are generally small. In Africa, import volumes are also small compared with production.

Comparison of Natural Gas Imports and Consumption

From the same EIA dataset, China consumed 15,005 billion cubic feet and imported 6,307 in 2024, the United States consumed 33,083 and imported 3,145, and Japan consumed 3,151 and imported 3,107. The comparison is limited to the two indicators taken directly from the same EIA tables.

Global Structure in This Dataset

Import figures are concentrated among the largest importers: the top five importers account for about 40 percent of World imports in 2024, while the top ten account for about 62 percent. The structure was stable between 2019 and 2024, with China remaining the largest importer in every year shown, while the United States and Japan switched places for second place in 2024.

Largest Changes in Natural Gas Imports, 2023-2024

China recorded the largest increase among the listed countries, rising from 5,623 billion cubic feet in 2023 to 6,307 in 2024 (up 684, about 12 percent). India rose by 253, the United States by 217, and Egypt by 201.

The Netherlands recorded the largest decline, falling from 2,374 to 2,174 billion cubic feet (down 200, about 8 percent). Germany fell from 2,648 to 2,622 (down 26, about 1 percent), while Japan declined by 3. The World total rose from 43,583 to 44,298 billion cubic feet (up 715, about 1.6 percent).

China's rise reversed its decline from 5,836 to 4,982 between 2021 and 2022 and returned it to growth from 2022 onward. Germany's imports declined from 3,347 billion cubic feet in 2019 to 2,622 in 2024, although the series included increases in 2021 and 2022.

Total and Ratio Analysis for 2019-2024

The World total for imports moved between 42,248 and 45,540 billion cubic feet in this period. It fell from 43,831 in 2019 to 42,248 in 2020, rebounded to 45,540 in 2021, eased to 44,988 in 2022, declined to 43,583 in 2023, and then rose to 44,298 in 2024. China accounted for the largest share of the increase from 2023 to 2024, rising by 684 billion cubic feet.

Natural Gas Imports by Country

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#	Country	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
1	China	4,659	4,961	5,836	4,982	5,623	6,307
2	United States	2,742	2,551	2,808	3,024	2,928	3,145
3	Japan	3,723	3,581	3,499	3,387	3,110	3,107
4	Germany	3,347	2,935	3,074	3,107	2,648	2,622
5	Mexico	2,103	2081	2,187	2099	2,280	2,365
6	South Korea	1954	1922	2,209	2,231	2,122	2,228
7	Netherlands	2,213	2,228	2041	2,319	2,374	2,174
8	Italy	2,509	2,356	2,590	2,575	2,195	2,111
9	Türkiye	1594	1704	2078	1935	1783	1844
10	France	1925	1625	1626	1985	1654	1489
11	United Kingdom	1625	1550	1813	1995	1597	1470
12	India	1044	1212	1132	946	1036	1289
13	Spain	1313	1147	1306	1402	1245	1065
14	Taiwan	777	844	934	964	960	1022
15	Canada	991	934	960	970	1037	1012
16	United Arab Emirates	688	702	702	683	692	771
17	Belgium	828	777	763	865	816	680
18	Thailand	515	531	562	604	699	666
19	Greece	184	208	471	563	553	597
20	Poland	602	587	626	539	563	565
21	Belarus	659	614	626	602	549	527
22	Egypt	0	120	145	230	303	504
23	Singapore	485	520	523	502	473	498
24	Pakistan	365	281	397	326	329	365
25	Kuwait	169	204	258	274	306	332
26	Denmark	40	94	89	96	304	297
27	Brazil	342	273	586	312	224	292
28	Iraq	258	364	273	333	310	282
29	Uzbekistan	0	0	21	76	209	272
30	Bangladesh	173	201	220	209	240	244
31	Czech Republic	337	268	308	304	240	202
32	Chile	166	163	182	204	202	196
33	Hong Kong	117	174	188	171	183	196
34	Hungary	412	280	264	329	290	194
35	Malaysia	141	139	54	157	134	191
36	Austria	400	228	168	430	251	189
37	Jordan	186	177	165	179	153	163
38	Kazakhstan	345	230	81	42	45	157
39	Tunisia	152	141	138	137	149	146
40	Slovakia	231	154	183	221	161	145
41	Ireland	101	122	130	136	132	142
42	South Africa	144	141	134	131	134	136
43	Portugal	211	205	199	201	150	125
44	Russia	678	454	527	218	160	118
45	Georgia	90	90	93	113	113	114
46	Switzerland	126	124	134	111	103	104
47	Argentina	242	257	292	219	185	104
48	Lithuania	93	100	101	125	116	100
49	Bulgaria	104	104	117	103	90	95
50	Armenia	88	90	96	97	94	94
51	Dominican Republic	58	59	83	91	81	93
52	Croatia	70	75	80	106	101	90
53	Puerto Rico	75	48	71	50	82	89
54	Romania	95	76	127	101	95	85
55	Serbia	74	65	78	99	89	84
56	Colombia	7	14	2	6	34	81
57	Finland	91	93	92	50	75	77
58	Moldova	99	99	109	83	60	77
59	Ukraine	383	294	270	53	88	63
60	Philippines	0	0	0	0	28	57
61	Oman	71	57	53	53	53	43
62	Sweden	41	46	45	28	33	34
63	Morocco	34	26	25	6	31	31
64	Indonesia	0	0	6	38	26	31
65	Slovenia	32	32	34	30	29	31
66	Latvia	48	38	42	29	28	30
67	Ghana	23	23	18	19	22	28
68	Jamaica	11	24	25	23	29	26
69	Estonia	17	30	31	31	22	23
70	Luxembourg	28	25	27	21	20	21
71	Panama	20	13	10	14	20	20
72	Kyrgyzstan	10	11	13	14	15	19
73	Azerbaijan	35	5	18	36	77	19
74	El Salvador	0	0	0	9	23	16
75	Malta	14	15	18	14	16	15
76	Vietnam	0	0	0	0	3	14
77	North Macedonia	10	12	15	10	13	12
78	Bosnia and Herzegovina	8	7	8	8	7	7
79	Macau	5	3	3	4	4	6
80	Benin	2	6	6	6	5	5
81	Togo	4	4	5	6	5	5
82	Tajikistan	2	2	2	1	0	3
83	Uruguay	3	2	3	3	3	3
84	Norway	1	1	6	2	4	3
85	Gibraltar	3	3	3	3	3	2
86	Barbados	0	0	0	0	0	1
87	Bahamas	0	0	0	0	0	0
88	Haiti	0	0	0	0	0	0
89	Guyana	0	0	0	0	0	0
90	Ecuador	0	0	0	0	0	0

Methodology

The statistics are based on the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) International Energy Statistics. Values refer to dry natural gas imports, in billion cubic feet per year as in the source, and 2024 figures are from the INTL.26-3 series where listed. Where no value is available, the cell is left empty. A value of 0 indicates that the source reports zero imports. The sum of individually listed countries does not equal the World total where shown, because the source includes estimates and rounding. This page covers imports only and does not include production, consumption, exports or reserves, which are reported separately in the source.