Analyst Grits overstates Belarus's global export ranking

Economist Georgy Grits claimed on ONT that Belarus ranks 14th globally in export-to-GDP ratio. Weekly Top Fake investigated how much the expert exaggerated the country's position.

A story about the importance of exports for the Belarusian economy was broadcast on January 19, 2025, on the ONT television channel. During one of the segments, economic analyst Georgy Grits commented on the country's achievements in this area:

"In terms of export-to-GDP ratio, we are ranked 14th in the world. That is a very high position. On average, we must sell 61% of the goods produced by our enterprises abroad."

According to the latest World Bank indicator data (for 2023), which determines exports of goods and services as a percentage of a country's GDP, Belarus ranks 37th globally, not 14th. Although we do have ineed a substantial export share — nearly 67%. However, many smaller EU countries, such as Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia, Malta surpass Belarus in this regard.

A high export-to-GDP ratio indicates that a country's economy heavily depends on foreign trade. Larger countries, like the USA, China or Russia typically have lower export-to-GDP ratios.

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Analyst Georgy Grits discussed the high share of Belarusian exports but was mistaken about the country's ranking in the global rating