Monaco’s international trade was on a tear in 2024, soaring over €4 billion for the first time and posting a double-digit growth of 12.2%—a clear indicator of the Principality’s economic dynamism, even as much of Europe lags behind, reveals the IMSEE Statistics Office in its recently published Foreign Trade Observatory for 2024.
The increase is largely driven by a 14.6% surge in imports, far outpacing export growth of 7.3%. While exports hit a record €1.3 billion, imports ballooned to €2.8 billion, widening the trade deficit to €1.5 billion—up 22% from last year. Jewellery, fashion, and high-end industrial products remain Monaco’s main exports, with Italy, Germany and Switzerland its top clients. On the import side, vehicles and luxury consumer goods dominate, primarily sourced from Italy, the UK and Germany.
Despite the global economic jitters—sluggish EU trade, geopolitical instability, and monetary policy divergence—Monaco has bucked the trend. While the WTO has nudged its global trade growth forecast for 2024 up slightly to 2.7%, the eurozone is expected to see declines in both imports and exports. Yet Monaco, largely shielded from these declines thanks to its niche economic structure, has seen broad-based gains, particularly in trade with Asia (+19.5%) and the Americas (+27.1%), even as the EU’s share of Monaco’s trade dipped slightly.
Europe still accounts for the bulk of Monaco’s trade (about 75% by value), but its relative importance is waning. EU trade grew by 8.5%, compared to 16.5% with the rest of the world. Notably, export growth outside the EU surged (+21.2%), while intra-EU exports stagnated (+0.6%).
Export gains were driven by jewellery, perfumes, and fashion, as well as a sharp jump in creative and performing arts-related goods—particularly to the US. Meanwhile, automotive imports reached €277 million, making cars Monaco’s most imported item in 2024.
Still, the Principality’s increasing reliance on imports has pushed the trade coverage ratio down to 46.1%, reflecting a structural trade imbalance consistent with its post-industrial, service-based economy. Imports alone account for over a quarter of Monaco’s GDP, a figure that has nearly doubled over the past decade.
In terms of trading partners, Italy remains Monaco’s top customer and supplier, followed by Germany, the UK, and Spain. The US climbed into Monaco’s top six export markets this year, thanks to a 32.6 million euro boost in arts-related exports.
Despite these gains, Monaco posted trade surpluses with only two product categories: refined fuels and information/communication equipment. Unsurprisingly, the biggest deficits stemmed from imports of industrial goods, electronics, and transport equipment.
All data exclude trade with France due to the customs union and are based on figures from the French Customs Authority and Monaco’s statistical office, IMSEE. Though provisional, these numbers reinforce the image of Monaco as a resilient outlier in a cooling European trade climate.
