The world's largest oil importers have been revealed
According to the results of 2025, China ranked first in the world by importing 13.8 million barrels of oil and petroleum products per day. The United States and India were recorded in the subsequent positions. More than half of global oil imports were accounted for by the Asia-Pacific region.
The world's largest oil importers have been identified
According to a report by Naked Science, citing an infographic by Visual Capitalist, the ranking was compiled based on data from OPEC's 2026 Annual Statistical Bulletin. The calculations include crude oil, including gas condensate, as well as petroleum products.
The ranking shows gross import volumes without deducting exports. For this reason, countries like Singapore and the Netherlands, which process a portion of imported oil and sell it abroad again, also occupy high positions.
China's imports of oil and petroleum products in 2025 amounted to 13.8 million barrels per day. This is almost twice as much as the figure for the second-placed United States. China's crude oil imports alone reached a record 11.6 million barrels per day.
While the US is a major importer, it also exports large volumes of oil and petroleum products. In 2025, the country's exports of these products amounted to 10.7 million barrels per day.
Most American oil refineries were originally built to process heavy oil. Therefore, the US continues to buy oil from abroad. About 57 percent of American imports come from Canada. At the same time, lighter shale oil and surplus fuel volumes are directed for export.
Third place in the ranking was taken by India with imports of 6.2 million barrels per day. It is followed by South Korea with 3.8 million barrels and Japan with 3.3 million barrels.
Together, China, the US, India, South Korea, and Japan accounted for 46 percent of global oil imports.
Outside the top five, the figures for Singapore and the Netherlands are also high. They imported 2.8 million and 2.7 million barrels per day, respectively. Both countries are major oil refining and trading hubs, processing and re-exporting a significant portion of the imported oil.
In 2025, countries in the Asia-Pacific region imported 38.2 million barrels of oil and petroleum products per day. This is equivalent to 50.1 percent of the global figure.