India has the largest population in the world with a population of over 1.4 billion in 2022. In terms of size of the economy, the country is the fifth largest in the world. This year the GDP is project to cross $3.9 Trillion putting India behind Japan. From a trading partners perspective, the largest export destinations for Indian products and services are the US and the EU followed by the UAE. The UK accounts for just 2.2% of Indian exports based on 2022 data.

The following chart shows the export and import partners of India as of 2022:

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Source: The demographic wave: The tide is going out, Franklin Templeton Institute

China is the largest import partner of India followed by the EU, UAE and the US. The Middle Eastern countries of the UAE, Saudi Arabia are among the top import source countries for India due to oil and natural gas imports. Russia is becoming a major exporter of crude oil to India since it is selling oil at below market prices to India. According to Reuters, India imported 1.37 million barrels day (bpd) in 2023/24 which was up by 57% from the previous year.