You’re reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
India is poised to become a major force in global trade over the next five years, contributing 6 per cent to worldwide trade growth, according to a joint report by DHL and the New York University Stern School of Business. The DHL Trade Atlas 2025 places India just behind China (12 per cent) and the United States (10 per cent) in driving global trade expansion.
The report predicts that India will maintain its third-place ranking in terms of trade scale and will advance 15 places to reach the 17th position in trade speed. India’s compound annual trade volume growth rate is expected to rise from 5.2 per cent to 7.2 per cent, underscoring the nation’s increasing significance in global commerce.
In 2024, India ranked as the 13th largest trading nation globally, yet it outpaced global trade growth with a 5.2 per cent compound annual rate between 2019 and 2024, compared to the worldwide average of just 2 per cent. The country’s expanding role in global trade is reinforced by substantial foreign direct investment (FDI), particularly in manufacturing. In 2023, India ranked second worldwide—only behind the U.S.—as a destination for announced greenfield FDI, with manufacturing emerging as the primary sector benefiting from this influx of capital.
India’s trade intensity has also been a focal point of analysis. While China is often perceived as a more trade-driven economy, the report highlights that India’s goods trade-to-GDP ratio in 2023 was nearly on par with China’s. When factoring in both goods and services, India’s trade intensity even exceeded that of its larger neighbor.
Other emerging Asian economies, including Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, are expected to experience strong trade growth alongside India.
