World merchandise trade networks by region, in 2001.



Source: http://www.economicswebinstitute.org



Units: Billion Dollars



The graph above is a directed graph containing loops. For instance, the trade from Western Europe to Western Europe has a value of 1676.9 billion dollars.


The following bar chart gives the balance between exports (blue) and imports (red, considered as negative values), for each region:



From Investopedia: "International trade not only results in increased efficiency but also allows countries to participate in a global economy, encouraging the opportunity of foreign direct investment (FDI), which is the amount of money that individuals invest into foreign companies and other assets. In theory, economies can therefore grow more efficiently and can more easily become competitive economic participants. For the receiving government, FDI is a means by which foreign currency and expertise can enter the country. These raise employment levels, and, theoretically, lead to a growth in the gross domestic product. For the investor, FDI offers company expansion and growth, which means higher revenues."