Counterfeit & Pirated Goods Trade
International trade in counterfeit and pirated goods was worth an estimated USD 467 billion in 2021, equal to 2.3% of world imports. Clothing, footwear and leather goods dominate seizures, while China and Hong Kong account for nearly three-quarters of seized value. All figures come from the OECD and EUIPO joint report 'Mapping Global Trade in Fakes 2025'.
Key Counterfeit Trade Insights
Nearly half a trillion dollars
Trade in fakes reached USD 467 billion in 2021, up slightly from USD 464 billion in 2019, though its share of world imports eased from 2.5% to 2.3% as overall trade grew.
Europe is a prime target
Counterfeit imports into the European Union were valued at USD 117 billion in 2021 — about 4.7% of all EU imports, roughly double the global average share.
China and Hong Kong dominate origins
China accounted for around 47% and Hong Kong (China) for about 27% of the total value of seized counterfeits in 2020–21, with Türkiye and other economies making up the rest.
Hidden in small parcels
Shipments of fewer than ten items made up 79% of all seizures in 2020–21, up from 61% in 2017–19, as e-commerce and postal channels help fakes evade customs.
Value of Global Trade in Fakes Over Time
OECD estimates of the value of international trade in counterfeit and pirated goods, in USD billions, across successive study years.
Key Finding: The value peaked at USD 509 billion in 2016, dipped to USD 464 billion in 2019, and edged up to USD 467 billion in 2021.
Counterfeits as a Share of World Imports
Trade in fakes expressed as a percentage of total world imports for each OECD study year.
Key Finding: The share fell from a high of 3.3% in 2016 to 2.3% in 2021, even as the absolute value kept rising.
Where Seized Counterfeits Come From
Provenance economies as a share of the total value of counterfeit goods seized worldwide in 2020–21.
Key Finding: China (47%) and Hong Kong, China (27%) together account for about three-quarters of all seized value.
Most-Seized Product Categories
Leading product categories by share of counterfeit seizures (by volume), 2021. Clothing, footwear and leather goods together make up 62% of seizures.
Key Finding: Clothing (21.6%) and footwear (21.4%) are the two most-seized categories, with leather goods close behind.
Highest-Value Counterfeit Categories
Product categories by share of the total value of counterfeit goods seized in 2021, where high-priced items outweigh sheer volume.
Key Finding: Watches alone account for 23% of seized value and footwear 15%, reflecting the high unit value of fake luxury goods.
Understanding Counterfeit Trade Data
Built from customs seizure data
The estimates come from the joint OECD–EUIPO report Mapping Global Trade in Fakes 2025, published in May 2025 using 2021 data. Researchers combine hundreds of thousands of individual customs seizure records from authorities worldwide with global trade statistics, then use a statistical model to extrapolate from detected fakes to an estimate of total trade in counterfeit and pirated goods.
Counterfeit versus pirated goods
Counterfeit goods infringe trademarks — fake-branded clothing, footwear, watches, electronics or medicines. Pirated goods infringe copyright, such as unauthorised copies of media or software. The headline USD 467 billion figure covers tangible goods crossing borders; it excludes purely digital piracy and domestically produced-and-consumed fakes, which are counted separately.
Why the figures are a lower bound
Seizure-based estimates capture only goods that cross international borders and are detected by customs. They do not include counterfeits manufactured and sold within the same country, online services, or fakes that slip through undetected. As a result, the OECD treats USD 467 billion as a conservative lower-bound estimate of the true scale of the problem.
Caveats when reading the data
Shares by product category and origin reflect enforcement focus as much as underlying trade: a few large seizures can shift a category's value share in a single year. Origin reflects the last provenance economy a shipment passed through, not necessarily where goods were made, so transit hubs such as Hong Kong can be overstated. Year-to-year swings should be read as indicative rather than precise trends.