The global toy industry is highly competitive and innovative, and generates billions upon billions of U.S. dollars every single year. The Lego Group, the Danish company known for its instantly recognizable interlocking plastic bricks, made nearly eight and a half billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2021. In other words, the Lego Group is the leading toy company in the world. With sales figures reaching almost 7.3 billion U.S. dollars that year, Tokyo-based Bandai Namco stood in second place amongst the major toy companies. Hasbro, Mattel, and Jakks Pacific are among the leading toy manufacturers in the United States and worldwide.

Toy market in the United States

Three out of the five major players in the global toy industry are American companies. Led in particular by the United States, North America is one of the most profitable and important regional markets for these companies. In 2021, the toy industry's annual total economic impact in the U.S. was more than 100 billion U.S. dollars, while just over 572,000 jobs related to the American toy industry were generated.

Toy trade

The U.S. is the leading importer in the global toy industry by a wide margin. In 2021, the country imported toys, dolls, and sports requisites with a value of about 52 billion U.S. dollars, the highest figure since 2011 and a significant increase compared to just the previous year. China accounted for nearly 80 percent of all imports of toys, games and sport requisites to the United States. In general, China is unequivocally the leading exporter of toys in the world. In comparison, the U.S. exports toys with a customs value of about 6.77 billion U.S. dollars, of which goods worth approximately 2.72 billion U.S. dollars were exported to Canada, the most important export market for the U.S.

Toy industry in the UK

In 2022, toy and game revenue in the United Kingdom reached an estimated total of more than five billion British pounds. While not comparable to the figures generated by the United States and China, the UK is one of the dominant forces on the European toy market. The country’s toy and game revenue is set to grow, reaching a projected figure of over five and a half billion British pounds by 2027. As of 2020, the UK was home to more than 680 toy and game manufacturing enterprises and over 1,100 specialized retail stores. This text provides general information. Assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct.