Industry value added correlates with gross value added
Comparing Gross value added at basic prices (GVA) (current US$), per capita with Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$), per capita across 193 countries, 2018–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.94
- Holding size constant
- +0.92
- Countries compared
- 193
- Period
- 2018–2025
What might link these
The strong correlation between these two indicators might be due to the fact that industry value added is a component of gross value added, so a country with a strong industry sector is likely to have higher overall gross value added. A careful reader should be cautious about assuming causation and consider other factors that might influence this relationship, such as the size and diversity of the service sector. Education level could be a likely confounder.
Why this is not proof of anything
This is a correlation across countries, not an experiment. It cannot show that either indicator causes the other, and both may simply follow a third thing. This correlation could mislead by suggesting a direct causal link between industry value added and overall economic productivity, when in fact the relationship may be driven by other underlying factors.
The second figure above repeats the measurement with national population and income held constant. It is the more conservative number: a relationship that largely disappears there was mostly telling you that larger, richer countries have more of most things.
How this was measured
Both indicators were ranked across every country reporting each, and the two rankings compared — ranks rather than raw values, because a handful of very large countries can otherwise manufacture a relationship on their own. The calculation is arithmetic over figures already published on this site; the commentary above is drafted from the two indicator names and the resulting coefficients.