Manufacturing value added correlates with exports
Comparing Exports of goods and services (current US$) with Manufacturing, value added (constant 2015 US$) across 164 countries, 2015–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.93
- Holding size constant
- +0.85
- Countries compared
- 164
- Period
- 2015–2025
What might link these
The strong correlation between manufacturing value added and exports of goods and services might be due to the fact that countries with a strong manufacturing base tend to export more goods. However, a careful reader should be cautious about inferring causation, as other factors like trade agreements and global demand could play a role. A likely confounder is the level of economic development, which can influence both indicators.
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 manufacturing and exports, when in fact other economic factors may be driving the relationship.
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.