Top 10 Economies Where Manufacturing is Most Important
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For the world’s top 50 economies, the services sector is the largest contributor to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
However, manufacturing still plays a significant role for many economies. Here we rank them by the contribution the sector makes to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Data is sourced from the World Bank, as of 2023.
Ranked: Top 10 Economies by Manufacturing Share of GDP
At the top of the list, manufacturing contributes more than 30% to Puerto Rico’s and Ireland’s economies.
RankCountryManufacturing
Value to GDPTop Export (2022)
1 Puerto Rico*46%Pharmaceuticals
2 Ireland34%Pharmaceuticals
3 Eswatini28%Scented Mixtures
4 China26%Broadcasting Equipment
5 Thailand25%Office Machine Parts
6 Haiti24%Apparel
7 South Korea24%Integrated circuits
8 Vietnam24%Broadcasting Equipment
9 Malaysia23%Integrated circuits
10 Belarus23%Fertilizers
N/A World15%N/A
*Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. Top export sourced from The Observatory of Economic Complexity.
As it happens, pharmaceuticals play a big role in both economies. Puerto Rico became a hub for American manufacturing after a (now-expired) incentive exempted U.S. businesses from paying federal taxes in U.S. territories.
In 2020, the territory accounted for almost one-fifth of the $66 billion in U.S. pharmaceuticals exports.
Meanwhile, Ireland has been home to pharmaceutical companies since the 1960s when they manufactured active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for further use in finished drugs. Now, Ireland is a key vaccine exporter.
Glancing at the inset map in graphic reveals that five of the top 10 countries are found in Asia. Known as the “world’s factory”, China is an obvious find on the list, as is electronics giant South Korea. But newer bases of Asian manufacturing have emerged in the 2010s: Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
For the world economy, manufacturing contributes 15%, a distant second behind the services sector, at 67%.
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Ireland’s top export is pharmaceuticals, but what does the rest of Europe look like? Check out the Top EU Exports by Country for a quick overview.
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