How Big is the Manufacturing Industry?

Research Highlights

Global manufacturing value added reached $16.8 trillion in 2024
Manufacturing represents 15% of global GDP
China leads with $4.7 trillion in manufacturing output (28% of global total)
The EU manufacturing sector employs 30 million people across 2.2 million enterprises

How much is the global manufacturing industry worth?

Global manufacturing value added reached $16.83 trillion in 2024.

Manufacturing value added represents the net output of the sector after subtracting intermediate inputs from gross output. This figure grew from $12.3 trillion in 2013 to $14.2 trillion in 2018, dipping briefly during the pandemic years 2019-2020, largely recovered by 2021 to $16.1 trillion and reached $16.83 trillion by 2024.

Global Manufacturing Value Added 2013-2024

Global Manufacturing Value Added by Year (World Bank)

Year	Value Added (trillions)
2013	12.264
2014	12.692
2015	12.308
2016	12.356
2017	13.201
2018	14.157
2019	13.984
2020	13.605
2021	16.079
2022	16.351
2023	16.635
2024	16.825

What percentage of global GDP is manufacturing?

Manufacturing represents 15% of global GDP in 2024, down from 19% in 1997.

Manufacturing represents 10% of the United States GDP in 2024, down from 16.1% in 1997.

While manufacturing's share of GDP has declined as services sectors grew faster, the absolute value increased from $13.7 trillion (2020) to $16.83 trillion (2024). The sector encompasses industries classified under ISIC divisions 15-37, including food products, textiles, chemicals, metals, machinery, electronics, and automotive.

Which country has the largest manufacturing industry?

China leads global manufacturing with $4.7 trillion in value added, representing 28% of worldwide output - more than the United States, Japan, and Germany combined.

Reference: World total 2024 = $16,825B (100%). Values in current USD. "Δ share" is change in percentage points since 2005.

Manufacturing industry value add by country/bloc: 2024 value and share, with 2005 baseline and change in global share (percentage points).

Rank (2024)	Country / 2005 baseline	2024 manufacturing value add	2024 world share	2005-2024 world share change Δ (pp)
—	World 2005: $7,761B (100.00%)	$16,825B	100.00%	0.00
1	China 2005: $734B (9.45%)	$4,661B	27.71%	+18.25
2	United States 2005: $1,693B (21.81%)	$2,913B	17.31%	−4.49
—	European Union 2005: $1,882B (24.25%)	$2,722B	16.18%	−8.07
3	Japan 2005: $1,035B (13.34%)	$867B	5.15%	−8.18
4	Germany 2005: $572B (7.37%)	$830B	4.93%	−2.44
5	India 2005: $131B (1.69%)	$490B	2.91%	+1.23
6	South Korea 2005: $241B (3.10%)	$416B	2.47%	−0.63
7	Mexico 2005: $166B (2.14%)	$364B	2.16%	+0.02
8	Italy 2005: $290B (3.73%)	$345B	2.05%	−1.68
9	France 2005: $266B (3.43%)	$298B	1.77%	−1.66
10	United Kingdom 2005: $267B (3.45%)	$292B	1.73%	−1.71
11	Russia 2005: $120B (1.54%)	$288B	1.71%	+0.17
12	Brazil 2005: $131B (1.69%)	$270B	1.60%	−0.09
13	Indonesia 2005: $78B (1.01%)	$265B	1.58%	+0.57
14	Turkiye 2005: $86B (1.10%)	$219B	1.30%	+0.20
15	Saudi Arabia 2005: $31B (0.40%)	$193B	1.15%	+0.75
16	Spain 2005: $156B (2.01%)	$184B	1.10%	−0.91
17	Switzerland 2005: $78B (1.01%)	$166B	0.98%	−0.02
18	Ireland 2005: $42B (0.53%)	$157B	0.93%	+0.40
19	Poland 2005: $50B (0.65%)	$141B	0.84%	+0.19
20	Netherlands 2005: $80B (1.03%)	$128B	0.76%	−0.27
21	Thailand 2005: $56B (0.72%)	$128B	0.76%	+0.04
22	Vietnam 2005: $11B (0.14%)	$116B	0.69%	+0.55
23	Bangladesh 2005: $10B (0.13%)	$99B	0.59%	+0.45
24	Australia 2005: $72B (0.93%)	$96B	0.57%	−0.35
25	Argentina 2005: $36B (0.47%)	$96B	0.57%	+0.10
26	Malaysia 2005: $40B (0.51%)	$95B	0.56%	+0.05
27	Singapore 2005: $35B (0.45%)	$89B	0.53%	+0.09
28	Sweden 2005: $66B (0.85%)	$84B	0.50%	−0.35
29	Austria 2005: $56B (0.72%)	$80B	0.48%	−0.25
30	Iran 2005: $34B (0.44%)	$79B	0.47%	+0.03
31	Philippines 2005: $26B (0.34%)	$72B	0.43%	+0.09
32	Denmark 2005: $32B (0.41%)	$72B	0.43%	+0.02
33	Belgium 2005: $61B (0.79%)	$71B	0.42%	−0.37
34	Czechia 2005: $31B (0.40%)	$69B	0.41%	+0.01
35	Israel 2005: $22B (0.28%)	$60B	0.36%	+0.08
36	United Arab Emirates 2005: $19B (0.25%)	$56B	0.33%	+0.08
37	Puerto Rico (US) 2005: $36B (0.46%)	$56B	0.33%	−0.13
38	Egypt 2005: $15B (0.19%)	$54B	0.32%	+0.13
39	South Africa 2005: $50B (0.65%)	$51B	0.30%	−0.34
40	Pakistan 2005: $17B (0.22%)	$49B	0.29%	+0.07
41	Romania 2005: $21B (0.27%)	$44B	0.26%	−0.01
42	Colombia 2005: $23B (0.30%)	$42B	0.25%	−0.05
43	Finland 2005: $43B (0.56%)	$42B	0.25%	−0.31
44	Portugal 2005: $25B (0.32%)	$36B	0.21%	−0.11
45	Peru 2005: $13B (0.16%)	$36B	0.21%	+0.05
46	Hungary 2005: $22B (0.28%)	$35B	0.21%	−0.07
47	Kazakhstan 2005: $7B (0.09%)	$34B	0.20%	+0.12
48	Norway 2005: $26B (0.33%)	$30B	0.18%	−0.15
49	Chile 2005: $16B (0.20%)	$30B	0.18%	−0.03
50	Nigeria 2005: $18B (0.23%)	$25B	0.15%	−0.08
51	Slovak Republic 2005: $13B (0.16%)	$23B	0.14%	−0.03
52	Algeria 2005: $9B (0.11%)	$23B	0.14%	+0.03
53	Greece 2005: $23B (0.30%)	$22B	0.13%	−0.16
54	Morocco 2005: $11B (0.14%)	$22B	0.13%	−0.01
55	Qatar 2005: $9B (0.11%)	$18B	0.11%	−0.01
56	Sri Lanka 2005: $5B (0.06%)	$17B	0.10%	+0.04
57	Ecuador 2005: $6B (0.08%)	$16B	0.10%	+0.02
58	Ukraine 2005: $17B (0.21%)	$16B	0.10%	−0.12
59	Dominican Republic 2005: $7B (0.08%)	$15B	0.09%	+0.01
60	Belarus 2005: $8B (0.10%)	$15B	0.09%	−0.01
61	Guatemala 2005: $5B (0.07%)	$15B	0.09%	+0.03
62	Slovenia 2005: $7B (0.10%)	$14B	0.08%	−0.01
63	Cambodia 2005: $1B (0.02%)	$13B	0.08%	+0.06
64	Kuwait 2005: $6B (0.08%)	$13B	0.08%	0.00
65	Congo, Dem. Rep. 2005: $2B (0.03%)	$13B	0.08%	+0.05
66	Costa Rica 2005: $3B (0.04%)	$12B	0.07%	+0.03
67	Lithuania 2005: $5B (0.06%)	$12B	0.07%	+0.01
68	Cote d'Ivoire 2005: $2B (0.03%)	$11B	0.07%	+0.03
69	Serbia 2005: $6B (0.08%)	$11B	0.06%	−0.01
70	Oman 2005: $3B (0.04%)	$11B	0.06%	+0.03
71	Croatia 2005: $6B (0.08%)	$10B	0.06%	−0.02
72	Jordan 2005: $2B (0.02%)	$9B	0.06%	+0.03
73	Paraguay 2005: $2B (0.02%)	$8B	0.05%	+0.03
74	Kenya 2005: $2B (0.03%)	$8B	0.05%	+0.02
75	Uruguay 2005: $3B (0.03%)	$8B	0.05%	+0.01
76	Tunisia 2005: $5B (0.07%)	$7B	0.04%	−0.02
77	Cameroon 2005: $3B (0.04%)	$7B	0.04%	0.00
78	Angola 2005: $1B (0.02%)	$7B	0.04%	+0.02
79	Haiti 2005: $1B (0.01%)	$7B	0.04%	+0.02
80	Tanzania 2005: $2B (0.02%)	$6B	0.04%	+0.02
81	Honduras 2005: $2B (0.02%)	$6B	0.03%	+0.01
82	Estonia 2005: $2B (0.03%)	$5B	0.03%	0.00
83	Bolivia 2005: $1B (0.01%)	$5B	0.03%	+0.01
84	Senegal 2005: $2B (0.03%)	$5B	0.03%	0.00
85	Latvia 2005: $2B (0.02%)	$4B	0.03%	0.00
86	El Salvador 2005: $2B (0.03%)	$4B	0.03%	−0.01
87	Panama 2005: $1B (0.02%)	$4B	0.02%	+0.01
88	Gabon 2005: $1B (0.02%)	$4B	0.02%	+0.01
89	Hong Kong 2005: $5B (0.07%)	$4B	0.02%	−0.04
90	Bosnia and Herzegovina 2005: $1B (0.01%)	$3B	0.02%	+0.01
91	Luxembourg 2005: $3B (0.04%)	$3B	0.02%	−0.02
92	Iceland 2005: $1B (0.02%)	$3B	0.02%	0.00
93	Benin 2005: $1B (0.01%)	$2B	0.01%	0.00
94	Mauritius 2005: $1B (0.01%)	$2B	0.01%	0.00
95	Mozambique 2005: $1B (0.02%)	$2B	0.01%	−0.01
96	Cyprus 2005: $1B (0.02%)	$2B	0.01%	−0.01
97	Eswatini 2005: $1B (0.01%)	$1B	0.01%	−0.01
98	Afghanistan 2005: $1B (0.01%)	$1B	0.01%	0.00

The top 10 countries account for over 68% of global manufacturing value added. Just China and the US account for 45% of global manufacturing value added.

How big is EU manufacturing?

The EU-27 manufacturing sector generated €5.86 trillion ($6.4 trillion) in production value in 2024, with 2.2 million enterprises employing 30 million people.

The EU-27 manufacturing sector's value added was €2.42 trillion in 2022, representing 24.1% of EU business economy value added. Output declined 1.9% year-over-year in 2024.

EU Manufacturing by Country

EU-27 manufacturing value added in 2024 (€ billion, current prices) and share of EU total. Dataset: ESTAT nama_10_a10__custom_18630666.

Country	2024 value added (€ billion)	% of EU
European Union	2581.08	—
Germany	779.50	30.2%
Italy	326.06	12.6%
France	279.33	10.8%
Spain	172.90	6.7%
Ireland	166.39	6.4%
Poland	136.41	5.3%
Netherlands	113.01	4.4%
Austria	74.77	2.9%
Sweden	72.57	2.8%
Belgium	70.94	2.7%
Denmark	70.07	2.7%
Czechia	63.78	2.5%
Romania	46.67	1.8%
Finland	39.28	1.5%
Portugal	34.04	1.3%
Hungary	32.56	1.3%
Greece	21.46	0.8%
Slovakia	21.26	0.8%
Bulgaria	13.09	0.5%
Slovenia	13.06	0.5%
Lithuania	10.73	0.4%
Croatia	9.00	0.3%
Estonia	4.32	0.2%
Latvia	4.01	0.2%
Luxembourg	3.42	0.1%
Cyprus	1.55	0.1%
Malta	1.33	0.1%

What are the largest manufacturing sectors?

EU Manufacturing Sectors (2024)

In the EU, food, beverages, and tobacco products is the largest sector with €1.08 trillion in production value (18% of total EU manufacturing) in 2024. Pharmaceuticals was the standout performer with 12.4% growth, rising from €234 billion to €263 billion, while electrical equipment saw the steepest decline at -8.7%. The EU's overall manufacturing production fell 1.9% in 2024, marking the second consecutive year of decline following a brief post-pandemic recovery in 2021-2022. Motor vehicles and transport equipment, the second-largest sector, dropped 6.4% to €874 billion amid ongoing challenges in the automotive industry.

Value of sold production in the EU by manufacturing sector (€ billions).

EU manufacturing sectors by value of sold production for 2023 and 2024 with year-over-year growth rates.

EU manufacturing sector	2023	2024	Growth
EU27 Total	€5,975B	€5,860B	−1.9%
Food, beverages and tobacco	€1,061B	€1,081B	+1.9%
Motor vehicles and other transport equipment	€934B	€874B	−6.4%
Basic metals and fabricated metal products	€814B	€779B	−4.3%
Machinery and equipment n.e.c.	€600B	€572B	−4.7%
Rubber, plastic and other non-metallic mineral products	€471B	€465B	−1.3%
Chemicals	€456B	€462B	+1.3%
Other manufacturing, repair & installation	€387B	€386B	−0.3%
Wood & paper products, printing	€337B	€326B	−3.3%
Electrical equipment	€299B	€273B	−8.7%
Pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemical & botanical products	€234B	€263B	+12.4%

US Manufacturing Sectors (2025)

In the US, chemical products is the largest manufacturing sector with $579 billion in value added (20% of total US manufacturing) in Q2 2025, growing 5.0% year-over-year. Computer and electronic products posted the strongest growth at 6.2%, reaching $317 billion, while petroleum and coal products saw a dramatic 27.2% collapse to $149 billion. Overall US manufacturing declined 0.9% to $2.86 trillion, with traditional industrial sectors like machinery (-4.5%), primary metals (-4.8%), and motor vehicles (-3.0%) all contracting. Food and beverage, the second-largest sector at $353 billion, edged down 1.0% as consumers faced elevated prices.

Value added by manufacturing sector in the US ($ billions, annualized). last 4 quarters Q2 2024 vs last 4 quarters Q2 2025.

US manufacturing sectors by value added for L4Q Q2 2024 and L4Q Q2 2025 with year-over-year change.

US manufacturing sector	2024 Value added	2025 value added	Change
Manufacturing Total	$2,885B	$2,860B	−0.9%
Chemical products	$552B	$579B	+5.0%
Food and beverage and tobacco products	$357B	$353B	−1.0%
Computer and electronic products	$299B	$317B	+6.2%
Other transportation equipment	$197B	$207B	+5.0%
Machinery	$213B	$203B	−4.5%
Fabricated metal products	$189B	$186B	−1.2%
Motor vehicles, bodies and trailers, and parts	$188B	$182B	−3.0%
Petroleum and coal products	$204B	$149B	−27.2%
Miscellaneous manufacturing	$112B	$116B	+3.3%
Plastics and rubber products	$103B	$100B	−3.2%
Electrical equipment, appliances, and components	$80B	$82B	+3.0%
Nonmetallic mineral products	$77B	$76B	−1.6%
Paper products	$75B	$74B	−2.0%
Primary metals	$77B	$73B	−4.8%
Wood products	$59B	$58B	−1.7%
Printing and related support activities	$41B	$42B	+1.2%
Furniture and related products	$35B	$35B	−0.3%
Textile mills and textile product mills	$16B	$16B	+0.6%
Apparel and leather and allied products	$13B	$12B	−1.6%

How fast is the manufacturing sector growing?

Manufacturing production grew 1.3% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2025 globally, marking the strongest quarterly expansion since late 2022.

Year-over-year growth reached 4.0% in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024. Manufacturing exports grew 1.4% quarter-over-quarter.

Manufacturing Industry Quarterly Growth by Region (Q1 2025)

Top 10 manufacturing countries and their Q/Q growth rate in Q1 2025

Rank	Country	Q/Q Growth Q1 2025
1	China	1.9%
2	United States	1.2%
3	Japan	0.0%
4	Germany	1.8%
5	Republic of Korea	0.5%
6	India	0.9%
7	Italy	0.1%
8	United Kingdom	0.9%
9	Mexico	0.0%
10	France	0.2%

How does manufacturing intensity vary by country?

Puerto Rico has the highest manufacturing intensity in the world at 44.2% of GDP in 2024.

China has the highest manufacturing intensity among major economies at 24.9% of GDP in 2024.

Manufacturing value added % of GDP

Country	Manufacturing % of GDP
Puerto Rico	44.2%
Eswatini	29.4%
Cambodia	27.8%
Ireland	27.2%
Haiti	26.2%
Suriname	25.6%
China	24.9%
Equatorial Guinea	24.8%
Vietnam	24.4%
Thailand	24.3%
South Korea	24.3%
Myanmar	22.5%
Malaysia	22.5%
Bangladesh	21.9%
Japan	20.6%
Belarus	20.3%
Uzbekistan	20.2%
Bahrain	20.1%
Czechia	20.0%
Mexico	19.6%
Gabon	19.6%
Turkiye	19.6%
Iran, Islamic Rep.	19.4%
Slovenia	19.2%
Paraguay	19.0%
Indonesia	19.0%
Zimbabwe	18.6%
Congo, Dem. Rep.	18.0%
Central African Republic	18.0%
Germany	17.8%
Jordan	17.7%
Switzerland	17.7%
Sri Lanka	17.6%
Denmark	16.8%
Singapore	16.3%
Slovak Republic	16.3%
Hungary	15.8%
Philippines	15.7%
Saudi Arabia	15.6%
Poland	15.4%
Austria	15.4%
Uganda	15.2%
World	15.1%
Tunisia	15.1%
Argentina	15.1%
Honduras	14.9%
Tajikistan	14.6%
Italy	14.6%
Morocco	14.3%
Trinidad and Tobago	14.3%
Senegal	14.1%
Lithuania	14.0%
European Union	14.0%
Cameroon	13.9%
Egypt, Arab Rep.	13.9%
Finland	13.9%
Sweden	13.8%
Lesotho	13.7%
Guatemala	13.6%
Nigeria	13.5%
Nicaragua	13.5%
North Macedonia	13.5%
Cuba	13.3%
Serbia	13.3%
Russian Federation	13.3%
Pakistan	13.1%
Kosovo	13.1%
Costa Rica	13.0%
Cote d'Ivoire	12.9%
Ecuador	12.9%
Madagascar	12.8%
South Africa	12.8%
Togo	12.7%
Kyrgyz Republic	12.6%
India	12.5%
Dominican Republic	12.5%
Brazil	12.4%
Peru	12.3%
El Salvador	12.1%
Kazakhstan	12.0%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	11.6%
Portugal	11.5%
Romania	11.4%
Estonia	11.3%
Israel	11.1%
Mauritius	11.1%
Brunei	11.0%
United Arab Emirates	10.9%
Croatia	10.8%
Spain	10.7%
Belgium	10.7%
Namibia	10.6%
Armenia	10.5%
Netherlands	10.4%
Bolivia	10.2%
Benin	10.2%
Colombia	10.1%
Oman	10.1%
Ghana	10.1%
Burkina Faso	10.0%
North America	10.0%
United States	10.0%
Latvia	9.9%
Uruguay	9.7%
Malawi	9.5%
France	9.4%
Guinea-Bissau	9.4%
Algeria	9.3%
Zambia	9.3%
Lao PDR	9.1%
Chile	9.0%
Rwanda	8.9%
Fiji	8.9%
Greece	8.7%
Ukraine	8.4%
Angola	8.3%
Georgia	8.1%
Qatar	8.1%
Bhutan	8.1%
Sierra Leone	8.0%
United Kingdom	8.0%
Tanzania	8.0%
Kuwait	8.0%
Jamaica	7.8%
Moldova	7.7%
Iceland	7.6%
Faroe Islands	7.6%
Kenya	7.6%
Afghanistan	7.5%
Mali	7.4%
Mozambique	7.3%
Belize	6.3%
Norway	6.2%
Albania	6.2%
Malta	6.1%
Mauritania	6.0%
Mongolia	5.7%
Barbados	5.6%
Botswana	5.6%
Australia	5.5%
Samoa	5.3%
Azerbaijan	5.2%
Panama	4.9%
Cabo Verde	4.9%
Dominica	4.7%
Djibouti	4.7%
Tonga	4.5%
Ethiopia	4.4%
Nepal	4.4%
Cyprus	4.2%
Seychelles	4.2%
Iraq	4.1%
St. Kitts and Nevis	4.0%
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	3.8%
Grenada	3.6%
Luxembourg	3.4%
Andorra	3.4%
Montenegro	3.2%
St. Lucia	2.9%
Greenland	2.7%
Curacao	2.7%
Antigua and Barbuda	2.6%
Marshall Islands	2.4%
Guyana	2.3%
Timor-Leste	1.6%
Papua New Guinea	1.6%
Maldives	1.6%
Gambia	1.5%
Palau	1.1%
Hong Kong SAR, China	1.0%
Channel Islands	0.8%
Macao SAR, China	0.8%
Bahamas, The	0.6%
Micronesia, Fed. Sts.	0.5%
Turks and Caicos Islands	0.5%
Bermuda	0.3%