North America: High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, North America's high-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) rose 2 percentage points on 2023 (from 20.79% to 22.79%).

Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2023), the average change was −0.35 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.21 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2 percentage points in 2024 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.59 percentage points in 2017. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 15% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

High-technology exports are products with high R&D intensity, such as in aerospace, computers, pharmaceuticals, scientific instruments, and electrical machinery.

Limitations: The indicator is based on data reported by countries to COMTRADE. The export values presented in the World Development Indicators represent Gross Exports less Re-Exports. The values may be impacted in cases of reporting errors or missing data, for example if countries do not report Re-Exports for one or more periods.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 18 values

High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) in nearby economies

• Algeria — 0.96% (2017)
• Bahrain — 0.39% (2023)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 3.81% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 0.81% (2022)
• Israel — 37.23% (2024)
• Jordan — 2.08% (2023)
• Kuwait — 10.2% (2024)
• Lebanon — 2.9% (2024)
• Malta — 45.18% (2024)
• Oman

More infrastructure data for North America

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 89 million (2025)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 23 (2025)
• ICT service exports (% of service exports, BoP) — 8.96% (2025)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 10.35 million (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 44,799 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 1.03 billion (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 434 million (2025)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 112 (2025)
• ICT service exports (BoP, current US$) — US$126.52 billion (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is North America's high-technology exports (% of manufactured exports)?

22.79% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2007?

It is down 3.6 percentage points from 26.38% in 2007. The highest value was 26.38% in 2007 and the lowest 17.93% in 2018.

Is the latest change in high-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) unusual for North America?

In 2024, North America's high-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) rose 2 percentage points on 2023 (from 20.79% to 22.79%). Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2023), the average change was −0.35 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.21 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TX.VAL.TECH.MF.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), uri: comtrade.un.org, publisher: UN Statistics Division; World Integrated Trade Solution system (WITS), World Bank (WB), uri: https://wits.worldbank.org/ Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.