United States: Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, United States' manufacturing, value added (% of GDP) rose 0.05 percentage points on 2020 (from 10.47% to 10.53%).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2020), the average change was −0.24 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.3 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 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 0.21 percentage points in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.2 percentage points in 2001. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.15 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 91% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 10.2% for 2024. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2019 to 2021 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.37%, against 0.62% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to United States in the 2021 ranking

• Lebanon — 2nd of 3: 1.43%
• Sint Maarten (Dutch part) — 3rd of 3: 1.17%

What this measures

Manufacturing includes industries classified in ISIC (Rev. 3) major division C and is defined as the physical or chemical transformation of materials or components into new products. Value added is the contribution to the economy by a producer or an industry or an institutional sector, which is estimated by the total value of output produced and deducting the total value of intermediate consumption of goods and services used to produce that output. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: Ideally, industrial output should be measured through regular censuses and surveys of firms. But in most developing countries such surveys are infrequent, so earlier survey results must be extrapolated using an appropriate indicator. The choice of sampling unit, which may be the enterprise (where responses may be based on financial records) or the establishment (where production units may be recorded separately), also affects the quality of the data. Moreover, much industrial production is organized in unincorporated or owner-operated ventures that are not captured by surveys aimed at the formal sector.

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

All 25 values

Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Bermuda — 0.31% (2024)
• Canada — 9.32% (2022)

More economic policy & debt data for United States

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$1.39 trillion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$243.27 billion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$30.77 trillion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 30.77 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$23.22 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 25.15 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$90,027 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 90,027 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$67,946 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 73,574 (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 United States's manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)?

10.53% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1997?

It is down 5.56 percentage points from 16.09% in 1997. The highest value was 16.09% in 1997 and the lowest 10.47% in 2020.

Is the latest change in manufacturing, value added (% of GDP) unusual for United States?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NV.IND.MANF.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) 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.

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