dotlah! dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
Social Links
  • zedreviews.com
  • citi.io
  • aster.cloud
  • liwaiwai.com
  • guzz.co.uk
  • atinatin.com
0 Likes
0 Followers
0 Subscribers
dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
  • Business
  • Politics

Which Countries Have The Greatest Economic Complexity?

  • May 18, 2020
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0

These are the world’s most complex economies. But what does it mean to be ‘complex’? 

Here are the world’s most complex economies, according to the data from The Atlas of Economic Complexity.

The Atlas of Economic Complexity is a tool developed and maintained by Harvard’s Growth Lab to facilitate the exploration of the economic structure of countries around the world.

The metric for economic complexity used for the ranking is known as the Economic Complexity Index (ECI). A higher ECI score is indicative of higher economic complexity.

Highlights

As of 2017, Japan is the most economically-complex country, with an ECI score of 2.28, retaining its position since the rankings were created back in the 1990s. The country’s standout industries for export are car, electronics, and information and communications technology (ICT).

Europe owns seven of the top ten spots in economic complexity: Switzerland (2nd), Germany (4th), Czech Republic (6th), Austria (7th), Finland (8th), Sweden (9th), and Hungary (10th).

Meanwhile, apart from taking the top spot, Asia occupies the remaining places in the top ten with South Korea (3rd) and Singapore (5th).

On the flip side, Guinea is the least-complex country in terms of its economic structure, with an Index score of –1.68, ranking the country in 133rd place.

Africa takes eight of the bottom ten spots: Guinea (133rd), Angola (132nd), Burkina Faso (131st), Nigeria (130th), Congo (129th), Mauritania (126th), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (125th), and Ethiopia (124th).

Other countries positioned in the bottom ten in economic complexity are Azerbaijan (127th) and Papua New Guinea (128th).

For the full rankings, you can check the Atlas of Economic Complexity.

What is ‘economic complexity’?

For these rankings, the ECI was used as a measure for economic complexity. But what does ‘economic complexity’ mean to begin with?

The underlying concept used for the ECI is economist Adam Smith’s idea of division of labor discussed in his magnum opus, The Wealth of Nations. In essence, by dividing the economy into markets and organisations, knowledge that is held by the few will be distributed to the collective.

Economic complexity, therefore, refers to the complexity of the networks of people and organisations which facilitate interactions between individuals and catalyse the expansion of the collective knowledge base.

Following this idea, measuring economic complexity is difficult. ECI simplifies this problem by only looking at the country’s economic output.

ECI is a proxy metric of economic complexity which takes into account two factors: diversity and ubiquity of exports. Using the ECI definition, a country with high complexity with high diversity and low ubiquity.

If a country has high diversity, then that country has a lot of products that they can export. However, this is only possible if they have the necessary skill sets needed for the manufacturing of each of these products.

To acquire these skill sets, the working assumption under the ECI definition is that there is a need for an underlying complex economic structure to facilitate the exchange of knowledge.

Meanwhile, low ubiquity implies that only a few countries share the ability to export a product. If a country is connected to other countries through a non-ubiquitous product, this implies that the country possesses the skill set needed to produce the said product. Again, this implies an underlying complex economic structure if we follow the working assumptions of ECI.

What can nations do to increase their economic complexity? They can either explore combinations of existing capabilities or gain new capabilities, both of which will lead to the development of new products. This will mainly target the diversification of products available for export.

On the other hand, the identification of key sectors that are unique to the country to focus on will help lower the ubiquity of exports.

Total
0
Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Share
Related Topics
  • Economic Complexity
  • Economy
  • Exports
  • Products
majulah

Previous Article
  • Lah!

NEA Urges Collective Community Action As We Enter Traditional Peak Dengue Season

  • May 18, 2020
View Post
Next Article
  • Cities

Here’s How Industries Shape Cities And Economies

  • May 18, 2020
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Economy
  • Politics

New Trump tariffs: early modelling shows most economies lose – the US more than many

  • dotlah.com
  • August 6, 2025
View Post
  • Politics

PBBM asks Singapore to invest more in PH renewable energy projects

  • Dean Marc
  • June 6, 2025
View Post
  • People
  • Politics

Singapore PM Wong arrives in Malacañang

  • dotlah.com
  • June 4, 2025
View Post
  • Cities
  • Politics

Singapore businesses eye more investments in PH, says PM Wong

  • Dean Marc
  • June 4, 2025
View Post
  • Business

A Quick Guide For Understanding The Financial Industry

  • Dean Marc
  • September 3, 2024
dotlah-pm-lee-lawrence-wong-9656d4cd-1fa4-40ed-905d-e19e639b8476_728802dd
View Post
  • Lah!
  • People
  • Politics

End of Lee Era for Singapore as PM Steps Down

  • dotlah.com
  • May 16, 2024
View Post
  • People
  • Politics

‘A much bigger step forward’: Lawrence Wong on his journey to becoming Singapore’s fourth PM

  • dotlah.com
  • May 15, 2024
DPM Lawrence Wong will be Singapore's fourth prime minister on May 15. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
View Post
  • Lah!
  • People
  • Politics

7 things to know about Singapore’s next prime minister Lawrence Wong

  • dotlah.com
  • May 15, 2024


Trending
  • The G7 plan to donate a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries. Image: REUTERS 1
    • People
    • World Events
    Everything you need to know about the G7’s plan to donate 1 billion vaccine doses
    • June 15, 2021
  • 2
    • Cities
    • Technology
    KPMG Proposes Budget 2020 To Propel Singapore As Transformation Capital Of Asia
    • January 29, 2020
  • 3
    • Lah!
    NETS To Come On Board With SimplyGo From 16 November
    • November 8, 2019
  • 4
    • Features
    • People
    How The Global Novel Coronavirus Pandemic Is Reshaping Modern City Work Culture
    • April 29, 2020
  • 5
    • Lah!
    • Technology
    27,000 Students To Benefit From DBS-ITE Financial Literacy Programme Via Home-based Learning (HBL) Amid Covid-19
    • May 27, 2020
  • electric vehicle electric charge 6
    • Cities
    5 Great Transportation Methods For The Environment
    • December 5, 2020
  • 7
    • Technology
    NETS And Singtel Partner To Provide More Cross-Border Digital Payment Opportunities In Southeast Asia
    • August 25, 2020
  • japanese-zen-garden-jennifer-goolsby-d9hhl8JXySg-unsplash 8
    • Features
    • Op-Ed
    • Outsights
    • People
    Overcome Laziness With These 7 Japanese Productivity Hacks 
    • August 4, 2023
  • 9
    • Economy
    • People
    • World Events
    Global Poverty: Coronavirus Could Drive It Up For The First Time Since The 1990s
    • June 17, 2020
  • 10
    • Cities
    • People
    How Much Do U.S. Cities Spend On Policing?
    • June 17, 2020
  • car-street-london-1932153_1280 11
    • Cities
    Beginner Tips For City Driving
    • February 22, 2021
  • 12
    • Cities
    • Lah!
    Grab And Lazada Team Up To Provide On-Demand, Same-Day Delivery For Orders
    • November 3, 2021
Trending
  • 1
    Why climate summits fail – and three ways to save them
    • October 21, 2025
  • Bluetooth speakers 2
    Best Bluetooth Speakers Under $200 (2025 Edition)
    • October 16, 2025
  • 3
    Apple Vision Pro upgraded with the powerful M5 chip and comfortable Dual Knit Band
    • October 15, 2025
  • 4
    Apple unveils new 14‑inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip, delivering the next big leap in AI for the Mac
    • October 15, 2025
  • 5
    Apple introduces the powerful new iPad Pro with the M5 chip
    • October 15, 2025
  • 6
    Singapore’s national identity excludes those who don’t look like a ‘regular family’
    • October 9, 2025
  • Smart Watch 7
    Best Smartwatches, Your Gateway to Health Monitoring and Everyday Use
    • October 5, 2025
  • Cooking pots and pans 8
    Best Pots and Pans 2025: All-Season, All-Purpose Picks for Every Kitchen
    • September 23, 2025
  • 9
    Politicians love comparing NZ’s economy to Singapore or Ireland – but it’s simplistic and misleading
    • September 21, 2025
  • Kitchen Knives - Best All-Around Picks in 2025 10
    Kitchen Knives : The Surgeons of Cooking – Best All-Around Picks in 2025
    • September 15, 2025
Social Links
dotlah! dotlah!
  • Cities
  • Technology
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Science
  • About
Connecting Dots Across Asia's Tech and Urban Landscape

Input your search keywords and press Enter.