Comprehensive database with annual data covering GDP, population, employment, hours, labor quality, capital services, labor productivity, and Total Factor Productivity for 123 countries in the world.
JULY 2020
About the July 2020 release
For an overview of charts and tables, please see the Total Economy Database Summary Tables, available here.
This release includes updated and revised estimates of the complete dataset (including the growth accounting variables). See our change notes for the most important changes. Please create an account with The Conference Board for complimentary access to all data files.
Global Productivity Growth Remains Weak, Extending Slowing Trend
Global productivity growth in 2019 showed a 1.4 percent increase, roughly the same as 2018 but below the average of 1.8 (2011-2019) for the recent decade (Chart 1). Productivity growth has especially slowed in Europe and Japan over the previous two years, driven by slowing growth in output coupled with a strong labor market performance, whereas output growth in the US was fast enough to outpace employment growth. Overall, GDP growth in mature economies has become increasingly employment-driven, as employment growth accounted for two thirds of output growth in 2018 and 2019, as opposed to one third during the 2000-2017 period. Hence labor productivity has recently contributed only half as much to the growth of mature economies as previously (Chart 2). The productivity performance of emerging markets and developing economies has been more diverse, even though most economies have been showing a slowing trend as well. Productivity growth in China in 2019 improved growth in output bounced back from weakness in 2018 due to a severe credit supply crunch. (Note that The Conference Board relies on alternative GDP growth rates for China. A separate set based on official Chinese data is also available in The Conference Board Total Economy Database™.) In most other emerging markets, especially India, Russia and Turkey, output growth slowed down in 2019, driven by a global drop in industrial production which weighed on their productivity performance.
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CHART 1: Global labor productivity growth (% change) |
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Notes: Labor productivity growth is measured as growth in GDP per person employed; Aggregation based on shares in nominal PPP converted GDP. |
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CHART 2: Contribution of Growth of GDP per Person Employed and Employment to GDP growth, Major Regions, 2000-2019 |
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Notes: GDP growth (measured in log differences) is the sum of growth in employment and output per worker; Regional GDP and labor productivity growth rates are aggregated using shares in nominal PPP converted GDP, while Employment growth is derived as a residual; Growth rates for 2000-2007 and 2010-2017 are the averages of yearly growth rates. |
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