Global Value Chains (GVC's) WDR 2020

  

Introduction

Global value chains (GVCs) have transformed world trade, accounting today for nearly half of global trade flows and driving rapid growth and convergence across countries. Yet since the 2008 financial crisis, GVC expansion has slowed, and new challenges—technological shifts and rising geopolitical tensions—are reshaping global production.

This database builds on the work of the World Development Report 2020: Trading for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains . It provides harmonized indicators of GVC participation and trade in value added, developed by researchers from The World Bank and the Bank of Italy.

Data are drawn from major global input–output tables sources (OECD TiVA, ADB MRIO, EORA, WIOD) and cover more than 150 countries over several decades. Users can explore trends through interactive charts or download the entire database.

When using these data or referring to the underlying methodology, please cite: Borin, A., Mancini, M., & Taglioni, D. (2025). Economic consequences of trade and global value chain integration: A measurement perspective. The World Bank Economic Review, https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/lhaf017.

Additional indicators of GVC participation and trade in value added can also be computed from any user-provided input–output table using the Stata command icio. Position measures within GVCs are available here.

GVC Global Indicators

Understanding the Data

The database integrates multiple global input–output tables sources:

SourceCoverageCode
EORA261990–2015eora
WIOD 2013 release1995–2011wiodo
WIOD 2016 release2000–2014wiodn
WIOD Long Run1965–2000wiodlr
OECD TiVA1995–2022tiva
ADB MRIO 20252000; 2007–2024adb

Two main data concepts are used:

  • GVC Trade – indicators related to international trade.
    Unit of observation: exporting and importing country, sector, year, and source.
  • GVC Output – indicators related to gross output.
    Unit of observation: country, sector, year, and source.
All values are expressed in millions of U.S. dollars.

For a detailed description of the variables in the database, see Section S1 in the Supplementary Online Appendix of Borin, A., Mancini, M., & Taglioni, D. (2025). Economic consequences of trade and global value chain integration: A measurement perspective. The World Bank Economic Review, https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/lhaf017.