Data for 2016

Economic Complexity Index, 2016

Name: Economic Complexity Index, 2016
Creator: Growth Lab at Harvard University
License: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/XTAQMC

2016, as Growth Lab at Harvard University’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Economic Complexity Index, 2016 covers 145 countries. Japan is highest, at 2.100; Papua New Guinea is lowest, at -2.576. The middle country reads -0.066. Against 2015, 144 values changed (69 up, 75 down), the same countries are covered.

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Economic Complexity Index · Data for 2016

HighestJapan

2.100

LowestPapua New Guinea

-2.576

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the better end.

145countries
1measure
2016the year it describes
143distinct values3 decimals, as published
Sep 6, 2026read from the publisher
Public domain or CC0licence

01Growth Lab at Harvard University’s rank

The table

Every country and every column of Economic Complexity Index, 2016, as published. The rank is Growth Lab at Harvard University’s own, as printed. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 145 countries · select a heading to sort

Economic Complexity Index, 2016: every country, as published by Growth Lab at Harvard University.

1	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	2.100
2	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	1.839
3	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	1.787
4	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	1.749
5	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	1.603
6	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	1.592
7	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	1.502
8	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	1.464
9	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	1.444
10	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	1.439
11	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	1.367
12	United States`USA`Northern America	1.325
13	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	1.318
14	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	1.294
15	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	1.289
16	France`FRA`Western Europe	1.280
17	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	1.237
18	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	1.223
19	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	1.204
20	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	1.198
21	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	1.192
22	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	1.142
23	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	1.107
24	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	1.067
25	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	1.022
26	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	1.011
27	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	1.010
28	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	0.993
29	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	0.952
30	Canada`CAN`Northern America	0.943
31	Mexico`MEX`Central America	0.936
32	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	0.927
33	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	0.867
34	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	0.864
35	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	0.851
36	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	0.831
37	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	0.769
38	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	0.766
39	Panama`PAN`Central America	0.763
40	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	0.702
41	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	0.699
42	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	0.686
43	Brazil`BRA`South America	0.647
44	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	0.639
45	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	0.628
46	India`IND`Southern Asia	0.627
47	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	0.615
48	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	0.610
49	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	0.597
50	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	0.544
51	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	0.543
52	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	0.477
53	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	0.477
54	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	0.434
55	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	0.368
56	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	0.348
57	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	0.340
58	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	0.328
59	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	0.295
60	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	0.291
61	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	0.241
62	Colombia`COL`South America	0.228
63	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	0.227
64	Uruguay`URY`South America	0.217
65	Argentina`ARG`South America	0.179
66	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	0.097
67	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	0.068
68	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	0.009
69	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	-0.001
70	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	-0.039
71	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	-0.048
72	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	-0.058
73	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	-0.066
74	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	-0.077
75	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	-0.087
76	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	-0.106
77	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	-0.112
78	Chile`CHL`South America	-0.147
79	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	-0.165
80	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	-0.179
81	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	-0.181
82	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	-0.191
83	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	-0.238
84	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	-0.265
85	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	-0.314
86	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	-0.324
87	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	-0.356
88	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	-0.371
89	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	-0.402
90	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	-0.402
91	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	-0.410
92	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	-0.412
93	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	-0.428
94	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	-0.459
95	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	-0.488
96	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	-0.490
97	Honduras`HND`Central America	-0.538
98	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	-0.559
99	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	-0.580
100	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	-0.639
101	Niger`NER`Western Africa	-0.675
102	Peru`PER`South America	-0.707
103	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	-0.725
104	Venezuela`VEN`South America	-0.729
105	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	-0.775
106	Paraguay`PRY`South America	-0.780
107	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	-0.840
108	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	-0.912
109	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	-0.941
110	Ecuador`ECU`South America	-0.952
111	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	-0.968
112	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	-0.976
113	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	-1.006
114	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	-1.018
115	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	-1.025
116	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	-1.032
117	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	-1.046
118	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	-1.055
119	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	-1.065
120	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	-1.127
121	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	-1.132
122	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	-1.142
123	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	-1.153
124	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	-1.159
125	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	-1.197
126	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	-1.231
127	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	-1.253
128	Bolivia`BOL`South America	-1.318
129	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	-1.321
130	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	-1.357
131	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	-1.386
132	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	-1.458
133	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	-1.526
134	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	-1.533
135	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	-1.538
136	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	-1.697
137	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	-1.741
138	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	-2.003
139	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	-2.042
140	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	-2.106
141	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	-2.186
142	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	-2.193
143	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	-2.293
144	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	-2.392
145	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	-2.576

02In 2016

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

#1Japan2.100
#2Switzerland1.839
#3South Korea1.787
#4Taiwan1.749
#5Singapore1.603

Lowest

#145Papua New Guinea-2.576
#144Iraq-2.392
#143Chad-2.293
#142Equatorial Guinea-2.193
#141Guinea-2.186

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads -0.066. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032015 → 2016

Since 2015

What changed between 2015 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
144values changed, of 145 in both
69 · 75rose · fell
1unchanged

Rose most

Niger-1.308 → -0.675+0.633
Cuba-0.832 → -0.324+0.508
Liberia-1.610 → -1.159+0.451
Libya-1.485 → -1.055+0.430
Turkmenistan-1.888 → -1.533+0.355

Fell most

Guinea-1.618 → -2.186−0.568
Yemen-1.489 → -2.003−0.514
Equatorial Guinea-1.705 → -2.193−0.488
Nigeria-1.700 → -2.106−0.406
Malawi-0.959 → -1.357−0.398

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

How values are stored

One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from Growth Lab at Harvard University’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 2016.
143 distinct values among 145
Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 2 countries share 0.477. Countries sharing a value share a position too.
The rank is Growth Lab at Harvard University’s
Printed as the publisher ranked the countries; never re-ranked here.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 145 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
145 rows · 4.5 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download economic-complexity-2016-nations-inquiry.csv
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The publisher’s original
Growth Lab at Harvard University’s own file, on its own site.
13439575

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC0 1.0 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

Growth Lab at Harvard University (2016). Economic Complexity Index, 2016 [data set], describing 2016. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/economic-complexity/2016

0630 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Economic Complexity Index, 2015
145 countries
The year after ›
Economic Complexity Index, 2017
145 countries
All of them
Economic Complexity Index: every year
30 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions