Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option

Chart 5.4a Share of economic groups in world exports of creative goods, 2002 (%)Developed economies Developing economies Economies in transitionChart 5.4b Share of economic groups in world exports of creative goods, 2008 (%)Developed economies Developing economies Economies in transition5International trade in creative goods and services: Global trends and features0 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%0.3 0.6 0.3 0.2 0.4 2.30.252.647.2Art crafts7.5Audio/visuals46.5 34.0Design New media PerformingartsPublishing Visual arts5.3.2 Global trends in world importsWorld imports of creative goods rose even higher thanexports during the period 2002-2008, increasing from $226billion to $421 billion (see table 5.4). The share of developedeconomies in world imports of creative goods declinedfrom 83 per cent to 75 per cent. In 2008, developing countriesimported 22 per cent of all creative goods, with a valueof about $94 billion. For economies in transition, imports10.922.591.9 92.3 87.177.353.2Source: UNCTAD, based on official data reported to UN COMTRADE databaseTable 5.365.8Creative goods: Exports, by economicgroup and region, 2002 and 2008Economic group and region7.2Value (inmillions of $)World 204,948 406,992 99Developed economies 127,903 227,103 78Europe 94,514 174,018 84United States of America 18,557 35,000 89Japan 3,976 6,988 76Canada 9,327 9,215 -1Developing economies 75,835 176,211 132Eastern and South-Eastern Asia 66,700 143,085 115China 32,348 84,807 162Western Asia 2,602 10,687 311Latin America and Caribbean 5,536 9,030 63Africa 740 2,220 200LDCs 344 1,579 359SIDS 61 135 120Transition economies 1,210 3,678 204Source: UNCTAD, based on official data in UN COMTRADE databaseChange(%)2002 2008 2002-20080 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%0.5 1.2 0.7 0.8 1.0 2.80.264.135.4Art crafts9.3Audio/visuals50.6 52Design New media PerformingartsPublishing Visual artsof creative goods represented about 2.4 per centof the world total, amounting to $10 billion in2008 (see table 1.2b in the annex).As chart 5.5a illustrates, developedeconomies were the largest importers of creativegoods during the period 2002-2008. Chart 5.5b,which illustrates imports of creative goods, showsthat design accounts for the highest volume inworld trade (59 per cent of total imports), followedby publications and printed media. Thisstructure is the same in all three economic groupsof countries, as shown in table 5.5. Developedcountries accounted for more than 75 per cent oftotal imports of creative goods, with the world’stop importers being Europe, followed by theUnited States, Japan and Canada. Among developingeconomies, Asia was the region with thehighest level of imports of creative goods, whichgrew from $28 billion in 2002 to $68 billion in2008 — a 58 per cent increase. In Latin Americaand the Caribbean, imports of creative goodsnearly tripled during this period, growing from $6.3 billionto $16 billion. Imports of creative goods also increasedsharply in Africa, where they grew from $1.6 million to $5.7billion, and among world’s least developed countries, wherethey rose from $344 million to $1.6 billion. This is clearevidence that despite the abundance of creative talents,developing countries are net importers of creative products(see more detailed analysis in section 5).16.923.989.5 86.2 80.375.948.7Source: UNCTAD, based on official data reported to UN COMTRADE database47.712.7130 CREATIVE ECONOMY REPORT 2010