China is now the world's second largest producer of manufacturing output, according to a new report released by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) on March 3.
With this development, China unseats Japan and trails only the United States.
According to UNIDO estimates, China's share in the world's total manufacturing value added (MVA) at a constant $2,000 reached 15.6 percent in 2009, compared to 15.4 percent for Japan, while the US maintains its first rank with 19 percent. These three countries combined to produce half of the world's manufacturing output.
Despite the lead of China in the absolute amount of production, the report suggests that Japan is still the most industrialized country in the world in terms of MVA per capita. Japan's MVA per capita for 2008 was almost $9,000 compared to about $700 for China.
The report also suggests that the effect of the recent financial crisis on industrial growth was severe for industrialized countries, but relatively mild for developing countries. Out of the top 10 countries in manufacturing production, two more countries from the developing world, namely India and Brazil, ranked ninth and tenth.