[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"question:62:en-US":3},{"metadata":4,"sys":15,"fields":35},{"tags":5,"concepts":14},[6,11],{"sys":7},{"type":8,"linkType":9,"id":10},"Link","Tag","global",{"sys":12},{"type":8,"linkType":9,"id":13},"industry",[],{"space":16,"id":20,"type":21,"createdAt":22,"updatedAt":23,"environment":24,"publishedVersion":28,"revision":29,"contentType":30,"locale":34},{"sys":17},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"Space","ghhpjogyw4x7","8b2ac13182a68e1e0e40a73755c0a95e","Entry","2021-11-11T07:08:26.589Z","2025-02-03T08:55:49.318Z",{"sys":25},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},"master","Environment",50,19,{"sys":31},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":33},"ContentType","question","en-US",{"globalId":36,"answers":37,"answersAsImages":58,"wrongPercentage":94,"name":95,"questionText":96,"statistics":97,"veryWrongStatistics":99,"correctSentence":101,"youWereWrong":102,"youWereRight":103,"dataSourceShortText":104,"dataSourceLinkLongText":105,"extendedAnswerText":106,"headingVeryWrong":107,"youWereVeryWrong":108,"headingWrong":107},"62",[38,60,77],{"metadata":39,"sys":42,"fields":55},{"tags":40,"concepts":41},[],[],{"space":43,"id":45,"type":21,"createdAt":46,"updatedAt":47,"environment":48,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":52,"locale":34},{"sys":44},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"c1011eaef7b52665d86b94181e975b2b","2021-11-11T06:54:28.714Z","2024-08-21T11:02:45.171Z",{"sys":49},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},15,10,{"sys":53},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},"answer",{"globalId":56,"correctAnswer":57,"isVeryWrong":58,"answerText":59},"62-a1",true,false,"Around 15%",{"metadata":61,"sys":64,"fields":74},{"tags":62,"concepts":63},[],[],{"space":65,"id":67,"type":21,"createdAt":68,"updatedAt":69,"environment":70,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":72,"locale":34},{"sys":66},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"01907b6a4af0134da991ce6f8d7133a6","2021-11-11T06:54:30.591Z","2024-08-21T11:02:45.209Z",{"sys":71},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},{"sys":73},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},{"globalId":75,"correctAnswer":58,"isVeryWrong":58,"answerText":76},"62-a2","Around 35%",{"metadata":78,"sys":81,"fields":91},{"tags":79,"concepts":80},[],[],{"space":82,"id":84,"type":21,"createdAt":85,"updatedAt":86,"environment":87,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":89,"locale":34},{"sys":83},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"b99f1ac32041bd7340b4e6c304e46a2e","2021-11-11T06:54:32.428Z","2024-08-21T11:02:45.245Z",{"sys":88},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},{"sys":90},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},{"globalId":92,"correctAnswer":58,"isVeryWrong":57,"answerText":93},"62-a3","Around 55%",80,"What share of all workers worldwide are employed i","What share of all workers worldwide are employed in the manufacturing sector?",[98],"uk 0.8",[100],"uk 0.31","\nAround 15% of workers worldwide are employed in manufacturing.\n","Only 15% of workers worldwide are employed in manufacturing, but you thought it was more than twice as many!","They hugely overestimate how many people are employed in manufacturing.","Source: International Labour Organization","This data includes manufacturing of a wide range of things – everything from food and beverages, to clothes, cars and drugs. \n\nThe highest share of workers employed in the manufacturing sector can be found in upper-middle-income countries where it is 18%, compared to low-income countries where it is only 6%. \n\nThere is a high level of uncertainty in the data for countries where the ILO have used estimates due to a lack of recorded data. It likely misses people employed in the informal sector too. That lack of data about the informal sector means the actual share working in manufacturing is likely lower than 15%. \n\nThe three independent experts we consulted for this question were confident in the ILO's estimates and that the two wrong answer options are not close to being correct.\n\n[1]  [ILO - SDG indicator 9.2.2](https:\u002F\u002Frshiny.ilo.org\u002Fdataexplorer35\u002F?lang=en&id=SDG_0922_NOC_RT_A)  \n[2]  [ILO - A breakdown of what is included under the category of “manufacturing”](https:\u002F\u002Filostat.ilo.org\u002Fresources\u002Fconcepts-and-definitions\u002Fclassification-economic-activities\u002F)","The global share of people making things like cars, clothes, electronics and all sorts of other products has stayed around 13-15% for the past couple of decades. The main change has been the share working in these manufacturing jobs in high-income countries (it has gone down) and lower-middle-income countries (it has gone up).\n\nToday, most people work in services, such as healthcare, call centers, teaching, restaurants, hairdressing, banking and nursing.\n\n### Why is it a problem that people are wrong about this?\nExaggerating the importance of manufacturing gives a completely skewed view of what is most valuable in an economy. When imagining a world that is trying to get richer, it’s common to assume that the economy can grow only by extracting more raw materials and producing more stuff. But most economic growth comes from services. Countries that try to get richer by integrating into the world market often think they should produce more physical things to export. But exporting services, like call-center services and software development can be a more profitable kind of work.\n\n### Why are people wrong about this?\nWhen we think of work and production, we easily think of the physical stuff around us. Factories, conveyor belts and sweatshops are easy to document and the images show masses of workers in large rooms. They look like places where many people work, while images from hairdressers and classrooms show very few workers. But the total amount of service jobs adds up to a lot. Half of all workers are employed in some kind of service.\n\n### Can I trust the data?\nYes. However, there is a high level of uncertainty in the data for countries where the ILO have used estimates due to a lack of recorded data, which means the actual share working in manufacturing is likely lower than 15%. A lot of informal work is in the agriculture and service sectors. The three independent experts we consulted for this question were confident in the data we use.\n\n### Where can I see data for countries?\n[This bubble graph](https:\u002F\u002Fgapm.io\u002Fpwm) shows data for individual countries over time. \n","Machines manufacture a lot","Only 13% of workers worldwide are employed in manufacturing, but you thought it was 4 times more! "]