The chart illustrates the proportion of global manufacturing output in Asia, Europe and the rest of the world in the period from 1840 to 2000.
Overall, it is clear that both Asia and Europe experienced slight decline in the period shown, and the figure for Asian production still remained the highest share at the end of this period. In comparison, the percentage of total world production in the remaining regions increased significantly.
In regard to Europe and the rest of the world, Europe’s production share was relatively stable throughout, starting with the second highest, at around 38% in 1840. Meanwhile, bottoming the list in 1840 was manufacturing from the remaining countries, at only 10% before surging up to the second ranking at around 30% in 1880 and 1920. In 2000, the quantities of global manufacturing output in Europe and the rest of the world witnessed moderate fall, at 30% and 24% respectively.
As for Asia, production from Asia accounted for the highest proportion of the world manufacturing in 1840, at over 50% but in 1880 this figure dropped to less than 30%. From 1880 to 1960, Asia maintained the most modest contribution to the world production but with a slow recovery to just over 30% in 1960. In 2000, Asia’s global production share soared to over 45%, becoming the top manufacturer of the world again.