Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
The world’s trade hub
Asia | Economy
October 16, 2023 – Asia’s robust growth and its position as the world’s manufacturing and trade hub make it a key player in the global economy. Among the world’s 80 largest trade routes, Asia accounts for more than 50 percent of the value of global trade, senior partner and McKinsey Global Institute director Chris Bradley and colleagues explain. Of those routes, 49 include Asia on at least one end, and 22 on both ends. The region is also home to 18 of the 20 fastest-growing corridors.
To read the article, see “Asia on the cusp of a new era,” September 22, 2023.
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Visual form
Scatter plot. Each point represents one of the top global goods trade routes.
Layout / body structure
It is a single chart with a horizontal value axis and a vertical growth axis, plus a legend that separates routes within Asia, cross-regional routes involving Asia, and non-Asian routes. The eye reads the full field first and then uses the callout box to interpret the Asian concentration.
What is being compared
It compares the top 80 global goods trade routes by trade-flow value and by growth, while also splitting those routes into within-Asia, cross-regional involving Asia, and non-Asian corridors.
Measurement system
The x-axis shows 2021 trade-flow value on a logarithmic dollar scale in billions, and the y-axis shows CAGR from 2016 to 2021 in percent. Color separates the route groupings.
Visible structure inside the graphic
The chart is organized as a cloud of circles spread across the chart area, with the legend anchored inside the lower-left portion and a large annotation inside the plot. The point field lets the reader see both the size range of routes and how their growth rates cluster.
Main takeaway from the visual
Asia is not just present in global trade; it dominates a large share of the biggest and fastest-growing routes. The visual makes that plain by showing a heavy concentration of Asian and Asia-linked points across the main body of the chart.
Key standout values or extremes
The standout callout is that Asian countries are part of 49 of the world’s 80 largest trading routes. The chart also shows some Asia-linked routes reaching close to 20 percent CAGR while still sitting on substantial trade-flow values.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.