Frequently Asked Questions

The Atlas is a research and data visualization tool that allows people to learn more about the economic structure of their country, including the growth opportunities that exist in the latent productive capabilities a country has.

The Atlas puts the capabilities and know-how of a country at the heart of its growth prospects, where the diversity and complexity of existing capabilities heavily influence how growth happens.

Atlas data is compiled from the following international sources:

• Goods Trade (raw data): United Nations Statistical Division (UN Comtrade)
• Services Trade (raw data): International Monetary Fund, Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)
• Economic Indicators: International Monetary Fund
• Price Adjustments: Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), Producer Price Index for Industrial Commodities

Atlas trade values are reported in U.S. dollars (USD). Constant-dollar values are adjusted using the FRED Producer Price Index for Industrial Commodities, with the base year set to the most recent Atlas data year. This allows users to interpret values in terms of current purchasing power.

For historical analysis (e.g., growth rates and long-run trends), constant-dollar values are recommended.

International trade flows are recorded twice: once by exporters and once by importers. In practice, these records often differ, are incomplete, or are reported using different product classifications. To address these issues, the Growth Lab developed a standardized, data-driven process to produce consistent and comparable bilateral trade estimates.

Our methodology combines two core steps: reconciling partner reports and harmonizing product classifications over time.

Reconciling Exporter and Importer Reports

We first adjust reported values to ensure comparability between exporter-reported (FOB) and importer-reported (CIF) data. We then assess the reliability of each country's reporting based on its consistency across trading partners. Using these reliability scores, we combine exporter and importer reports into a single estimated trade value that places greater weight on more reliable sources.

Harmonizing Product Classifications

Countries adopt new trade classification systems at different times, and product codes are regularly revised, split, or merged. To ensure comparability across years, we use data-driven conversion weights that translate trade values between classification vintages while preserving detailed product information. This approach avoids the loss of products and discontinuities that arise from simple one-to-one mappings.

By integrating reliability-weighted mirroring with weighted product conversion, we generate bilateral, product-level trade datasets that are consistent across countries and over time. These datasets form the core data underlying the Atlas and improve coverage, reduce reporting discrepancies, and support long-run analysis of global trade patterns.

A full description of this methodology is available in our peer-reviewed paper: Bustos et al. (2026), Tackling Discrepancies in Trade Data: The Harvard Growth Lab International Trade Datasets, Scientific Data.

A visual description of the Growth Lab's trade data methodology is available on our companion website.

The difference is a tradeoff between time and detail. The SITC data goes back further in time, from 1962 onward, but does not reflect new products that did not exist in 1962 (e.g., cell phones). The HS data is only available back to 1995 but provides a more detailed product set. This is especially important for products introduced in the last two decades, such as high-tech electronic goods.

Atlas data updates follow international trade reporting cycles and require substantial processing to ensure quality and consistency.

Annual Updates

Approximately 95 percent of Atlas data is updated once per year, typically between April and June. This reflects country reporting timelines to UN Comtrade, which generally require 12 to 18 months to reach sufficient coverage. For example, most 2024 trade data becomes available in the Atlas between April and June 2026.

Annual releases may incorporate late or corrected country reporting which can lead to small revisions in historical data. This process improves long-run accuracy and consistency.

Interim Updates

Throughout the year, we also release interim updates that incorporate newly submitted country data, reflect improvements in data processing methods, and address minor corrections when needed.

For real-time information on country-level data availability, see the UN Comtrade Data Availability Dashboard.

We use the official country names and data provided to UN Comtrade.

While Atlas Explore includes data for all countries and territories, Atlas Country Profiles and Rankings are limited to countries that meet minimum coverage and quality standards:

• Population of at least 1 million
• Average annual trade volume of at least $1 billion
• Verified GDP and export data availability
• Consistent and reliable trade reporting history

The Atlas of Economic Complexity is a freely available public resource. Its data and tools are widely used in research, policy analysis, and applied projects. We encourage reuse and adaptation, provided that users cite the Atlas and underlying data sources appropriately.

Please refer to our Usage and Citation Guidelines for specific citation requirements for the platform, datasets, and related publications.

A detailed technical description of the Growth Lab's trade data methodology is available in our peer-reviewed paper: Bustos et al. (2026), Tackling Discrepancies in Trade Data: The Harvard Growth Lab International Trade Datasets, Scientific Data.

A visual overview of the data pipeline and processing steps is available on our companion website.

The intellectual foundations of the Atlas are presented in The Atlas of Economic Complexity: Mapping Paths to Prosperity, which introduces the core concepts, motivating questions, and analytical framework underlying the platform.

These ideas are further developed in the Growth Lab's research on economic complexity and product relatedness, including:

• The Product Space Conditions the Development of Nations
• The Building Blocks of Economic Complexity
• The Network Structure of Economic Output

Please contact the Growth Lab team at growthlab@hks.harvard.edu.