North America - Gross capital formation (% of GDP)

Gross capital formation (% of GDP) in North America was 21.17 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 50 years was 25.12 in 1979, while its lowest value was 18.16 in 2009.

Definition: Gross capital formation (formerly gross domestic investment) consists of outlays on additions to the fixed assets of the economy plus net changes in the level of inventories. Fixed assets include land improvements (fences, ditches, drains, and so on); plant, machinery, and equipment purchases; and the construction of roads, railways, and the like, including schools, offices, hospitals, private residential dwellings, and commercial and industrial buildings. Inventories are stocks of goods held by firms to meet temporary or unexpected fluctuations in production or sales, and "work in progress." According to the 1993 SNA, net acquisitions of valuables are also considered capital formation.

Source: World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.

See also:

Year Value
1970 21.48
1971 22.02
1972 22.63
1973 23.43
1974 23.00
1975 20.71
1976 22.35
1977 23.61
1978 24.73
1979 25.12
1980 23.36
1981 24.37
1982 21.89
1983 22.09
1984 24.77
1985 23.99
1986 23.59
1987 23.51
1988 22.90
1989 22.62
1990 21.52
1991 20.05
1992 19.94
1993 20.25
1994 21.15
1995 21.14
1996 21.51
1997 22.32
1998 22.83
1999 23.24
2000 23.47
2001 22.01
2002 21.58
2003 21.65
2004 22.56
2005 23.32
2006 23.54
2007 22.71
2008 21.40
2009 18.16
2010 19.20
2011 19.62
2012 20.51
2013 20.86
2014 21.18
2015 21.37
2016 20.68
2017 20.94
2018 21.22
2019 21.43
2020 21.17

Limitations and Exceptions: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on capital formation may be estimated from direct surveys of enterprises and administrative records or based on the commodity flow method using data from production, trade, and construction activities. The quality of data on government fixed capital formation depends on the quality of government accounting systems (which tend to be weak in developing countries). Measures of fixed capital formation by households and corporations - particularly capital outlays by small, unincorporated enterprises - are usually unreliable. Estimates of changes in inventories are rarely complete but usually include the most important activities or commodities. In some countries these estimates are derived as a composite residual along with household final consumption expenditure. According to national accounts conventions, adjustments should be made for appreciation of the value of inventory holdings due to price changes, but this is not always done. In highly inflationary economies this element can be substantial.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt Indicators

Sub-Topic: National accounts