UNCTAD – Creative Economy Outlook, 2024

The creative economy encompasses various industries that use creativity and intellectual capital as primary inputs, such as advertising, arts, music, and video games, offering opportunities for economic development and job creation. Digitalization is increasingly replacing physical goods and supporting new business models like streaming and digital platforms. The creative industries vary widely in operations, value chains, and revenue models globally and regionally, making it challenging to accurately estimate market size. Despite being negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the cultural and creative industries contribute 3.1% of the global GDP, generating almost US$ 2.3 trillion annually. The sector plays a crucial role in global economic growth and employment, with the share of cultural and creative industries from total value added ranging from 0.7% in Mexico to 3% in the United States of America among G20 economies. Data on creative industries in developing countries is limited, but the report presents available information to highlight the sector's importance.