Performance Indicator 3: Exports

Performance Indicator Three is based on the inflation-adjusted value of goods and services exported to other provinces and countries. Higher export levels earn better ranks.

British Columbia ranked eighth in 2008 in per capita exports, and has since 2002. Alberta has ranked first since at least 1991. In 2002, British Columbia was surpassed by Newfoundland and Labrador, whose rank has been consistently improving.

British Columbia's relative performance is highlighted in the Best and Worst Performers figure. Its gap below best-performing Alberta was 40 percent in 1990, and widened to 46 percent in 2008.

In addition, BC's advantage over worst-performing Nova Scotia has dropped from 47 percent in 1990 to 13 percent in 2008.

A more thorough review of BC's export performance is available in the Export Detail Topic Box.

Notes Luxembourg and the Slovak Republic were excluded from the presentation; the Slovak Republic adopted the Euro in 2009 causing inconsistencies in the data. A Canadian average is not available for this indicator because it is constructed with the Fisher index formula.

International Comparison

In 2007, British Columbia placed 18th among 30 OECD jurisdictions with $7,854 in international exports per capita. This was around three times larger than bottom-ranked Turkey but only about 27 percent of top-ranked Ireland.

British Columbia ranked better, on average, during the 1990s when it earned either 12th, 13th or 14th place. BC was overtaken by Hungary and Germany in 2001 and Korea and the United Kingdom in 2006.

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