Geneva, 24 June 2022 (TDI): The World Trade Organization (WTO) launched the Trade Connectivity Heatmap. The statistical tool illustrates bilateral trade between different countries.
the WTO shared this news via Twitter
WTO rolls out Trade Connectivity Heatmap to highlight bilateral trade between economies #WTOStats #GlobalTrade https://t.co/39fWs20pbs pic.twitter.com/l7a6z6Svod
— WTO (@wto) June 23, 2022
The map gives a clearer view of international commerce. It gives users the option to filter the information into multiple product categories.
It is available to everybody in the WTO Stats Dashboard and shows the information from 180 countries.
In addition, it has the option to filter 70 diverse product categories.
WTO Trade Connectivity Heatmap: An Overview
The innovative instrument lets interested users see information according to four indicators.
The first step to use the heatmap is to select a specific country. Then the user should choose one of the four indicators. They let users investigate various kinds of relationships between the selected economy and the rest of the world.
Once the country of interest and indicator is selected, two more steps are left. It is then possible to filter the results. The filters are available by continent and by specific product categories.
The first indicator shows the share of imports from the selected country. For example, this indicator allows one to identify which countries import most of their products from the initially selected country.
Similarly, the second indicator shows the share of exports destined for the selected country. Moreover, the third indicator shows the share of imports coming from other countries.
Finally, the fourth one shows the share of exports destined for other countries. This can be filtered by product category to obtain more precise results.
A heatmap appears automatically once the user selects a country of interest. Every tile represents a percentage of exports or imports. Those tiles show different color intensities. The darker the color, the higher the share of the country in a specific product category.
Benefits of the Heatmap
The World Trade Organization Dashboard is one of the most reliable sources of information in terms of international trade data. Hence, students, researchers, and anyone interested in international trade benefit greatly from this novel instrument.
Chiefly, the new Trade Connectivity Heatmap lets people make fast analytical analyses. Therefore, users can identify trade patterns more easily. Those patterns can be then inspected more exhaustively.
