While national GDP growth stays within a rather narrow band, the same cannot be said of GDP growth at the state level. The map above shows great diversity across states in 2016, from –6.5% in North Dakota to +3.7% in Washington. The regional differences stem from the fact that many states are poorly diversified when taken individually, and these differences wash out when you aggregate up to the national level. Note also that state-level fortunes can change rapidly. The map below shows growth rates for 2015, when Texas had the highest growth rate; it was among the lowest in 2016, though. North Dakota was the lowest this year, but that was after a stunning +7.3% rate of growth in 2014. Follow the link below the graph and you can also check how the situation changes from year to year across the United States.

How these maps were created: The original post referenced interactive maps from our now discontinued GeoFRED site. The revised post provides replacement maps from FRED’s new mapping tool. To create FRED maps, go to the data series page in question and look for the green “VIEW MAP” button at the top right of the graph. See this post for instructions to edit a FRED map. Only series with a green map button can be mapped.

Suggested by Christian Zimmermann.

How much do countries rely on international trade? A common measure is the openness index, which adds imports and exports in goods and services and divides this sum by GDP. The larger the ratio, the more the country is exposed to international trade. Looking at the map, it’s quite apparent that the largest economies are the least open by this definition. But this is quite natural: Because they are so large, much of their trade is internal. For small economies that cannot produce everything they need, more trade has to be external. The extreme case here is Hong Kong, with a ratio of 440%. Indeed, it doubles as a trading hub, with more than its GDP being reexported.

Note: As of this writing, the last year available for this indicator is 2010. It is taken from the Penn World Tables, which are updated every few years.

How this map was created: The original post referenced an interactive map from our now discontinued GeoFRED site. The revised post provides a replacement map from FRED’s new mapping tool. To create FRED maps, go to the data series page in question and look for the green “VIEW MAP” button at the top right of the graph. See this post for instructions to edit a FRED map. Only series with a green map button can be mapped.

Suggested by Christian Zimmermann.