PMI Index by Country 2024

The Purchase Managers' Index (PMI) looks at productivity levels in service and manufacturing industries with a third composite index as the combination of the two. The PMI score reflects on the nation's manufacturing and service sectors state. Therefore, it offers valuable insights into the overall health of the nation's economy.

Where the PMI Numbers Come from

PMI stands for Purchase Managers' Index, which is where the data comes from for calculating the scores for each country. This index sends questionnaires to purchasing managers at companies in the manufacturing and service sectors in each country. The compiled results of these surveys create the PMI scores, which can range from 0 to 100.

The manufacturing survey asks purchasing managers specific questions about their sector. These questions cover several areas including prices for input and output, suppliers' delivery times, output, work backlogs, new export orders, new orders, employment, future output, quantity and stock of purchases, and stock of finished products.

As with the PMI for the manufacturing industry, the service sector also has a specialized questionnaire for its purchasing managers. Survey questions cover new business, business activity, employment, business activity expectations, work backlogs, input prices, and prices charged. Unlike many other types of economic scales, the PMI has information updated monthly. This allows for monitoring whether sudden changes impact the economic health of a country only briefly or for a long time.

What the PMI Numbers Mean

The PMI score ranges from 0 to 100. Values along this spectrum reflect the growth or contraction of an economy. A value of 50 indicates no change. Numbers lower than 50 show a shrinking economy. The lower the value, the greater the contraction.

PMI scores greater than 50 show growth. Very high scores indicate a robust, expanding economy within the country.

Separate indices measure the manufacturing PMI and the service sector PMI. The 0 to 100 scores also reflect the degree of growth or shrinking for these sectors.

Places with the Highest PMI Index Values in 2023 India had the highest PMI score as of August 2023. Its composite PMI score was 60.90, which showed an increase from its 58.20 score a year before but a slight decrease from its total of 61.20 three months prior. Russia and Singapore had the second and third-highest composite PMI values of 54.70 and 54.20, respectively. Only 14 countries had composite scores of 50 or greater, showing economic expansion, as of September 2023.

Countries That Had the Lowest PMI Index Number in 2023

France, Sweden, and Germany had the three lowest composite PMI scores as of September 2023. France's score was 44.10. Sweden had a PMI value of 45.40, and Germany's PMI was 46.40. The PMI for 12 places was lower than 50, which displayed economic contraction in these areas.