Reading the US Arts and Culture Industry's Significant Contribution to GDP

Data processed by the National Endowment for the Arts, an independent agency of the United States government, shows that the nation's arts and culture industry contributes significantly to its gross domestic product (GDP).

The arts and culture industry added US$1.1 trillion to the GDP in 2022, equivalent to Rp17.811 trillion or Rp17.81 quadrillion (assuming an exchange rate of Rp16,192/US$).

This makes the arts and culture sector the third-largest contributor to the GDP, following healthcare and social assistance (US$1.85 trillion/Rp29.955 trillion) and retail trade (US$1.62 trillion/Rp26.231 trillion).

Based on its components, the largest contribution came from the publishing and web streaming sector, amounting to US$171.67 billion (Rp2.779 trillion) in 2022. This figure shows a slight increase from US$171.29 billion in 2021.

Second largest was broadcasting, contributing US$154.52 billion (Rp2.501 trillion) throughout 2022.

Third, government arts and culture activities contributed US$129.94 billion (Rp2.104 trillion). This figure increased significantly from US$91.85 billion (Rp1.487 trillion) in 2021.

Fourth was publishing at US$112.49 billion (Rp1.821 trillion), and fifth was the film and video industry at US$78.74 billion (Rp1.275 trillion).

The remainder includes the trade of art goods, the art wholesale and transportation industry, creative advertising, independent artists and writers, and architectural services, as shown in the graph.

The research team stated that the overall arts economy grew by 4.8% in 2022, after adjusting for inflation between 2021 and 2022. According to the research team, this annual increase far exceeded the overall US economic growth of 1.9%.

"As a sector, the arts and culture industry has seen dramatic gains since the pre-pandemic year of 2019—surging by 13.6% in inflation-adjusted dollars," wrote the research team in their report, *The US Arts Economy in 2022: a National Summary Brief*, cited on Thursday (May 2nd, 2024).

Disclaimer: This article has undergone unit changes, originally from thousands to billions of dollars. Changes have also been made to the rupiah conversion value, Saturday (May 4th, 2024).

(Read also: [Indonesia's Creative Economy GDP Value Increases After the Pandemic](https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2024/04/25/nilai-pdb-ekonomi-kreatif-indonesia-meningkat-usai-pandemi))