Which has higher comparative advantage in environmental goods, Brazil or Iran?

Iran, at 0.4711 index against 0.4435 index in Brazil as of 2018.

How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and Iran?

17 years are reported by both, from 1998 to 2018.

Where does this data come from?

IMF Climate Change Dashboard. Data sources: UN Comtrade, DESA/UNSD; IMF staff calculations, published as Comparative advantage in environmental goods (index). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Brazil vs Iran: Comparative advantage in environmental goods

Brazil

0.4435 index

in 2019

Iran

0.4711 index

in 2018

Brazil rank

61st

Iran rank

58th

Comparative advantage in environmental goods over time

Brazil
Iran

How they compare

Iran currently reports 0.4711 index against 0.4435 index in Brazil, a difference of 0.0276 index.

That makes Iran's figure about 1.1 times Brazil's.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 17 shared years of data; in 1998 it was Brazil ahead.

Brazil ranks 61st and Iran ranks 58th of 163 countries.

Brazil has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Brazil	Iran	Difference	Ahead
1990s	0.9173 index	0.0741 index	0.8431 index	Brazil
2000s	0.8702 index	0.119 index	0.7512 index	Brazil
2010s	0.5953 index	0.503 index	0.0923 index	Brazil

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher comparative advantage in environmental goods, Brazil or Iran?: Iran, at 0.4711 index against 0.4435 index in Brazil as of 2018.
What is the difference in comparative advantage in environmental goods between Brazil and Iran?: 0.0276 index, with Iran ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Brazil and Iran?: 17 years are reported by both, from 1998 to 2018.
How do Brazil and Iran rank globally for comparative advantage in environmental goods?: Brazil ranks 61st and Iran ranks 58th of 163 countries.
Where does this data come from?: IMF Climate Change Dashboard. Data sources: UN Comtrade, DESA/UNSD; IMF staff calculations, published as Comparative advantage in environmental goods (index). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Comparative advantage in environmental goods (index)
Unit: index
Source: IMF Climate Change Dashboard. Data sources: UN Comtrade, DESA/UNSD; IMF staff calculations
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 163 places, 3,076 data points, 1998–2019
Last refreshed: 10 August 2026

Environmental goods include both goods connected to environmental protection—such as goods related to pollution management and resource management—and adapted goods—which are goods that have been specifically modified to be more “environmentally friendly” or “cleaner.” Comparative advantage is a measure of the relative advantage or disadvantage a particular country has in a certain class of goods (in this case, environmental goods), and can be used to evaluate export potential in that class of goods. Environmental goods include both goods connected to environmental protection—such as goods related to pollution management and resource management—and adapted goods—which are goods that have been specifically modified to be more “environmentally friendly” or “cleaner.” A value greater than one indicates a relative advantage in environmental goods, while a value of less than one indicates a relative disadvantage.