In 2007, the share of foreign-controlled affiliates in total manufacturing turnover ranged from nearly 80% in Ireland to 3% in Japan. Among G7 countries, foreign presence in manufacturing was strongest in Canada and the United Kingdom, followed by France, Germany, the United States and Italy. The percentage in Japan was the lowest of any OECD country for which data were available.

Between 1999 and 2007, aggregate employment in the manufacturing sector dropped sharply in most countries. This trend significantly changes the business sector, with services gaining in importance compared to manufacturing.

In contrast to the manufacturing sector, employment has grown strongly in the services sector during 2000-06. In all countries except Finland and the Netherlands, employment grew significantly in foreign affiliates as well as in national firms. Remarkably, employment grew more for foreign affiliates than for national firms.

Foreign presence on the industry level illustrates some major differences across industries (high, medium and low technology) and countries.

Foreign presence is somewhat less strong in the services sector than in manufacturing. Again, there are important differences between individual industries and countries.

Data on the activity of parent companies have only recently been requested as part of OECD surveys, and few member countries have been able to provide the information so far. One reason for the differences observed between countries may be the method used to consolidate data for enterprise groups.

The ratio of the turnover of affiliates abroad to the turnover of parent companies at home can be used as an indicator of globalisation. This indicator should however be interpreted with care, since employment and turnover created abroad does not come at the expense of the home country. On the contrary, foreign activities often benefit home country activities and reinforce the global competitiveness of the multinational company.