Projecting a Domestic Economy onto the Product Space: A Empirical Mapping Approach for Senegal

Standard economic complexity tools project countries onto the product space through their export profiles. This paper asks a simpler descriptive question: what does a domestic economy look like when its full production structure-not just its exports-is mapped onto the same space? We propose two compositional indices, the Domestic Sophistication Index weighted by Output (DSI-Y) and by Value Added (DSI-VA), constructed by assigning Product Complexity Index (PCI) scores to domestic production categories through a systematic crosswalk between international (HS6) and national (NOPEMA, NAEMAS) classifications. Applied to Senegal's formal sector over 2014-2023 using official ANSD data, the mapping reveals a consistent gap between the complexity profile of exports and that of domestic production, with over 83% of formal value added concentrated in low-sophistication activities. The procedure is fully documented and with slight modification, replicable for any AFRISTAT member country sharing the NOPEMA/NAEMA statistical infrastructure.