This research aims to assess the role of manufacturing in modernizing the productive structure of a sample of 66 low, middle, and high-income countries based on the OECD’s international input-output tables. Unlike other authors, we use value added in final demand to calculate the economic complexity index to cover all productive activities, not just tradable ones. Using the generalized method of moments, we assess the effect on complexity of variables representing global economic growth, natural resource endowments, among others. Thus, we find that the manufacturing industry remains the main driver of structural change, while a highly complementary relationship has been established between imported and local value added in manufacturing in general and in capital goods in particular.