Domestic material consumption
Domestic material consumption, or DMC, is a territorial material-flow indicator calculated as materials extracted within an economy plus physical imports minus physical exports. It estimates the amount of material directly used by that economy during a period and is commonly reported in mass terms, including totals or values per person.
In simple terms
DMC is produced within economy-wide Material flow analysis. Domestic extraction adds biomass, metal ores, non-metallic minerals, and fossil energy materials taken from the national environment; imports are added and exports subtracted. The result is an apparent-consumption measure rather than a direct observation of every final use or waste flow. Analysts should keep classifications, units, geographic boundaries, and time periods consistent. Comparisons may also need population, economic structure, resource endowments, and trade patterns to explain why totals differ.
Why it matters
The indicator supports SDG monitoring and helps show whether an economy's direct material use is rising or falling. It can be paired with economic or population data to examine material intensity and complement a Life cycle inventory at a different scale. DMC does not by itself reveal environmental harm, Circularity, distribution, or all upstream materials embodied in traded products, so it should not be used as a complete sustainability score.
Example
If an economy extracts 600 million tonnes of materials domestically, imports 180 million tonnes, and exports 130 million tonnes during the same year, its DMC is 650 million tonnes. The statistical office documents included material categories and data revisions before comparing that result with another year or economy.
How it differs
Material footprint
DMC uses domestic extraction plus direct imports minus direct exports; Material footprint attributes raw-material extraction across supply chains to the final demand of an economy.