'Blue Consolidation' and the drivers of inequality in the Ocean economy (dataset)

This dataset supports the manuscript examining consolidation and inequality patterns across six ocean economy sectors: fisheries, aquaculture, offshore wind, offshore oil, bioprospecting, and deep-sea mining. It contains harmonized, country-level data for 193 countries and regions, standardized into a unified format to enable comparative analysis. Country and region classifications follow the United Nations geoscheme. A higher level of detail was maintained for capture fisheries and aquaculture. Data were compiled from publicly available databases and peer-reviewed sources, covering the most recent years available (depending on sector). Where original data were missing for certain countries, zero values were inserted to achieve completeness and consistency for the Gini coefficient analysis. The dataset includes sector-specific metrics such as offshore wind capacity (MW), offshore oil production (million barrels of oil equivalent per year), deep-sea mining contracts (exploration contracts as of May 2025), fisheries and aquaculture production (metric tons), and bioprospecting activity (number of patents registered since 1990). Detailed definitions of each column and source references are provided. This version of the dataset corresponds exactly to the data used in the analysis presented in the associated manuscript. For methodological details, including grouping and data processing decisions, please refer to the manuscript.