According to preliminary figures, the growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) in China amounted to 5.0 percent in 2024. For 2025, the IMF expects a GDP growth rate of around 4.6 percent. Real GDP growth The current gross domestic product is an important indicator of the economic strength of a country. It refers to the total market value of all goods and services that are produced within a country per year. When analyzing year-on-year changes, the current GDP is adjusted for inflation, thus making it constant. Real GDP growth is regarded as a key indicator for economic growth as it incorporates constant GDP figures. As of 2023, China was among the leading countries with the largest gross domestic product worldwide, second only to the United States which had a GDP volume of almost 27.5 trillion U.S. dollars. The Chinese GDP has shown remarkable growth over the past years. Upon closer examination of the distribution of GDP across economic sectors, a gradual shift from an economy heavily based on industrial production towards an economy focused on services becomes visible, with the service industry outpacing the manufacturing sector in terms of GDP contribution. Key indicator balance of trade Another important indicator for economic assessment is the balance of trade, which measures the relationship between imports and exports of a nation. As an economy heavily reliant on manufacturing and industrial production, China has reached a trade surplus over the last decade, with a total trade balance of around 823 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.

According to a median projection in January 2025, China's GDP was expected to grow by 4.9 percent in 2024, largely meeting the annual growth target of five percent set by the Chinese government. In the first quarter of 2020, the second-largest economy recorded the first contraction in decades due to the epidemic.  A root-to-branch shutdown of factories To curb the spread of the virus, the Chinese government imposed a lockdown in Wuhan, the epicenter, and other cities in Hubei province on January 23, 2020. A strict nationwide lockdown soon followed. Many factories remained closed in February, resulting in a plunge in manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI). The shutdown of the “world’s factory” had severely disrupted global supply chains, especially automobile production. In March 2020, very few industrial sectors reported positive production growth.  The pharmaceuticals sector recorded a production increase, which was mainly driven by the global demand for vital medical supplies. China had exported over seven billion yuan worth of face masks. Ripple effects on global tourism Apart from the manufacturing industry, the prolonged closures of business had caused significant losses in various sectors in China. The travel and tourism sector was massively affected by a drastic decline in flight ticket sales  and hotel occupancy rates. The domestic tourism market expects a loss of 20 percent in revenues for 2020. Industry experts predicted that the global travel and tourism industry could lose about 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars in that year. 

In 2023, the gross domestic product (GDP) of China amounted to around 17.8 trillion U.S. dollars. In comparison to the GDP of the other BRIC countries India, Russia and Brazil, China came first that year and second in the world GDP ranking. The stagnation of China's GDP in U.S. dollar terms in 2022 and 2023 was mainly due to the appreciation of the U.S. dollar. China's real GDP growth was three percent in 2022 and 5.2 percent in 2023. In 2023, per capita GDP in China reached around 12,600 U.S. dollars. Economic performance in China Gross domestic product (GDP) is a primary economic indicator. It measures the total value of all goods and services produced in an economy over a certain time period. China's economy used to grow quickly in the past, but the growth rate of China’s real GDP gradually slowed down in recent years, and year-on-year GDP growth is forecasted to range at only around four percent in the years after 2023. Since 2010, China has been the world’s second-largest economy, surpassing Japan.China’s emergence in the world’s economy has a lot to do with its status as the ‘world’s factory’. Since 2013, China is the largest export country in the world. Some argue that it is partly due to the undervalued Chinese currency. The Big Mac Index, a simplified and informal way to measure the purchasing power parity between different currencies, indicates that the Chinese currency yuan was roughly undervalued by 31 percent in 2023. GDP development Although the impressive economic development in China has led millions of people out of poverty, China is still not in the league of industrialized countries on the per capita basis. To name one example, the U.S. per capita economic output was more than six times as large as in China in 2023. Meanwhile, the Chinese society faces increased income disparities. The Gini coefficient of China, a widely used indicator of economic inequality, has been larger than 0.45 over the last decade, whereas 0.40 is the warning level for social unrest.

Between 2005 and 2020, the GDP of China grew from 2.3 trillion to 14.9 trillion U.S. dollars. During the same time period the GDP of the United States grew from 13 trillion to 20.8 trillion dollars. It is estimated that, by 2030, China will overtake the U.S. as the world's largest economy, with a GDP of 33.7 trillion dollars, compared to 30.5 trillion dollars; this margin of more than three trillion is predicted to increase to almost 13 trillion over the subsequent five year period.

The graph shows per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in China until 2023, with forecasts until 2029. In 2023, per capita GDP reached around 12,600 U.S. dollars in China. That year, the overall GDP of China had amounted to 17.8 trillion U.S. dollars. Per capita GDP in China Gross domestic product is a commonly-used economic indicator for measuring the state of a country's economy. GDP is the total market value of goods and services produced in a country within a given period of time, usually a year. Per capita GDP is defined as the GDP divided by the total number of people in the country. This indicator is generally used to compare the economic prosperity of countries with varying population sizes.In 2010, China overtook Japan and became the world’s second-largest economy. As of 2023, it was the largest exporter and the second largest importer in the world. However, one reason behind its economic strength lies within its population size. China has to distribute its wealth among 1.4 billion people. By 2023, China's per capita GDP was only about one fourth as large as that of main industrialized countries. When compared to other emerging markets, China ranked second among BRIC countries in terms of GDP per capita. Future development According to projections by the IMF, per capita GDP in China will escalate from around 12,600 U.S. dollars in 2022 to 17,700 U.S. dollars in 2029. Major reasons for this are comparatively high economic growth rates combined with negative population growth. China's economic structure is also undergoing changes. A major trend lies in the shift from an industry-based to a service-based economy.

The statistic shows the growth rate of the real gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States from 2019 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. GDP refers to the total market value of all goods and services that are produced within a country per year. It is an important indicator of the economic strength of a country. Real GDP is adjusted for price changes and is therefore regarded as a key indicator for economic growth. In 2023, the growth of the real gross domestic product in the United States was around 2.53 percent compared to the previous year. See U.S. GDP per capita and the US GDP for more information.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States

The gross domestic product (GDP) of a country is a crucial economic indicator, representing the market value of the total goods and services produced and offered by a country within a year, thus serving as one of the indicators of a country’s economic state. The real GDP of a country is defined as its gross domestic product adjusted for inflation.

An international comparison of economic growth rates has ranked the United States alongside other major global economic players such as China and Russia in terms of real GDP growth. With further growth expected during the course of the coming years, as consumer confidence continues to improve, experts predict that the worst is over for the United States economy.

A glance at US real GDP figures reveals an overall increase in growth, with sporadic slips into decline; the last recorded decline took place in Q1 2011. All in all, the economy of the United States can be considered ‘well set’, with exports and imports showing positive results. Apart from this fact, the United States remains one of the world’s leading exporting countries, having been surpassed only by China and tailed by Germany. It is also ranked first among the top global importers. Despite this, recent surveys revealing Americans’ assessments of the U.S. economy have yielded less optimistic results. Interestingly enough, this consensus has been mutual across the social and environmental spectrum. On the other hand, GDP is often used as an indicator for the standard of living in a country – and most Americans seem quite happy with theirs.

In 2024, the gross domestic product (GDP) of Hong Kong increased by around 2.5 percent in real terms compared to the previous year. GDP growth is estimated to reach around three percent in 2025. The quarterly GDP growth rate in Hong Kong stood at 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. Drivers of growth in Hong Kong Hong Kong’s economy is dominated by the service sector, which contributes more than 90 percent to the city’s GDP. This is related to Hong Kong’s status as a global financial hub and a service center for trade and investment flows from and into mainland China. Financial services, trading and logistics, professional services, and tourism are key industries in the city, with financial services alone contributing more than 20 percent to the GDP. Over the last decade, financial services displayed the highest sectoral growth rates, while trading and logistics, as well as professional services, provided a significant number of jobs in the city. Current economic development The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent travel restrictions had a bad effect on Hong Kong’s economy. However, economic development stumbled already earlier with GDP growth turning negative in 2019. In real terms, the GDP is expected to finally exceed its 2018 level in 2025. GDP growth in the upcoming years is forecasted to remain slightly below 3 percent on average.

In 2024, the United States had the largest economy in the world, with a gross domestic product of just under 29 trillion U.S. dollars. China had the second largest economy, at around 18.5 trillion U.S. dollars. Recent adjustments in the list have seen Germany's economy overtake Japan's to become the third-largest in the world in 2023, while Brazil's economy moved ahead of Italy's in 2024. Global gross domestic product Global gross domestic product amounts to almost 110 trillion U.S. dollars, with the United States making up more than one-quarter of this figure alone. The 12 largest economies in the world include all Group of Seven (G7) economies, as well as the four largest BRICS economies. The U.S. has consistently had the world's largest economy since the interwar period, and while previous reports estimated it would be overtaken by China in the 2020s, more recent projections estimate the U.S. economy will remain the largest by a considerable margin going into the 2030s.The gross domestic product of a country is calculated by taking spending and trade into account, to show how much the country can produce in a certain amount of time, usually per year. It represents the value of all goods and services produced during that year. Those countries considered to have emerging or developing economies account for almost 60 percent of global gross domestic product, while advanced economies make up over 40 percent.

In the first quarter of 2024, the real gross domestic product (GDP) of Russia grew by 5.4 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The decline in GDP recorded between the second quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 was related to the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, in response to which Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia. However, the recent monthly GDP growth data reflects the resilience of the economy in the face of external pressure in the short term. GDP refers to the total market value of all goods and services produced within a country. It is an important indicator of economic strength. Real GDP is adjusted for price changes and is therefore regarded as a key indicator for economic growth. Trade with China has eased the sanctions’ pressure The dynamic trade relationship with China has likely played a key role in bolstering Russia's economic recovery, contributing to an over-three-percent GDP growth estimated for 2024. The importance of trade partnerships and their impact on GDP growth is underscored by the example of China's influence on both Russia's imports, especially of technology and equipment, and exports, particularly of fossil fuels. Russian economic growth in the global context Amid the global economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical disruptions such as the war in Ukraine, Russia's annual GDP growth was close to the global one, which was forecast to reach approximately 3.2 percent in 2024. Moreover, Russia was expected to become the fourth-fastest-growing economy in the G20 in that year, following India, Indonesia, and China.

The statistic shows the growth rate of the real gross domestic product (GDP) in Japan from 2019 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. In 2023, Japan's GDP increased by 1.68 percent compared to the previous year. For comparison, the GDP growth rate of China had reached about 8.45 percent that same year.Gross domestic product growth rate in JapanGDP serves as one of the most heavily relied upon indicators to gauge the state and health of a country’s economy. GDP is the total market value of all final goods and services that have been produced within a nation’s borders in a given period of time, usually a year. GDP figures allow a more fundamental understanding of a country’s economy. Year-on-year GDP growth acts as a helpful and clear sign of the direction in which a country is moving in economic terms. Real GDP is especially useful and insightful as it takes price changes (inflation and deflation) into account.The gross domestic product growth rate in Japan has been shaky since the recession of 2008 struck the world economy like a bolt out of the blue and Japan is still yet to gain a solid foothold. Despite its ongoing financial predicament however, Japan remains one of the world’s most highly developed economies. The economy of Japan is the third largest worldwide by nominal GDP and the nation has a very active manufacturing sector. It is active in the auto manufacturing sector, the third largest in the world after the United States and China, and has an electronics industry that is counted among the worlds most innovative. Japan can boast many titles, but perhaps the most significant to its future stability is that which relates to its astronomical national debts, currently running at over 200 percent of GDP, roughly 10.5 trillion US dollars.

The statistic shows the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States from 1987 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. The gross domestic product of the United States in 2023 amounted to around 27.72 trillion U.S. dollars. The United States and the economy The United States’ economy is by far the largest in the world; a status which can be determined by several key factors, one being gross domestic product: A look at the GDP of the main industrialized and emerging countries shows a significant difference between US GDP and the GDP of China, the runner-up in the ranking, as well as the followers Japan, Germany and France. Interestingly, it is assumed that China will have surpassed the States in terms of GDP by 2030, but for now, the United States is among the leading countries in almost all other relevant rankings and statistics, trade and employment for example. See the U.S. GDP growth rate here. Just like in other countries, the American economy suffered a severe setback when the economic crisis occurred in 2008. The American economy entered a recession caused by the collapsing real estate market and increasing unemployment. Despite this, the standard of living is considered quite high; life expectancy in the United States has been continually increasing slightly over the past decade, the unemployment rate in the United States has been steadily recovering and decreasing since the crisis, and the Big Mac Index, which represents the global prices for a Big Mac, a popular indicator for the purchasing power of an economy, shows that the United States’ purchasing power in particular is only slightly lower than that of the euro area.

The graph shows national debt in China related to gross domestic product until 2023, with forecasts to 2029. In 2023, gross national debt ranged at around 84 percent of the national gross domestic product.

The debt-to-GDP ratio

In economics, the ratio between a country's government debt and its gross domestic product (GDP) is generally defined as the debt-to-GDP ratio. It is a useful indicator for investors to measure a country's ability to fulfill future payments on its debts. A low debt-to-GDP ratio also suggests that an economy produces and sells a sufficient amount of goods and services to pay back those debts. Among the important industrial and emerging countries, Japan displayed one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratios. In 2023, the estimated national debt of Japan amounted to about 255 percent of its GDP, up from around 180 percent in 2004. One reason behind Japan's high debt load lies in its low annual GDP growth rate.

Development in China

China's national debt related to GDP grew slowly but steadily from around 23 percent in 2000 to 34 percent in 2012, only disrupted by the global financial crisis in 2008. In recent years, China increased credit financing to spur economic growth, resulting in higher levels of debt. China's real estate crisis and a difficult global economic environment require further stimulating measures by the government and will predictably lead to even higher debt growth in the years ahead.

The statistic shows the growth of the real gross domestic product (GDP) in India from 2019 to 2024, with projections up until 2029. GDP refers to the total market value of all goods and services that are produced within a country per year. It is an important indicator of the economic strength of a country. Real GDP is adjusted for price changes and is therefore regarded as a key indicator for economic growth. In 2024, India's real gross domestic product growth was at about 7.02 percent compared to the previous year. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in India Recent years have witnessed a shift of economic power and attention to the strengthening economies of the BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The growth rate of gross domestic product in the BRIC countries is overwhelmingly larger than in traditionally strong economies, such as the United States and Germany. While the United States can claim the title of the largest economy in the world by almost any measure, China nabs the second-largest share of global GDP, with India racing Japan for third-largest position. Despite the world-wide recession in 2008 and 2009, India still managed to record impressive GDP growth rates, especially when most of the world recorded negative growth in at least one of those years. Part of the reason for India’s success is the economic liberalization that started in 1991and encouraged trade subsequently ending some public monopolies. GDP growth has slowed in recent years, due in part to skyrocketing inflation. India’s workforce is expanding in the industry and services sectors, growing partially because of international outsourcing — a profitable venture for the Indian economy. The agriculture sector in India is still a global power, producing more wheat or tea than anyone in the world except for China. However, with the mechanization of a lot of processes and the rapidly growing population, India’s unemployment rate remains relatively high.

The statistic shows the growth in real GDP in Brazil from between 2019 and 2023, with projections up until 2029. In 2023, Brazil’s real gross domestic product increased by 2.91 percent compared to the previous year.

Brazilian growth and civic unrest

GDP is a reliable tool used to indicate the shape of a national economy. It is one of the most well-known and well-understood measurements of the state of a country. Gross domestic product, or GDP, is the total market value of all final services and goods that have been produced in a country within a given period of time, usually a year.

Brazil has undergone a huge economic transformation in the course of the last decade and is now one of the fastest growing economies on the planet. It belongs to the BRIC club of countries, an acronym that refers to the countries Brazil, Russia, India and China, a group of countries which are considered to be at a relatively similar stage of new and advancing economic development. Economic reforms in Brazil have given the country a boost on the international stage, which has helped it to gain significantly in recognition and influence around the world.

The domestic product growth rate in Brazil is progressing throughout the years. After a minor blip in 2009, when a short recession saw the rate of growth moving slightly backwards, the economy has picked itself up and fought back with an increase of an impressive 7.53 percent in 2010. Despite the rapid growth and the perceived increase in Brazilian domestic prosperity, the gap between rich and poor remains distinct. The lower class manifested themselves in the numerous protests that erupted across the South American state in the summer of 2013. For days, hundreds of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets to protest the increase of public transport fares, but the demonstrations evolved into a more general protest against increasing social inequalities among the Brazilian population, despite increased prosperity.

The statistic shows the growth rate of Australia’s real GDP from 2019 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. In 2023, GDP in Australia grew by about 2.06 percent on the previous year.

The recession-proof land down under

GDP is one of the primary indicators used to gauge the state and health of a country’s economy. It is the total market value of all final goods and services that have been produced within a country in a given period of time, usually a year. GDP figures allow us to understand a country’s economy in a clear way. Real GDP, in a similar vein, is also a very useful indicator; this is a measurement that takes prices changes (inflation and deflation) into account, therefore acting as a key indicator for economic growth.

The gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in Australia has, for sometime, been able to get a steady foothold in the somewhat shaky post-recession world, shaky, but far from catastrophic. The annual growth rate between the 2008 and 2009 financial years, for example, a time at which the world was brought to its proverbial knees, saw growth rates down under reach to 2.49 and 1.37 percent respectively on the previous years, whereas the GDP growth rate in the United States plummeted well into the minus zone. Australia, like all other capitalist nations, is at the mercy of international markets, and when the world economy takes a hit, it would be foolish to suggest it could emerge fully unscathed. However, Australia has earned some much deserved praise and attention owing to the fact that it has managed to remain recession-free for the past twenty years. This could be thanks to its abundance of raw materials, the Australian mining boom, the fact the recession came at a time of high commodity prices and, maybe most importantly, that just under a third of its exports go to China.

In 2023, the gross domestic product of Japan was estimated to be around 4.22 trillion U.S. dollars. This makes Japan third in the world GDP ranking. However, Japan's GDP is much closer to those countries below it in this ranking, as the two largest economies in the world, the U.S. and China, are both several times larger than that of Japan. After decades of rapid growth in the post-WWII era, Japan's economic growth has stagnated in recent decades, with figures fluctuating between four and 6.3 trillion U.S. dollars since the 1990s.

In 2018, Germany’s GDP peaked at around four billion U.S. dollars, the highest GDP the country has reported in decades. It is predicted to grow towards 5.57 billion by 2029. Germany has the fourth-largest GDP in the world, after the United States, China, and Japan. The national debt of Germany has steadily been falling since 2012 and is now about a quarter of the size of Japan’s and half that of the United States. Development of GDP per capita Gross domestic product per capita in Germany has been increasing since 2015 and experienced its last period of decline between the mid-nineties and early noughties. In 2001, GDP per capita was the lowest it had been since the early nineties, but more than doubled by the time of the financial crisis in 2008. GDP per capita fluctuated throughout the subsequent decade, before reaching around 48,000 U.S. dollars in 2018. Largest economic sectors The service sector generates the highest share of GDP in Germany at nearly 70 percent. Finance and telecommunications are a large part of the service sector, as well as tourism – including hospitality and accommodation. Roughly a quarter of GDP currently comes from the production industry, not including construction. Agriculture, fishing, and forestry make up less than one percent.

Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth was 5.77 percent in 2021 after adjusting for inflation.

GDP in developing nations

Gross domestic product measures value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders during a certain period of time. In developing countries, GDP should rise more quickly due to “catch-up growth”. In many developing nations, employment is shifted from agriculture to the services sector; simply shifting workers from one sector to more productive sectors increases the income of both the workers and their employers, increasing GDP. This raises GDP per capita (383750), which gives a general idea of the level of development.

International setting

Due to historic tensions, Pakistan neither imports nor exports a significant amount from its neighbor India, favoring China instead. Its other neighbors, Afghanistan and Iran, are not as economically stable at the moment. Pakistan's own GDP is also not in the best shape and is expected to drop during 2019, however, Pakistan stands to benefit from China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which would revive the trading routes that made Pakistan wealthy in past centuries. If this comes to fruition, the GDP for Pakistan is sure to increase.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the BRICS countries have been considered the five foremost developing economies in the world. Originally, the term BRIC was used by economists when talking about the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, however these countries have held annual summits since 2009, and the group has expanded to include South Africa since 2010. China has the largest GDP of the BRICS country, at 16.86 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021, while the others are all below three trillion. Combined, the BRICS bloc has a GDP over 25.85 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022, which is slightly more than the United States. BRICS economic development China has consistently been the largest economy of this bloc, and its rapid growth has seen it become the second largest economy in the world, behind the U.S.. China's growth has also been much faster than the other BRICS countries; for example, when compared with the second largest BRICS economy, its GDP was less than double the size of Brazil's in 2000, but is almost six times larger than India's in 2021. Since 2000, the country with the second largest GDP has fluctuated between Brazil, Russia, and India, due to a variety of factors, although India has held this position since 2015 (when the other two experienced recession), and it's growth rate is on track to surpass China's in the coming decade. South Africa has consistently had the smallest economy of the BRICS bloc, and it has just the third largest economy in Africa; its inclusion in this group is due to the fact that it is the most advanced and stable major economy in Africa, and it holds strategic importance due to the financial potential of the continent in the coming decades. Future developments It is predicted that China's GDP will overtake that of the U.S. by the end of the 2020s, to become the largest economy in the world, while some also estimate that India will also overtake the U.S. around the middle of the century. Additionally, the BRICS group is more than just an economic or trading bloc, and its New Development Bank was established in 2014 to invest in sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy across the globe. While relations between its members were often strained or of less significance in the 20th century, their current initiatives have given them a much greater international influence. The traditional great powers represented in the Group of Seven (G7) have seen their international power wane in recent decades, while BRICS countries have seen theirs grow, especially on a regional level. Today, the original BRIC countries combine with the Group of Seven (G7), to make up 11 of the world's 12 largest economies, but it is predicted that they will move further up on this list in the coming decades.

The graph shows the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in China as of December 2024, by sector and area. That month, the CPI for transportation and communication in urban areas resided at 97.7 index points. Measuring inflation The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an economic indicator that measures changes in the price level of a representative basket of consumer goods and services. It is calculated by taking price changes for each item in the market basket and averaging them. Goods and services are weighted according to their significance. The CPI can be used to assess the price changes related to the cost of living. It is also useful for identifying periods of inflation and deflation. A significant rise in CPI during a short period of time denotes inflation and a significant drop during a short period of time suggests deflation. Development of inflation in China Annual projections of China’s inflation rate forecast by the IMF estimate a relatively low increase in prices in the coming years. The implications of low inflation are two-fold for a national economy. On the one hand, price levels remain largely stable which may lead to equal or increased spending levels by domestic consumers. On the other hand, low inflation signifies an expansion slowdown of the economy, as is reflected by China’s gross domestic product growth. In recent years, inflation rates in rural areas have on average been slightly higher than in the cities. This reflects a shift of economic growth from the largest cities and coastal regions to the inner provinces and the countryside. Higher price levels in rural areas in turn relate to higher inflation rates of food products.