From 1820 to 1913, the global GDP almost quadrupled, from just under 700 billion FY1990 U.S. dollars to more than 2.7 trillion FY1990 USD. As Europe industrialized throughout this period, its share of the global GDP increased from roughly one-third in 1820 to 46 percent in 1913, with Western European* countries disproportionately driving this growth. However, the combined growth of North America, Australia, and New Zealand saw the most significant development over this period, rising from 14 billion FY1990 USD in 1820 to 583 billion FY1990 USD in 1913. While the Asia-Pacific region had the largest share of global GDP in 1820, the slower rate of industrialization meant that its share dropped significantly by 1913. This region saw the lowest growth rate during this period.

Context

This dataset provides country-level GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in current US dollars from 2000 to 2025, mapped to the seven classic continents (Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica). It is designed to make global economic data easier to explore, compare, and visualize by combining both geographic and temporal dimensions.

GDP is one of the most widely used indicators to measure the size of an economy, its growth trends, and relative economic performance across regions.

Source

Data Provider: World Bank Open Data

Indicator Used: NY.GDP.MKTP.CD → GDP (current US$)

License: World Bank Dataset Terms of Use (aligned with CC BY 4.0)

Note: 2024–2025 values may be incomplete or missing for some countries, depending on World Bank publication updates.

Dataset Structure

Name of country → Country name

Continent → One of the 7 continents

2000–2025 → GDP values in current US$ (float, may contain missing values NaN)

Format: wide panel data (one row per country, one column per year).

Inspiration & Use Cases

This dataset was prepared to make economic analysis, visualization, and forecasting more accessible. It can be used for:

• Time-series forecasting (predicting GDP growth into the future)
• Cross-country comparisons (e.g., comparing GDP trends of India vs. USA vs. Brazil)
• Continent-level aggregation (summing GDP by continent per year)
• Data visualization (heatmaps, line charts, world choropleths)
• Machine Learning applications (e.g., clustering countries by GDP trajectory)

Citation

If you use this dataset, please cite:

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (NY.GDP.MKTP.CD). Licensed under the World Bank Terms of Use.

This dataset provides values for GDP reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

This dataset is about continents. It has 5 rows. It features 3 columns: GDP, and expense. It is 100% filled with non-null values.

This horizontal bar chart displays GDP (current US$) by continent using the aggregation sum in Africa. The data is about countries.

This dataset provides values for GDP reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

This dataset provides values for GDP reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

This dataset provides values for GDP reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

This dataset provides values for GDP PER CAPITA reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

This horizontal bar chart displays GDP (current US$) by continent using the aggregation sum. The data is about regions.

This scatter chart displays number of regions against expense (% of GDP). The data is about continents.

As of April 2025, South Africa's GDP was estimated at over 410 billion U.S. dollars, the highest in Africa. Egypt followed, with a GDP worth around 347 billion U.S. dollars, and ranked as the second-highest on the continent. Algeria ranked third, with nearly 269 billion U.S. dollars. These African economies are among some of the fastest-growing economies worldwide. Dependency on oil For some African countries, the oil industry represents an enormous source of income. In Nigeria, oil generates over five percent of the country’s GDP in the third quarter of 2023. However, economies such as the Libyan, Algerian, or Angolan are even much more dependent on the oil sector. In Libya, for instance, oil rents account for over 40 percent of the GDP. Indeed, Libya is one of the economies most dependent on oil worldwide. Similarly, oil represents for some of Africa’s largest economies a substantial source of export value. The giants do not make the ranking Most of Africa’s largest economies do not appear in the leading ten African countries for GDP per capita. The GDP per capita is calculated by dividing a country’s GDP by its population. Therefore, a populated country with a low total GDP will have a low GDP per capita, while a small rich nation has a high GDP per capita. For instance, South Africa has Africa’s highest GDP, but also counts the sixth-largest population, so wealth has to be divided into its big population. The GDP per capita also indicates how a country’s wealth reaches each of its citizens. In Africa, Seychelles has the greatest GDP per capita.

As of 2022, the real GDP growth rate in Africa was estimated at 3.7 percent, decreasing compared to the previous year when it stood at 4.8 percent. Africa's real GDP is projected to keep a stable and constant growth trend between 2023 and 2027.

Negative impact of COVID-19

Starting in 2020, the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) caused economic stagnation and recession in most world regions. Economies on the African continent were also negatively affected, as the health crisis determined disruptions across all economic sectors. In 2020, Africa’s real GDP dropped to minus 1.8 percent, an exceptional negative growth rate registered on the continent. Southern Africa was the most affected region, followed by Central and Western Africa, respectively.

Forecast economic growth in Africa

In 2021 and 2022, Africa’s economy showed signs of recovery after the COVID-19 crisis. Growth was expected to continue in the following years, with the total GDP increasing from around three trillion U.S. dollars in 2020 to four trillion U.S. dollars in 2027. The African economy was set to grow at a rapid pace, especially compared to other world regions. By 2027, Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP is estimated to record a growth rate of over four percent, while the European Union’s economy would expand by less than two percent.

This dataset provides annual GDP data for 196 countries from 2005 to 2025, measured in USD billions. Data is sourced from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Coverage: 196 countries + header row Time span: 2005–2024 (reported), 2025 (projected) Notable trends: The data clearly shows the impact of the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic on world economies. Missing values: In some cases, GDP values are unavailable because countries did not report them.

Usability

Trend analysis — Study global and regional GDP growth patterns across two decades.

Forecasting models — Train ARIMA, Prophet, LSTM, or other models to predict future GDP.

Comparative studies — Benchmark economic performance between countries, continents, or economic blocs (e.g., G7, BRICS).

Impact assessment — Analyze the effect of global events such as the 2008 crisis and COVID-19 on GDP.

Correlation research — Combine with other datasets (population, inflation, CO₂ emissions) for cross indicator analysis.

Visualization projects — Build dashboards, choropleth maps, or interactive charts to illustrate global growth.

Educational use — Teach concepts of macroeconomics, time series data, and forecasting in classrooms.

Investment & policy insights — Support macro level decision making, financial market analysis, or policy research.

This dataset provides values for FULL YEAR GDP GROWTH reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

As of 2023, the GDP of Africa was estimated at roughly 3.1 trillion U.S. dollars. This was the highest value since 2010 when the continent's GDP amounted to approximately 2.1 trillion U.S. dollars. The GDP value in Africa generally followed an upward trend in recent years and was estimated to exceed 4.2 trillion U.S. dollars by 2027.

Leading the charge: the three leading African economies

Among the African countries, in 2021, Nigeria had the highest GDP with approximately 442 billion U.S. dollars. South Africa and Egypt followed. These three countries have the largest economies for various reasons. The most notable factors are their population size, natural resources, and level of economic development. Furthermore, Africa was projected to have a real GDP growth rate of 3.9 percent in 2023. Libya was the economy experiencing the highest growth rate in that year.

The Sub-Saharan African economy on the rise

A global comparison showed that Sub-Saharan Africa had the smallest GDP among all world regions in 2021, amounting to 1.87 trillion U.S. dollars. A closer look revealed that Sub-Saharan Africa had a GDP per capita of 1,626.3 U.S. dollars in 2021, again the lowest worldwide. However, the region's economy was forecast to experience continued growth in the following years, with the real GDP increasing by 3.7 percent in 2023.

This dataset provides values for GDP PER CAPITA reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

In the years between 2010 and 2019, Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) recorded an average annual growth rate of **** percent. Economic growth on the African continent was higher than in other world regions. In Latin America (LATAM) and Europe (EU-28), the growth stood at an annual rate of *** percent.

This horizontal bar chart displays GDP (current US$) by continent using the aggregation sum in Western Africa. The data is about countries.

This dataset provides values for GDP ANNUAL GROWTH RATE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.