During the "Golden Age of Capitalism", between 1950 and 1969, economic growth and output grew across virtually all countries in Europe. Growth in Western Europe was the fastest of any region in the world; Japan was the only individual, major economic power to experience faster growth during this time. In Western Europe, the fastest growth rates were across the southern states*, and in the founding countries of the European Coal and Steel Community (Benelux, France, Italy, and West Germany). Not only was West Germany the largest economy in post-WWII Western Europe, but it also had the highest growth rate of economic output, at an average of 6.2 percent each year. Causes Increased European integration removed many trade barriers and incentivized cooperation; for the countries who were reluctant to integrate, most notably the United Kingdom, economic growth was still achieved but at a much lower rate. Generally, there was also a correlation between social spending and economic growth, as countries who invested the most in public services and welfare also saw the largest rises in GDP throughout this period. American influence was also fundamental, particularly in private investment from American companies and the Americanization of business practices and corporate structures. Manufacturing In terms of manufacturing, West Germany and the southern countries saw the sharpest increases in annual output. West Germany already had a relatively industrialized economy, but greatly expanded these industries in the post-war period. For those states along the Mediterranean, there was a much stronger emphasis on agriculture than industrialization during the interwar period, which meant that when industrialization began in the late 1940s and 1950s it grew significantly. For example, Italy sought to strengthen its agricultural sector in the 1930s by restricting urbanization and migration abroad; after the war, the reversal of these policies saw manufacturing industries boom and employment reached record highs.

Throughout the Second World War, the United States consistently had the largest gross domestic product (GDP) in the world. Additionally, U.S. GDP grew significantly throughout the war, whereas the economies of Europe and Japan saw relatively little growth, and were often in decline. The impact of key events in the war is also reflected in the trends shown here - the economic declines of France and the Soviet Union coincide with the years of German invasion, while the economies of the three Axis countries experienced their largest declines in the final year of the war.

In 1938, the year before the Second World War, the United States had, by far, the largest economy in the world in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). The five Allied Great Powers that emerged victorious from the war, along with the three Axis Tripartite Pact countries that were ultimately defeated made up the eight largest independent economies in 1938.

When values are converted into 1990 international dollars, the U.S. GDP was over 800 billion dollars in 1938, which was more than double that of the second largest economy, the Soviet Union. Even the combined economies of the UK, its dominions, and colonies had a value of just over 680 billion 1990 dollars, showing that the United States had established itself as the world's leading economy during the interwar period (despite the Great Depression).

Interestingly, the British and Dutch colonies had larger combined GDPs than their respective metropoles, which was a key motivator for the Japanese invasion of these territories in East Asia during the war. Trade with neutral and non-belligerent countries also contributed greatly to the economic development of Allied and Axis powers throughout the war; for example, natural resources from Latin America were essential to the American war effort, while German manufacturing was often dependent on Swedish iron supplies.

In the build up to the Second World War, the United States was the major power with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the world. In 1938, the United States also had the highest overall GDP in the world, and by a significant margin, however differences in GDP per person were much smaller. Switzerland In terms of countries that played a notable economic role in the war, the neutral country of Switzerland had the highest GDP per capita in the world. A large part of this was due to the strength of Switzerland's financial system. Most major currencies abandoned the gold standard early in the Great Depression, however the Swiss Franc remained tied to it until late 1936. This meant that it was the most stable, freely convertible currency available as the world recovered from the Depression, and other major powers of the time sold large amounts of gold to Swiss banks in order to trade internationally. Switzerland was eventually surrounded on all sides by Axis territories and lived under the constant threat of invasion in the war's early years, however Swiss strategic military planning and economic leverage made an invasion potentially more expensive than it was worth. Switzerland maintained its neutrality throughout the war, trading with both sides, although its financial involvement in the Holocaust remains a point of controversy. Why look at GDP per capita? While overall GDP is a stronger indicator of a state's ability to fund its war effort, GDP per capita is more useful in giving context to a country's economic power in relation to its size and providing an insight into living standards and wealth distribution across societies. For example, Germany and the USSR had fairly similar GDPs in 1938, whereas Germany's per capita GDP was more than double that of the Soviet Union. Germany was much more industrialized and technologically advanced than the USSR, and its citizens generally had a greater quality of life. However these factors did not guarantee victory - the fact that the Soviet Union could better withstand the war of attrition and call upon its larger population to replenish its forces greatly contributed to its eventual victory over Germany in 1945.

Between 1946 and 1961, the United States distributed over 44.5 billion U.S. dollars to Western European countries in the form of loans or grants. 27.3 billion was given in the form of economic assistance, while 17.2 billion was given as military assistance. The largest sums were given to the United Kingdom and France, who received 8.8 and 8.4 billion dollars respectively. Italy and West Germany, who had been enemies of the U.S. during the Second World War, received the next-largest sums, with both totals over five billion dollars. Disproportional distributions Such grants and loans, particularly those of the Marshall Plan, were distributed on a (fairly rough) per capita basis, although major industrial powers were given disproportionately higher sums, as it was believed that their successful recovery would drive prosperity across the region. Turkey and Greece were also given relatively high sums due to their political and strategic significance during the Cold War, with Turkey receiving significantly more in military assistance than economic. In contrast, Spain received a disproportionately low sum - despite being neutral during the war, Franco's fascist government was unpopular in the U.S. and was excluded from aid in the years immediately following the war; the Spanish government's strong anti-communist saw the U.S. revert this policy with the Pact of Madrid in 1953. The Golden Age The "Golden Age" was a period of relatively uninterrupted economic growth between the end of the Second World War in 1945 and the Recession of 1973-1975. During this time, Western Europe experienced its most economically successful period in recorded history. This success was made possible by various factors, including an increase in European integration, the expansion of welfare and healthcare systems, and widespread industrialization. The United States played a key role in these developments; however, the modern historical consensus is that the largest impact was not through government investment, but rather private investment and the American influence on business practice, consumer buying behavior, and international policy (critics at the time referred to this as Coca-colonization). Along with the new-found peace following decades of war and instability, these factors combined to increase living standards and wages among the public, who generally embraced capitalism and the opportunity to spend their new-found disposable income.

The European Recovery Program, more commonly known as the Marshall Plan, was a U.S. initiative to promote Europe's economic recovery in the aftermath of the Second World War. Between 1948 and 1952, the U.S. distributed approximately 13.3 billion U.S. dollars between the non-communist states of Western Europe, including Greece and Turkey. Notable exceptions from this aid were Spain, due to Franco's unpopularity in the U.S. (although this changed with the Pact of Madrid in 1953), and Finland, who opted out as they did not want to strain relations with the Soviet Union. While money was roughly split between nations based on population size, larger, industrialized countries received a disproportionately higher share of the aid as it was believed their success would trickle down to smaller states. Economic insignificance? The term "Marshall Plan" has become something of a synonym for economic recovery plans in recent decades, yet the modern consensus is that the economic impact of the original was fairly overstated at the time. This investment of capital did help, but European recovery was well underway before the first installments were paid by the U.S, and it was European integration which laid the groundwork for recovery. Unlike the period following the First World War, the victorious powers had learned that cooperation between former adversaries, rather than punishment and reparations, would be the key to future success. It was the ideological influence of the Marshall Plan had the largest impact; Western European business structures became more Americanized, international trade barriers and tariffs were removed, and the transition to more capitalist economies eventually led to the most prosperous period ever recorded in European history, known as the "Golden Age" (1950-1973). The Molotov Plan The initial proposal, made by George C. Marshall, actually invited the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc states to take part in the offer, although this was a token gesture that U.S. knew would never be accepted. The Marshall Plan was announced in June 1947, just a few months after the Truman Doctrine; this was where the U.S. pledged to contain communist expansion across the globe, and is often regarded as the beginning of the Cold War. Not only did the Soviet Union reject the U.S. proposal, but Moscow also forbade any other Eastern Bloc country from taking part; instead the Soviets launched the Molotov Plan, which consolidated their economic power in the Eastern Bloc. While this plan initially rewarded Poland and Czechoslovakia for rejecting Americanization, the heavy reparations placed on the Axis powers meant that it was of little benefit to the likes of East Germany, Hungary, or Romania. Nonetheless, as the Marshall Plan changed the economic direction of Western Europe throughout the Cold War, the Molotov Plan helped shape communist economic development in the East. Eventually both plans developed into much larger endeavors, as the Mutual Security Act of 1951 saw American economic influence stretch beyond Europe, and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) did the same for the Soviet Union.

The early-20th century is often considered the most destructive period in European history, with the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s being defined by various aspects including recovery from the First World War, as well as fluctuating political and economic stability. In particular, the onset of the Great Depression in the U.S. created a ripple effect that was felt across the globe, especially in Europe. During this time, all major currencies were connected via the gold standard; however, several European countries had suspended the gold standard to print additional money during the First World War, and conditions had not re-stabilized by the onset of the Great Depression in the U.S. - the given countries would all abandon the gold standard by the outbreak of war in 1939. Germany Additionally, American investors withdrew much of their capital from Europe in the wake of the Wall Street Crash in 1929, and the U.S. government ceased all loans to Germany and demanded advanced repayments. The German economy had already collapsed in the early-1920s, and it became dependent on American loans to stabilize its economy and meet its reparation payments - this move by the American government caused a German economic collapse once more, sending the economy into a downward spiral. Regional differences For France, its industrial output dropped in the wake of the Great Depression, and it would not reach these levels again until after the Second World War. In contrast, the Soviet Union was largely shielded from the Great Depression, and its industrial output grew significantly in the build-up to WWII (albeit from a much less-developed starting point). For the other three countries listed, output would not reach pre-Depression levels until at least 1934.

Between 1946 and 1961, the United States distributed over 85 billion U.S. dollars to approximately 140 countries across the globe in the form of free grants or repayable loans. In the years immediately following the war, the priority was economic recovery and the distribution of humanitarian aid; this was administered through individual programs such as the Anglo-American loan, U.S.-led programs such as Government Aid and Relief in Occupied Areas (GARIOA), and international programs such as the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). In 1947, the U.S. began consolidating these efforts into larger programs, the most well-known of which was the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan itself saw over 13 billion dollars spread among 16 European nations in the form of economic assistance, although more than 29 billion dollars was administered across the globe during this time. As rapid recovery spread through Europe, the need for economic assistance declined, however, the perceived threat of the Soviet Union and communism's expansion in Asia saw the U.S place a larger emphasis on its national security. Countries in Western Europe received the bulk of loans and grants between 1946 and 1952, however Asian countries, particularly South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam, saw higher levels of investment from 1953 onward.

The Second World War was fought on such a large scale that it became total war in many countries - this is where the war effort is prioritized above all else, and the entire population and economy are mobilized to support all military endeavors. Germany and Japan were committing over 70 percent of their national income to the war effort in its final years.

There were also notable fluctuations that coincided with major events for corresponding powers. These included the UK's mobilization of its defenses in 1940, after Germany took most of Western Europe; the spike in Soviet military spending after Operation Barbarossa in June, 1941; and the U.S. entry into the war following the Pearl Harbor attacks in December, 1941.

Between 1933 and 1939, Germany expanded and strengthened its trade connections with a number of Eastern European countries to a point where their economic expansion became dependent on trade with Germany, making it the dominant economic power in the region. By 1939, the year the Second World War began in Europe, Germany was the largest trading partner of the four countries listed; this was also true of Czechoslovakia in 1937, Poland in 1938, and the Soviet Union in 1940, although the share of total exports to Germany from these countries was lower. German influence increases in the Second World War To consolidate its power in the region, Germany exported its high-quality industrial products to these countries and paid above-market prices to import raw materials and agricultural produce. Following the outbreak of the war, Germany invested more into the farming sectors of the four countries listed, to the point where they were economically subordinate and considered satellite extensions of the German economy. The demand for agricultural imports from these countries impeded their industrialization and prevented them from developing their industries that could compete with Germany. Three of the countries listed would side with the Axis powers as the war escalated. At the same time, Yugoslavia was quickly annexed, and a puppet government was installed, continuing the agricultural supply to Germany. Post-war difficulties Following the war, the four listed countries eventually fell within the Soviet sphere of influence (though Yugoslavia to a lesser extent than the other three), and the dominance of agricultural sectors led to difficulties, as new communist governments attempted to take their economies in a more industrialized direction. The socialist economic systems required the agricultural means of production to be publicly owned (collectivized); however, many rural landowners were unwilling to part from their land; especially in Bulgaria. These factors exacerbated the delaying effect that Germany had had on these countries' industrialization in the 1930s, contributing to the economic imbalances that emerged between Europe's Eastern and Western Blocs in the decades that followed.

In 1800, the region of Germany was not a single, unified nation, but a collection of decentralized, independent states, bound together as part of the Holy Roman Empire. This empire was dissolved, however, in 1806, during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras in Europe, and the German Confederation was established in 1815. Napoleonic reforms led to the abolition of serfdom, extension of voting rights to property-owners, and an overall increase in living standards. The population grew throughout the remainder of the century, as improvements in sanitation and medicine (namely, mandatory vaccination policies) saw child mortality rates fall in later decades. As Germany industrialized and the economy grew, so too did the argument for nationhood; calls for pan-Germanism (the unification of all German-speaking lands) grew more popular among the lower classes in the mid-1800s, especially following the revolutions of 1948-49. In contrast, industrialization and poor harvests also saw high unemployment in rural regions, which led to waves of mass migration, particularly to the U.S.. In 1886, the Austro-Prussian War united northern Germany under a new Confederation, while the remaining German states (excluding Austria and Switzerland) joined following the Franco-Prussian War in 1871; this established the German Empire, under the Prussian leadership of Emperor Wilhelm I and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. 1871 to 1945 - Unification to the Second World War The first decades of unification saw Germany rise to become one of Europe's strongest and most advanced nations, and challenge other world powers on an international scale, establishing colonies in Africa and the Pacific. These endeavors were cut short, however, when the Austro-Hungarian heir apparent was assassinated in Sarajevo; Germany promised a "blank check" of support for Austria's retaliation, who subsequently declared war on Serbia and set the First World War in motion. Viewed as the strongest of the Central Powers, Germany mobilized over 11 million men throughout the war, and its army fought in all theaters. As the war progressed, both the military and civilian populations grew increasingly weakened due to malnutrition, as Germany's resources became stretched. By the war's end in 1918, Germany suffered over 2 million civilian and military deaths due to conflict, and several hundred thousand more during the accompanying influenza pandemic. Mass displacement and the restructuring of Europe's borders through the Treaty of Versailles saw the population drop by several million more.

Reparations and economic mismanagement also financially crippled Germany and led to bitter indignation among many Germans in the interwar period; something that was exploited by Adolf Hitler on his rise to power. Reckless printing of money caused hyperinflation in 1923, when the currency became so worthless that basic items were priced at trillions of Marks; the introduction of the Rentenmark then stabilized the economy before the Great Depression of 1929 sent it back into dramatic decline. When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Nazi government disregarded the Treaty of Versailles' restrictions and Germany rose once more to become an emerging superpower. Hitler's desire for territorial expansion into eastern Europe and the creation of an ethnically-homogenous German empire then led to the invasion of Poland in 1939, which is considered the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. Again, almost every aspect of German life contributed to the war effort, and more than 13 million men were mobilized. After six years of war, and over seven million German deaths, the Axis powers were defeated and Germany was divided into four zones administered by France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the U.S.. Mass displacement, shifting borders, and the relocation of peoples based on ethnicity also greatly affected the population during this time. 1945 to 2020 - Partition and Reunification In the late 1940s, cold war tensions led to two distinct states emerging in Germany; the Soviet-controlled east became the communist German Democratic Republic (DDR), and the three western zones merged to form the democratic Federal Republic of Germany. Additionally, Berlin was split in a similar fashion, although its location deep inside DDR territory created series of problems and opportunities for the those on either side. Life quickly changed depending on which side of the border one lived. Within a decade, rapid economic recovery saw West Germany become western Europe's strongest economy and a key international player. In the east, living standards were much lower, although unemployment was almost non-existent; internationally, East Germany was the strongest economy in the Eastern Bloc (after the USSR), though it eventually fell behind the West by the 1970s. The restriction of movement between the two states also led to labor shortages in t...

During the eighteenth century, it is estimated that France's population grew by roughly fifty percent, from 19.7 million in 1700, to 29 million by 1800. In France itself, the 1700s are remembered for the end of King Louis XIV's reign in 1715, the Age of Enlightenment, and the French Revolution. During this century, the scientific and ideological advances made in France and across Europe challenged the leadership structures of the time, and questioned the relationship between monarchial, religious and political institutions and their subjects. France was arguably the most powerful nation in the world in these early years, with the second largest population in Europe (after Russia); however, this century was defined by a number of costly, large-scale conflicts across Europe and in the new North American theater, which saw the loss of most overseas territories (particularly in North America) and almost bankrupted the French crown. A combination of regressive taxation, food shortages and enlightenment ideologies ultimately culminated in the French Revolution in 1789, which brought an end to the Ancien Régime, and set in motion a period of self-actualization.

War and peace

After a volatile and tumultuous decade, in which tens of thousands were executed by the state (most infamously: guillotined), relative stability was restored within France as Napoleon Bonaparte seized power in 1799, and the policies of the revolution became enforced. Beyond France's borders, the country was involved in a series of large scale wars for two almost decades, and the First French Empire eventually covered half of Europe by 1812. In 1815, Napoleon was defeated outright, the empire was dissolved, and the monarchy was restored to France; nonetheless, a large number of revolutionary and Napoleonic reforms remained in effect afterwards, and the ideas had a long-term impact across the globe. France experienced a century of comparative peace in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars; there were some notable uprisings and conflicts, and the monarchy was abolished yet again, but nothing on the scale of what had preceded or what was to follow. A new overseas colonial empire was also established in the late 1800s, particularly across Africa and Southeast Asia. Through most of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, France had the second largest population in Europe (after Russia), however political instability and the economic prioritization of Paris meant that the entire country did not urbanize or industrialize at the same rate as the other European powers. Because of this, Germany and Britain entered the twentieth century with larger populations, and other regions, such as Austria or Belgium, had overtaken France in terms of industrialization; the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian War was also a major contributor to this.

World Wars and contemporary France

Coming into the 1900s, France had a population of approximately forty million people (officially 38 million* due to to territorial changes), and there was relatively little growth in the first half of the century. France was comparatively unprepared for a large scale war, however it became one of the most active theaters of the First World War when Germany invaded via Belgium in 1914, with the ability to mobilize over eight million men. By the war's end in 1918, France had lost almost 1.4 million in the conflict, and approximately 300,000 in the Spanish Flu pandemic that followed. Germany invaded France again during the Second World War, and occupied the country from 1940, until the Allied counter-invasion liberated the country during the summer of 1944. France lost around 600,000 people in the course of the war, over half of which were civilians. Following the war's end, the country experienced a baby boom, and the population grew by approximately twenty million people in the next fifty years (compared to just one million in the previous fifty years). Since the 1950s, France's economy quickly grew to be one of the strongest in the world, despite losing the vast majority of its overseas colonial empire by the 1970s. A wave of migration, especially from these former colonies, has greatly contributed to the growth and diversity of France's population today, which stands at over 65 million people in 2020.

In the year 1800, the population of the region which makes up the present-day Netherlands was approximately two million people. The beginning of the 19th century was a tumultuous time in Dutch history, as the region had recently been annexed by Revolutionary France; however the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was eventually established in 1815 (which also included present-day Belgium and Luxembourg) and a period of economic growth, modernization and high quality of life followed. In spite of this economic prosperity, religious tensions between the predominantly Catholic south and Protestant north led to a split in the kingdom in 1839, where it was eventually partitioned into Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, along borders very similar to today's. Rapid modernization and liberalization continued throughout the 19th century, and in 1900 the population of the Netherlands was over five million people.

Early 20th century The Netherlands was free to continue economic expansion, both in the metropole and in its colonies, uninterrupted for much of the first half of the 20th century (partly facilitated by its neutrality in the First World War). This resulted in a steady rise in population, which doubled to ten million within half a century. Population growth would even continue throughout the Second World War, as the Netherlands would be spared from much of the casualty-heavy conflicts seen in neighboring countries; however, most estimates concur that approximately 210,000 Dutch people died as a result of the war, half of which were Jews murdered in the Holocaust. The war also saw the end of Dutch colonization in the East Indies, as Japan annexed the region of present-day Indonesia in 1942; although the Dutch tried to re-colonize the region after the war, Indonesia became an officially recognized independent nation in 1949.

Netherlands today Population growth in the Netherlands would continue largely uninterrupted in the post-war years, until the 1970s, when it began to slow as Western Europe experienced periods of recession and high unemployment. Improvements in contraceptives and education also saw birth rates fall at their fastest ever rates in the 1970s. Following the recovery of the Dutch economy in the 1990s, population growth would resume once more, continuing steadily into the 21th century. In 2020, the Netherlands is estimated to have a population of just over 17 million people, making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world. For its size, the Netherlands has one of the strongest economies globally, and often ranks among the highest in terms of development, freedom and quality of life.