In 2024, China's gross domestic product amounted to approximately ***** trillion U.S. dollars, which was the highest GDP across the Asia-Pacific region. Japan followed with a GDP of around **** trillion dollars.  China, Asia-Pacific's titan The significance of the Asia-Pacific region to the world is multifaceted, ranging from geopolitical importance to being home to more than half of the world's population. Characterized by emerging countries and dynamic economic activities, the region plays a key role in the global economy. China, the most populous country after India, and the second largest economy on the planet, accounted for about half of the total gross domestic product (GDP) in APAC as of 2023. The GDP growth in China was characterized by high rates for decades. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has struggled to catch up with the previous level of growth rates and was forecast to stay at more modest real GDP growth rates in the coming years.  A new paradigm of development in the Asia-Pacific region Even though the Asia-Pacific region has made significant economic improvements in the last decades, from a developmental perspective, tackling existing socio-economic issues will be critical for future growth. An aspect worth mentioning is the GDP per capita in the region. EU countries, for example, had about ***** times as much GDP per capita compared to East Asia and the Pacific region in 2022. China has been working towards changing its economic focus to high-tech and service sectors while reducing its concentration on agriculture.

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.

The gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of all major economies included except China was negative in 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic. Growth rates were positive again in 2021, but stagnated in some countries in 2023 amid high inflation rates. What does GDP measure? GDP is the sum of all consumption, investment, government spending, and net exports in an economy. As such, different things drive the growth of each of these countries. Germany benefits from a high value of net exports, also known as its trade balance. Drawbacks of GDP growth as a metric GDP measures growth, but it does not capture welfare gains correctly in many cases. For example, carbon dioxide emissions often go hand in hand with a growing GDP. These emissions are from industry, such as coal power plants, or consumption, such as driving cars, but GDP does not measure the damage from these activities. Also, national debt is not incorporated into GDP.

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.

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.

In 2025, Luxembourg was the country with the highest gross domestic product per capita in the world. Of the 20 listed countries, 13 are in Europe and five are in Asia, alongside the U.S. and Australia. There are no African or Latin American countries among the top 20. Correlation with high living standards While GDP is a useful indicator for measuring the size or strength of an economy, GDP per capita is much more reflective of living standards. For example, when compared to life expectancy or indices such as the Human Development Index or the World Happiness Report, there is a strong overlap - 14 of the 20 countries on this list are also ranked among the 20 happiest countries in 2024, and all 20 have "very high" HDIs. Misleading metrics? GDP per capita figures, however, can be misleading, and to paint a fuller picture of a country's living standards then one must look at multiple metrics. GDP per capita figures can be skewed by inequalities in wealth distribution, and in countries such as those in the Middle East, a relatively large share of the population lives in poverty while a smaller number live affluent lifestyles.

Graph and download economic data for Composite Leading Indicators: Reference Series (GDP) Calendar and Seasonally Adjusted for Major Five Asia Economies (A5MLORSGPORIXOBSAM) from Jan 1978 to Oct 2023 about Major 5 Asia, leading indicator, origination, and GDP.

The average for 2021 based on 35 countries was 3.9 percent. The highest value was in Kuwait: 7.76 percent and the lowest value was in Indonesia: 1.03 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Major 5 Asia - Leading Indicators OECD: Reference series: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Normalised for Major Five Asia was 100.11310 Index in August of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Major 5 Asia - Leading Indicators OECD: Reference series: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Normalised for Major Five Asia reached a record high of 101.88520 in December of 1996 and a record low of 92.24580 in February of 2020. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Major 5 Asia - Leading Indicators OECD: Reference series: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Normalised for Major Five Asia - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

The real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of Samoa was around **** percent in 2024, which was the highest growth rate across all countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region in that year. In comparison, China's real GDP was reported to grow at about five percent in 2024 and projected to grow by **** percent by 2030.

Graph and download economic data for OECD based Recession Indicators for Major 5 Asia from the Peak through the Trough (DISCONTINUED) (MAJOR5ASIARECDM) from 1978-01-01 to 2022-08-31 about Major 5 Asia, peak, trough, and recession indicators.

The average for 2023 based on 11 countries was 192.18 million. The highest value was in India: 1428.63 million and the lowest value was in Brunei: 0.45 million. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Major 5 Asia - Leading Indicators OECD: Reference series: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Trend for Major Five Asia was 151.89180 Index in August of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Major 5 Asia - Leading Indicators OECD: Reference series: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Trend for Major Five Asia reached a record high of 151.89180 in August of 2023 and a record low of 8.54763 in January of 1978. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Major 5 Asia - Leading Indicators OECD: Reference series: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Trend for Major Five Asia - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Introduction

The Asia Pacific Creator Economy Market is experiencing significant growth, projected to expand from USD 41.6 billion in 2024 to USD 390.7 billion by 2034, with a CAGR of 25.1% during the forecast period from 2025 to 2034. This market encompasses the digital content creation ecosystem, which includes influencers, creators, platforms, and technologies that facilitate monetization. China is a key player, with its creator economy valued at USD 16.7 billion in 2024, growing at a 25.4% CAGR. The increasing demand for digital content and social media platforms is a primary driver of this rapid growth in the region.

China boasts the fastest growing GDP of all developed nations. Neighboring regions will have the largest middle class in history. China is building transport infrastructure to take advantage. Companies that capture market share in this region will be the largest and best performing over the next decade.

Macro Tailwinds

1) China GDP is the fastest growing of any major country with expected 5-6% over the next decade. If businesses (Alibaba, Tencent, etc..) maintain flat market share, that alone will drive 5-6% over the next decade. This is already higher than JP Morgans expectation (from their 13f filings) that the US market will perform between -5% and +5% over this coming decade.

2) The Southeast Asia Region contains about 5 billion people. China is constructing the One Best One Road which will be completed by 2030. This will grant their businesses access to the fastest and largest growing middle class in human history. Over the next 10+ years this region will be home to the largest middle class in history, potentially over 10x that of North America and Europe, based on stock price in Google Sheets.

Increasing average Chinese income.

Chinese average income has more than doubled over the last decade. Having sustained the least economic damage from the virus, this trend is expected to continue. At this pace the average Chinese citizen salary will be at 50% of the average US by 2030 (with stock price in Excel provided by Finsheet via Finnhub Stock Api), with the difference being there are 4x more Chinese. Thus a market potential of almost 2x the US over the next decade.

The Southeast Asia Region now contains the largest total number of billionaires, this number is expected to increase at an increasing rate as the region continues to develop. Over the next 10 years the largest trading route ever assembled will be completed, and China will be the primary provider of goods to 5b+ people

2013 North America was home to the largest number of billionaires. This reversed with Asia over the following 5 years. This separation is expected to continue at an increasing rate. Why does this matter? Over the next 10 years the largest trading route ever assembled will be completed, and China will be the primary provider of goods to 5b+ people

Companies that can easily access all customers in the world will perform best. This is good news for Apple, Microsoft, and Disney. Disney stock price in Excel right now is $70. But not for Amazon or Google which at first may sound contrary as the expectation is that Amazon "will take over the world". However one cannot do that without first conquering China. Firms like Alibaba and Tencent will have easy access to the global infrastructure being built by China in an attempt to speed up and ease trade in that region. The following guide shows how to get stock price in Excel.

We will explore companies using a:

1) Past

2) Present (including financial statements)

3) Future

4) Story/Tailwind

Method to find investing ideas in these regions. The tailwind is currently largest in the Asia region with 6%+ GDP growth according to the latest SEC form 4 from Edgar Company Search. This is relevant as investments in this region have a greater margin of safety; investing in a company that maintains flat market share should increase about 6% per year as the market growth size is so significant. The next article I will explore Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), and why I recently purchased a large position during the recent Ant Financial Crisis.

Graph and download economic data for Composite Leading Indicators: Composite Leading Indicator (CLI) Normalized for Major Five Asia Economies (A5MLOLITONOSTSAM) from May 1992 to Jan 2024 about Major 5 Asia and leading indicator.

United States - Leading Indicators OECD: Reference series: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Original series for Major Five Asia was 5.13797 Growth rate same period previous Yr. in October of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Leading Indicators OECD: Reference series: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Original series for Major Five Asia reached a record high of 14.79729 in May of 2021 and a record low of -9.82921 in February of 2020. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Leading Indicators OECD: Reference series: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Original series for Major Five Asia - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Contributing a staggering *** trillion U.S. dollars to China’s GDP in 2023, the travel and tourism industry proved to be a vital industry for the East Asian country’s economy. This pivotal industry provided huge GDP contributions to a number of countries across the Asia-Pacific region. Japan and India both saw impressive figures, while Southeast Asia alone has experienced constant GDP increases from the travel and tourism industry. Why Asia-Pacific The travel and tourism industry has made significant monetary additions to many developing economies throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Southeast Asia stands in the foreground as one of the regions which relies heavily on its tourism success. A success which could be inferred through the rising number of tourist arrivals to the ASEAN states. A likely reason why APAC has become one of the leading regions for tourism, could be related to its competitive prices. Many countries in the Asia-Pacific region are cheaper than the usual Western tourist hotspots, in this way, the region has begun to appeal to an increasing number of international travelers. Domestic tourism The Asia-Pacific region has not only attracted international tourists throughout recent years but has also received a great influx of domestic tourists. Growing economies in the region, resulting in an emerging middle class, have made the possibility of increased domestic travel a reality. Intra-regional tourism accounted for approximately half of APAC’s tourism.

Graph and download economic data for Composite Leading Indicators: Composite Consumer Confidence Amplitude Adjusted for Major Five Asia Economies (CSCICP035AM665S) from Jan 1990 to Dec 2023 about Major 5 Asia, consumer sentiment, composite, and consumer.

The average for 2023 based on 11 countries was 85.63 million people. The highest value was in India: 596.41 million people and the lowest value was in Brunei: 0.23 million people. The indicator is available from 1991 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.