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.

Gross domestic product ranking table.

This statistic shows the projected top ten largest national economies in 2050. By 2050, China is forecasted to have a gross domestic product of over 58 trillion U.S. dollars.

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 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 four are in Asia, alongside the U.S., Canada, 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.

The statistic shows the 20 countries with the largest proportion of the global gross domestic product (GDP) based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in 2023. In 2023, Germany had an estimated share of about 3.15 percent of the global GDP.

China has seen rapid economic growth over the past decades, overtaking Japan in 2010 as the second largest economy in the world. In 2024, only the United States had a larger gross domestic product (GDP) than China. On the other hand, Japan's economy is struggling amid an aging population, it's GDP decreasing after peaking in 2012.

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 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.

The gross domestic product of the United Kingdom was around 2.56 trillion British pounds, an increase when compared to the previous year, when UK GDP amounted to about 2.54 trillion pounds. The significant drop in GDP visible in 2020 was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the smaller declines in 2008 and 2009 because of the global financial crisis of the late 2000s. Low growth problem in the UK Despite growing by 0.9 percent in 2024, and 0.4 percent in 2023 the UK economy is not that much larger than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since recovering from a huge fall in GDP in the second quarter of 2020, the UK economy has alternated between periods of contraction and low growth, with the UK even in a recession at the end of 2023. While economic growth picked up somewhat in 2024, GDP per capita is lower than it was in 2022, following two years of negative growth. How big is the UK economy in relation to the rest of the world? As of 2024, the UK had the sixth-largest economy in the world, behind the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and India. Among European nations, this meant that the UK currently has the second-largest economy in Europe, although the economy of France, Europe's third-largest economy, is of a similar size. The UK's global economic ranking will likely fall in the coming years, however, with the UK's share of global GDP expected to fall from 2.16 percent in 2025 to 2.02 percent by 2029.  

By the year 2030, it is projected that China will eclipse the United States and have the largest gross domestic product (GDP) in the world, at 31.7 trillion U.S. dollars. The United States is projected to have the second largest GDP, at 22.9 trillion U.S. dollars.

What is gross domestic product?

Gross domestic product, or GDP, is an economic measure of a country’s production in time. It includes all goods and services produced by a country and is used by economists to determine the health of a country’s economy. However, since GDP just shows the size of an economy and is not adjusted for the country’s size, this can make direct country comparisons complicated.

The growth of the global economy

Currently, the United States has the largest GDP in the world, at 20.5 trillion U.S. dollars. China has the second largest GDP, at 13.4 trillion U.S. dollars. In the coming years, production will become faster and more global, which will help to grow the global economy.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in India was worth 3567.55 billion US dollars in 2023, according to official data from the World Bank. The GDP value of India represents 3.38 percent of the world economy. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - India GDP - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Tonga TO: GDP: Market Price: Linked Series data was reported at 941.800 TOP mn in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 889.500 TOP mn for 2016. Tonga TO: GDP: Market Price: Linked Series data is updated yearly, averaging 444.684 TOP mn from Dec 1989 (Median) to 2017, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 941.800 TOP mn in 2017 and a record low of 133.835 TOP mn in 1989. Tonga TO: GDP: Market Price: Linked Series data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Tonga – Table TO.World Bank: Gross Domestic Product: Nominal. GDP at purchaser's prices is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources. This series has been linked to produce a consistent time series to counteract breaks in series over time due to changes in base years, source data and methodologies. Thus, it may not be comparable with other national accounts series in the database for historical years. Data are in current local currency.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on World Bank national accounts data archives, OECD National Accounts, and the IMF WEO database.; ;

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 Gross Domestic Product per capita in China was last recorded at 12175.20 US dollars in 2023. The GDP per Capita in China is equivalent to 96 percent of the world's average. This dataset provides - China GDP per capita - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Out of the world's seven largest economies, the United Kingdom was the most negatively affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. During the third quarter of 2020, the GDP growth rate of the UK stood at minus 7.7 percent compared to the previous year. Furthermore, the GDPs of India and Japan were contracted by minus 5.3 percent. Only China experienced a positive GDP growth rate of 4.9 percent during that same period. However, in 2021, all the largest economies worldwide started to recover, with growth rates varying from 1.2 percent (Japan) to over nine percent (India).

South Africa ZA: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Current PPP data was reported at 726.300 USD bn in 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 763.258 USD bn for 2019. South Africa ZA: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Current PPP data is updated yearly, averaging 355.513 USD bn from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2020, with 40 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 763.258 USD bn in 2019 and a record low of 155.747 USD bn in 1981. South Africa ZA: Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Current PPP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.OECD.MSTI: Gross Domestic Product, GDP PPP and GDP Deflator: Non OECD Member: Annual. For the 2001/02 R&D survey in South Africa, no comprehensive business register was available, nor was there any official register of the specific subset of those entities that actually conduct R&D. However, lists of firms surveyed in previous R&D surveys, those covered in previous technology audits, public listings of the top 200 companies in the economy, as well as lists of firms that participate in public innovation and R&D support programmes were available to the survey agency. These lists provided the basis for a purposive sample of all firms known to have R&D activities. There may however be an underestimation of R&D expenditure by 10% to 15%.

The statistic shows gross domestic product (GDP) in Brazil from 1987 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. Gross domestic product denotes the aggregate value of all services and goods produced within a country in any given year. GDP is an important indicator of a country's economic power. In 2022, Brazil's gross domestic product amounted to around 1.95 trillion U.S. dollars. In comparison to the GDP of the other BRIC countries India, Russia and China, Brazil was ranked third that year.

Brazil's national finances

Brazil is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the largest amongst all Latin American countries. Brazil is also a member of multiple economic organizations such as the G20 as well as one of the four countries in the BRIC economies, which consist of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Despite having one of the lower populations out of the four countries, Brazil maintained a relatively stable dollar value of all goods and services produced within the country in comparison to India, for example. This indicates that unemployment is low and in general business demand within the country has become relatively high.

Spending within the country has been relatively high, however is considered to be normal, especially for developing countries. It is expected that developing economies have a budget deficit of roughly 3 percent, primarily because spending is needed in order to fuel an economy at most times. However, most Brazilians still have faith in their country’s economic future and still believe that their own personal financial situation will improve along with the country’s economic position in the world.

GDP at purchaser's prices is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources. Data are in current U.S. dollars. Dollar figures for GDP are converted from domestic currencies using single year official exchange rates. For a few countries where the official exchange rate does not reflect the rate effectively applied to actual foreign exchange transactions, an alternative conversion factor is used.

The statistic shows the gross domestic product growth rate in Canada from 2019 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. In 2023, Canada’s real GDP growth was around 1.25 percent compared to the previous year.Economy of CanadaAs an indicator for the shape of a country’s economy, there are not many factors as telling as GDP. GDP is the total market value of all final goods and services that have been produced within a country within a given period of time, usually a year. Real GDP figures serve as an even more reliable tool in determining the direction in which a country’s economy may be swaying, as they are adjusted for inflation and reflect real price changes.Canada is one of the largest economies in the world and is counted among the globe’s wealthiest nations. It has a relatively small labor force in comparison to some of the world’s other largest economic powers, amounting to just under 19 million. Unemployment in Canada has remained relatively high as the country has battled against the tide of economic woe that swept across the majority of the world after the 2008 financial meltdown, and although moving in the right direction, there is still some way to go for Canada.Canada is among the leading trading nations worldwide, owing to the absolutely vast supplies of natural resources, which make up a key part of the Canadian trading relationship with the United States, the country with which Canada trades by far the most. In recent years, around three quarters of Canadian exports went to the United States and just over half of its imports came from its neighbor to the south. The relationship is very much mutually beneficial; Canada is the leading foreign energy supplier to the United States.