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.

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.

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.

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.

The average for 2024 based on 184 countries was 3.25 percent. The highest value was in Guyana: 43.81 percent and the lowest value was in Sudan: -20.27 percent. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2028. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

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).

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.

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.

Annual percentage growth rate of GDP at market prices based on constant local currency. Aggregates are based on constant 2010 U.S. dollars. GDP 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.

From the Summer of 2007 until the end of 2009 (at least), the world was gripped by a series of economic crises commonly known as the Global Financial Crisis (2007-2008) and the Great Recession (2008-2009). The financial crisis was triggered by the collapse of the U.S. housing market, which caused panic on Wall Street, the center of global finance in New York. Due to the outsized nature of the U.S. economy compared to other countries and particularly the centrality of U.S. finance for the world economy, the crisis spread quickly to other countries, affecting most regions across the globe. By 2009, global GDP growth was in negative territory, with international credit markets frozen, international trade contracting, and tens of millions of workers being made unemployed.

Global similarities, global differences

Since the 1980s, the world economy had entered a period of integration and globalization. This process particularly accelerated after the collapse of the Soviet Union ended the Cold War (1947-1991). This was the period of the 'Washington Consensus', whereby the U.S. and international institutions such as the World Bank and IMF promoted policies of economic liberalization across the globe. This increasing interdependence and openness to the global economy meant that when the crisis hit in 2007, many countries experienced the same issues. This is particularly evident in the synchronization of the recessions in the most advanced economies of the G7. Nevertheless, the aggregate global GDP number masks the important regional differences which occurred during the recession. While the more advanced economies of North America, Western Europe, and Japan were all hit hard, along with countries who are reliant on them for trade or finance, large emerging economies such as India and China bucked this trend. In particular, China's huge fiscal stimulus in 2008-2009 likely did much to prevent the global economy from sliding further into a depression. In 2009, while the United States' GDP sank to -2.6 percent, China's GDP, as reported by national authorities, was almost 10 percent.

The World Bank’s Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM: www.worldbank.org/kam) is an online interactive tool that produces the Knowledge Economy Index (KEI)–an aggregate index representing a country’s or region’s overall preparedness to compete in the Knowledge Economy (KE). The KEI is based on a simple average of four subindexes, which represent the four pillars of the knowledge economy:  Economic Incentive and Institutional Regime (EIR)  Innovation and Technological Adoption  Education and Training  Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Infrastructure The EIR comprises incentives that promote the efficient use of existing and new knowledge and the flourishing of entrepreneurship. An efficient innovation system made up of firms, research centers, universities, think tanks, consultants, and other organizations can tap into the growing stock of global knowledge, adapt it to local needs, and create new technological solutions. An educated and appropriately trained population is capable of creating, sharing, and using knowledge. A modern and accessible ICT infrastructure serves to facilitate the effective communication, dissemination, and processing of information.

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 average for 2023 based on 193 countries was -0.04 points. The highest value was in Singapore: 2.32 points and the lowest value was in Yemen: -2.28 points. The indicator is available from 1996 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2021 based on 134 countries was 82.43 percent. The highest value was in Luxembourg: 728.51 percent and the lowest value was in Tajikistan: 8.96 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The size of the five original BRICS economies in 2023 - Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa - is comparable to the United States and the EU-27 put together. On a PPP (purchasing power parity) basis, China ranks as the world's largest economy. India takes up the economic parity of about half the EU-27. The rise of these developing economies gave rise to questions on the role the United States plays in international trade and cross-border finance. FX reserve managers around the world expect to shift their holdings towards the Chinese yuan in the long term, as of 2023.

The average for 2023 based on 166 countries was 9.91 percent. The highest value was in Niger: 47.81 percent and the lowest value was in Singapore: 0.03 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2023, the U.S. GDP increased from the previous year to about 27.36 trillion U.S. dollars. This increase in GDP can be attributed to a continued rebound from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Gross domestic product (GDP) refers to the market value of all goods and services produced within a country. In 2023, the United States has the largest economy in the world. See, for example, the Russian GDP for comparison.

What is GDP? Gross domestic product is one of the most important indicators used to analyze the health of an economy. GDP is defined by the BEA as the market value of goods and services produced by labor and property in the United States, regardless of nationality. It is the primary measure of U.S. production. The OECD defines GDP as an aggregate measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident, institutional units engaged in production (plus any taxes, and minus any subsidies, on products not included in the value of their outputs).

GDP and national debt

Although the United States had the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world in 2022, this does not tell us much about the quality of life in any given country. GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) is an economic measurement that is thought to be a better method for comparing living standards across countries because it accounts for domestic inflation and variations in the cost of living.

While the United States might have the largest economy, the country that ranked highest in terms of GDP at PPP was Luxembourg, amounting to around 141,333 international dollars per capita. Singapore, Ireland, and Qatar also ranked highly on the GDP PPP list, and the United States ranked 9th in 2022.

48,50 (Punktzahl, höchste Punktzahl = beste Punktzahl) in 2024. Economic freedom is the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property. In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please, with that freedom both protected by the state and unconstrained by the state. In economically free societies, governments allow labor, capital and goods to move freely, and refrain from coercion or constraint of liberty beyond the extent necessary to protect and maintain liberty itself. 100 represents the maximum freedom.