Money
Visualizing the $94 Trillion World Economy in One Chart
Check out the latest 2023 update of the world economy in one chart.
View the expanded version of this infographic to see all countries.
The $94 Trillion World Economy in One Chart
Check out the latest 2023 update of the world economy in one chart.
Just four countries—the U.S., China, Japan, and Germany—make up over half of the world’s economic output by gross domestic product (GDP) in nominal terms. In fact, the GDP of the U.S. alone is greater than the combined GDP of 170 countries.
How do the different economies of the world compare? In this visualization we look at GDP by country in 2021, using data and estimates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
An Overview of GDP
GDP serves as a broad indicator for a country’s economic output. It measures the total market value of final goods and services produced in a country in a specific timeframe, such as a quarter or year. In addition, GDP also takes into consideration the output of services provided by the government, such as money spent on defense, healthcare, or education.
Generally speaking, when GDP is increasing in a country, it is a sign of greater economic activity that benefits workers and businesses (while the reverse is true for a decline).
The World Economy: Top 50 Countries
Who are the biggest contributors to the global economy? Here is the ranking of the 50 largest countries by GDP in 2021:
Rank | Country | GDP ($T) | % of Global GDP |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | $22.9 | 24.4% |
2 | 🇨🇳 China | $16.9 | 17.9% |
3 | 🇯🇵 Japan | $5.1 | 5.4% |
4 | 🇩🇪 Germany | $4.2 | 4.5% |
5 | 🇬🇧 UK | $3.1 | 3.3% |
6 | 🇮🇳 India | $2.9 | 3.1% |
7 | 🇫🇷 France | $2.9 | 3.1% |
8 | 🇮🇹 Italy | $2.1 | 2.3% |
9 | 🇨🇦 Canada | $2.0 | 2.1% |
10 | 🇰🇷 Korea | $1.8 | 1.9% |
11 | 🇷🇺 Russia | $1.6 | 1.7% |
12 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | $1.6 | 1.7% |
13 | 🇦🇺 Australia | $1.6 | 1.7% |
14 | 🇪🇸 Spain | $1.4 | 1.5% |
15 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | $1.3 | 1.4% |
16 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | $1.2 | 1.2% |
17 | 🇮🇷 Iran | $1.1 | 1.1% |
18 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | $1.0 | 1.1% |
19 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | $0.8 | 0.9% |
20 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | $0.8 | 0.9% |
21 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | $0.8 | 0.8% |
22 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | $0.8 | 0.8% |
23 | 🇵🇱 Poland | $0.7 | 0.7% |
24 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | $0.6 | 0.7% |
25 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | $0.6 | 0.6% |
26 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | $0.5 | 0.6% |
27 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | $0.5 | 0.5% |
28 | 🇦🇹 Austria | $0.5 | 0.5% |
29 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | $0.5 | 0.5% |
30 | 🇮🇱 Israel | $0.5 | 0.5% |
31 | 🇦🇷 Argentina | $0.5 | 0.5% |
32 | 🇳🇴 Norway | $0.4 | 0.5% |
33 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | $0.4 | 0.4% |
34 | 🇦🇪 UAE | $0.4 | 0.4% |
35 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | $0.4 | 0.4% |
36 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | $0.4 | 0.4% |
37 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | $0.4 | 0.4% |
38 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | $0.4 | 0.4% |
39 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | $0.4 | 0.4% |
40 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR | $0.4 | 0.4% |
41 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | $0.4 | 0.4% |
42 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | $0.4 | 0.4% |
43 | 🇨🇱 Chile | $0.3 | 0.4% |
44 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | $0.3 | 0.3% |
45 | 🇫🇮 Finland | $0.3 | 0.3% |
46 | 🇷🇴 Romania | $0.3 | 0.3% |
47 | 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | $0.3 | 0.3% |
48 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | $0.3 | 0.3% |
49 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | $0.3* | 0.3% |
50 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | $0.2 | 0.3% |
*2020 GDP (latest available) used where IMF estimates for 2021 were unavailable.
At $22.9 trillion, the U.S. GDP accounts for roughly 25% of the global economy, a share that has actually changed significantly over the last 60 years. The finance, insurance, and real estate ($4.7 trillion) industries add the most to the country’s economy, followed by professional and business services ($2.7 trillion) and government ($2.6 trillion).
China’s economy is second in nominal terms, hovering at near $17 trillion in GDP. It remains the largest manufacturer worldwide based on output with extensive production of steel, electronics, and robotics, among others.
The largest economy in Europe is Germany, which exports roughly 20% of the world’s motor vehicles. In 2019, overall trade equaled nearly 90% of the country’s GDP.
The World Economy: 50 Smallest Countries
On the other end of the spectrum are the world’s smallest economies by GDP, primarily developing and island nations.
With a GDP of $70 million, Tuvalu is the smallest economy in the world. Situated between Hawaii and Australia, the largest industry of this volcanic archipelago relies on territorial fishing rights.
In addition, the country earns significant revenue from its “.tv” web domain. Between 2011 and 2019, it earned $5 million annually from companies—including Amazon-owned Twitch to license the Twitch.tv domain name—equivalent to roughly 7% of the country’s GDP.
Countries | Region | GDP (B) |
---|---|---|
🇹🇻 Tuvalu | Oceania | $0.07 |
🇳🇷 Nauru | Oceania | $0.1 |
🇵🇼 Palau | Oceania | $0.2 |
🇰🇮 Kiribati | Oceania | $0.2 |
🇲🇭 Marshall Islands | Oceania | $0.2 |
🇫🇲 Micronesia | Oceania | $0.4 |
🇨🇰 Cook Islands | Oceania | $0.4* |
🇹🇴 Tonga | Oceania | $0.5 |
🇸🇹 São Tomé and Príncipe | Africa | $0.5 |
🇩🇲 Dominica | Caribbean | $0.6 |
🇻🇨 St. Vincent and the Grenadines | Caribbean | $0.8 |
🇼🇸 Samoa | Oceania | $0.8 |
🇰🇳 St. Kitts and Nevis | Caribbean | $1.0 |
🇻🇺 Vanuatu | Oceania | $1.0 |
🇬🇩 Grenada | Caribbean | $1.1 |
🇰🇲 Comoros | Africa | $1.3 |
🇸🇨 Seychelles | Africa | $1.3 |
🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda | Caribbean | $1.4 |
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau | Africa | $1.6 |
🇸🇧 Solomon Islands | Oceania | $1.7 |
🇹🇱 Timor-Leste | Asia | $1.7 |
🇱🇨 St. Lucia | Caribbean | $1.7 |
🇸🇲 San Marino | Europe | $1.7 |
🇨🇻 Cabo Verde | Africa | $1.9 |
🇧🇿 Belize | Central America | $1.9 |
🇬🇲 Gambia | Africa | $2.0 |
🇪🇷 Eritrea | Africa | $2.3 |
🇱🇸 Lesotho | Africa | $2.5 |
🇧🇹 Bhutan | Asia | $2.5 |
🇨🇫 Central African Republic | Africa | $2.6 |
🇸🇷 Suriname | South America | $2.8 |
🇦🇼 Aruba | Caribbean | $2.9 |
🇧🇮 Burundi | Africa | $3.2 |
🇦🇩 Andorra | Europe | $3.2 |
🇸🇸 South Sudan | Africa | $3.3 |
🇱🇷 Liberia | Africa | $3.4 |
🇩🇯 Djibouti | Africa | $3.7 |
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | Africa | $4.4 |
🇸🇿 Eswatini | Africa | $4.5 |
🇲🇻 Maldives | Asia | $4.6 |
🇫🇯 Fiji | Oceania | $4.6 |
🇧🇧 Barbados | Caribbean | $4.7 |
🇸🇴 Somalia | Africa | $5.4 |
🇲🇪 Montenegro | Europe | $5.5 |
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein | Europe | $6.8* |
🇬🇾 Guyana | South America | $7.4 |
🇲🇨 Monaco | Europe | $7.4* |
🇹🇯 Tajikistan | Asia | $8.1 |
🇰🇬 Kyrgyz Republic | Asia | $8.2 |
🇹🇬 Togo | Africa | $8.5 |
*2019 GDP (latest available) used where IMF estimates for 2021 were unavailable.
Like Tuvalu, many of the world’s smallest economies are in Oceania, including Nauru, Palau, and Kiribati. Additionally, several countries above rely on the tourism industry for over one-third of their employment.
The Fastest Growing Economies in the World in 2021
With 123% projected GDP growth, Libya’s economy is estimated to have the sharpest rise.
Oil is propelling its growth, with 1.2 million barrels being pumped in the country daily. Along with this, exports and a depressed currency are among the primary factors behind its recovery.
Rank | Country | Region | 2021 Real GDP Growth (Annual % Change) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇱🇾 Libya | Africa | 123.2% |
2 | 🇬🇾 Guyana | South America | 20.4% |
3 | 🇲🇴 Macao | Asia | 20.4% |
4 | 🇲🇻 Maldives | Asia | 18.9% |
5 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | Europe | 13.0% |
6 | 🇦🇼 Aruba | Caribbean | 12.8% |
7 | 🇵🇦 Panama | Central America | 12.0% |
8 | 🇨🇱 Chile | South America | 11.0% |
9 | 🇵🇪 Peru | South America | 10.0% |
10 | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | Caribbean | 9.5% |
Ireland’s economy, with a projected 13% real GDP growth, is being supported by the largest multinational corporations in the world. Facebook, TikTok, Google, Apple, and Pfizer all have their European headquarters in the country, which has a 12.5% corporate tax rate—or about half the global average. But these rates are set to change soon, as Ireland joined the OECD 15% minimum corporate tax rate agreement which was finalized in October 2021.
Macao’s economy bounced back after COVID-19 restrictions began to lift, but more storm clouds are on the horizon for the Chinese district. The CCP’s anti-corruption campaign and recent arrests could signal a more strained relationship between Mainland China and the world’s largest gambling hub.
Looking Ahead at the World’s GDP
The global GDP figure of $94 trillion may seem massive to us today, but such a total might seem much more modest in the future.
In 1970, the world economy was only about $3 trillion in GDP—or 30 times smaller than it is today. Over the next thirty years, the global economy is expected to more or less double again. By 2050, global GDP could total close to $180 trillion.
Correction: In earlier versions of this graphic, countries such as Vietnam and Pakistan were inadvertently not included in the visualization. They have now been added. In cases where the IMF has no data for 2021 (specifically Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan, and Lebanon), the latest available data is used.
Money
Who Expects to Get Richer in 2024, by Both Generation and Gender
A survey of 600 high net worth individuals revealed there’s one subset of people who are confident of making it in 2024.
Who Expects to Get Richer in 2024, by Generation and Gender
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on Apple or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
The jury is still out on how the global economy is expected to perform in 2024, but as seen during the pandemic, economic turmoil sometimes provides opportunities for the wealthy.
We visualize the percentage of high net worth individual (HNWI) respondents who expect their wealth to increase in 2024, categorized by generation and gender, from the Knight Frank Next Gen Survey, accessible in their latest wealth report.
The survey covered 600 global HNWIs, who are individuals with more than $1 million in assets or make more than $200,000 a year, and then categorized their responses by gender and generation.
Affluent Gen Z Women Eye Financial Gains in 2024
At a glance, there’s a very apparent generational difference in the expectations of getting richer in 2024.
About half (52%) of the surveyed Baby Boomers think their assets will grow, compared to Gen X (56%), Millennials, (69%), and Gen Z (75%).
Group | Male | Female | Overall |
---|---|---|---|
👴 Boomer | 53% | 50% | 52% |
👩🦳 Gen X | 56% | 56% | 56% |
👩🦱 Millennial | 75% | 64% | 69% |
🧑🦰 Gen Z | 69% | 81% | 75% |
👨👩👧👦 All Generations | 68% | 63% | 65% |
Note: Percentage of respondents who said they expect their wealth will increase in 2024.
There’s also a noticeable gender difference. Men tend to be more optimistic than women, with one glaring exception.
A staggering 81% of the surveyed high net worth Gen Z women expect to make hay this year, making them the most optimistic of all the groups.
This corroborates a trend where Gen Z women were also the most optimistic in retirement planning. As CNBC reports, a combination of newer avenues of financial resources, and an openness towards advice, has given them a more optimistic attitude than their older counterparts.
Meanwhile, American Millennials are expected to become the richest generation ever as a $90 trillion asset transfer between Boomer parents and Millennial children begins to take place over the next two decades.
A huge percentage of that wealth comes in the form of property assets accumulated by generations before them. This especially includes houses, whose prices have skyrocketed over the last two decades.
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