World economy

The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans in the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumption, economic management, work in general, financial transactions and trade of goods and services. In some contexts, the two terms are distinct: the "international" or "global economy" is measured separately and distinguished from national economies, while the "world economy" is simply an aggregate of the separate countries' measurements. Beyond the minimum standard concerning value in production, use and exchange, the definitions, representations, models and valuations of the world economy vary widely. It is inseparable from the geography and ecology of planet Earth.

It is common to limit questions of the world economy exclusively to human economic activity, and the world economy is typically judged in monetary terms, even in cases in which there is no efficient market to help valuate certain goods or services, or in cases in which a lack of independent research, genuine data or government cooperation makes calculating figures difficult. Typical examples are illegal drugs and other black market goods, which by any standard are a part of the world economy, but for which there is, by definition, no legal market of any kind.

However, even in cases in which there is a clear and efficient market to establish monetary value, economists do not typically use the current or official exchange rate to translate the monetary units of this market into a single unit for the world economy since exchange rates typically do not closely reflect worldwide value – for example, in cases where the volume or price of transactions is closely regulated by the government.

Rather, market valuations in a local currency are typically translated to a single monetary unit using the idea of purchasing power. This is the method used below, which is used for estimating worldwide economic activity in terms of real United States dollars or euros. However, the world economy can be evaluated and expressed in many more ways. It is unclear, for example, how many of the world's 7.8 billion people (as of March 2020) have most of their economic activity reflected in these valuations.

Until the middle of the 19th century, global output was dominated by China and India. Waves of the Industrial Revolution in Western Europe and Northern America shifted the shares to the Western Hemisphere. As of 2025, the following 20 countries and 2 collectives have reached an economy of at least US$2 trillion by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in nominal or Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms: Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and the African Union.

Between 1820 and 2000, global income inequality increased with almost 50%. However, this change occurred mostly before 1950. Afterwards, the level of inequality remained mostly stable. It is important to differentiate between between-country inequality, which was the driving force for this pattern, and within country inequality, which remained largely constant. Global income inequality peaked approximately in the 1970s, when world income was distributed bimodally into "rich" and "poor" countries with little overlap. Since then, inequality has been rapidly decreasing, and this trend seems to be accelerating. Income distribution is now unimodal, with most people living in middle-income countries.

In the 2000s, a study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research at United Nations University found that the richest 1% of adults owned 40% of global assets, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. The bottom half of the world adult population owned barely 1% of global wealth. Oxfam International reported that the richest 1 percent of people owned 48 percent of global wealth As of 2013, and would own more than half of global wealth by 2016. In 2014, Oxfam reported that the 85 wealthiest individuals in the world had a combined wealth equal to that of the bottom half of the world's population, or about 3.5 billion people.

Despite high levels of government investment, the global economy decreased by 3.4% in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, an improvement from the World Bank's initial prediction of a 5.2 percent decrease. Cities account for 80% of global GDP, thus they faced the brunt of this decline. The world economy increased again in 2021 with an estimated 5.5 percent rebound.

Overview

World economy by country groups

Country group List of country groups by GDP (nominal) in 2025 (or at peaked level) List of country groups by GDP (PPP) in 2025 (or at peaked level) Number of countries Major economies
Value
(in millions of US$)
Share of Global GDP Value
(in millions of US$)
Share of Global GDP
Emerging and developing Asia
(Continents: Asia and Oceania)
27,821,017 23.8% 73,419,080 35.1% 30  China
 India
 Indonesia
 Thailand
 Vietnam
 Bangladesh
 Malaysia
 Philippines
Major advanced economies (G7)
(Continents: Europe, North America and Asia)
52,056,759 44.4% 58,959,130 28.2% 7  United States
 Japan
 Germany
 France
 United Kingdom
 Italy
 Canada
Other advanced economies
(advanced economies excluding the G7)
(Continents: Europe, Asia, Oceania and North America)
16,541,860 14.1% 22,701,831 10.9% 35  South Korea
 Spain
 Taiwan
 Australia
 Netherlands
 Switzerland
 Singapore
 Belgium
 Ireland
 Sweden
Emerging and developing Europe
(Continents: Europe and Asia)
6,463,042 5.5% 16,081,471 7.7% 15  Russia
 Turkey
 Poland
 Romania
 Ukraine
Middle East and Central Asia
(Continents: Asia and Africa)
5,200,632 4.4% 15,492,232 7.4% 32  Saudi Arabia
 Egypt
 Iran
 Pakistan
 United Arab Emirates
 Kazakhstan
 Algeria
Latin America and the Caribbean
(Continents: South America and North America)
7,000,686 6.0% 14,894,519 7.1% 33  Brazil
 Mexico
 Argentina
 Colombia
Sub-Saharan Africa
(Continent: Africa)
2,081,399
(peaked at 2,224,418 in 2022)
1.8% 7,408,019 3.6% 45  Nigeria
 South Africa
World 117,165,394 100.0% 208,956,282 100.0% 197

World economy by continent

GDP sector composition (2019 estimate)
Continent Agricultural Industrial Service
World 7,908.260 38,354.363 81,575.461
Asia 5,105.362 20,858.549 32,939.397
North America 292.467 5,008.594 18,426.200
Europe 838.199 8,175.402 20,598.902
South America 539.510 2,014.140 5,024.223
Africa 1,076.690 1,941.037 3,559.579
Oceania 56.032 356.641 1,027.160

Current world economic league table of largest economies in the world by GDP and share of global economic growth

The 30 largest economies by GDP (nominal), GDP (PPP), the highest peak GDP per capita (nominal) and the highest peak GDP per capita (PPP) as of 2025. Members of the G-20 major economies are in bold.
List of the 30 largest economies
by GDP (nominal) at their peak level as of 2025 in million US$
List of the 30 largest economies
by GDP (PPP) at their peak level as of 2025 in million Int$
List of the 30 economies by highest
GDP (nominal) per capita at their peak level as of 2025 in US$
List of the 30 economies by highest
GDP (PPP) per capita at their peak level as of 2025 in Int$
Rank Country Value Peak year
World 117,165,394 2025
1  United States 30,615,743 2025
 European Union 21,096,780 2025
2  China 19,231,705 2025
3  Japan 6,272,363 2012
4  Germany 5,013,574 2025
5  India 4,125,213 2025
6  United Kingdom 3,958,780 2025
7  France 3,361,557 2025
African Union 3,191,052 2022
8  Brazil 2,616,156 2011
9  Italy 2,543,677 2025
10  Russia 2,540,656 2025
11  Canada 2,283,599 2025
12  South Korea 1,942,314 2021
13  Spain 1,891,371 2025
14  Mexico 1,862,740 2025
15  Australia 1,829,508 2025
16  Turkey 1,565,471 2025
17  Indonesia 1,443,256 2025
18  Netherlands 1,320,635 2025
19  Saudi Arabia 1,268,535 2025
20  Poland 1,039,619 2025
21  Switzerland 1,002,666 2025
22  Taiwan 884,387 2025
23  Nigeria 811,134 2014
24  Iran 722,130 2011
25  Belgium 716,980 2025
26  Ireland 708,771 2025
27  Argentina 683,371 2025
28  Sweden 662,318 2025
29  Israel 610,752 2025
30  Norway 596,298 2022
Rank Country Value Peak year
World 208,956,282 2025
1  China 41,015,824 2025
2  United States 30,615,743 2025
 European Union 29,239,754 2025
3  India 17,714,186 2025
African Union 11,579,393 2025
4  Russia 7,143,093 2025
5  Japan 6,758,231 2025
6  Germany 6,153,741 2025
7  Indonesia 5,015,762 2025
8  Brazil 4,973,385 2025
9  France 4,533,633 2025
10  United Kingdom 4,454,716 2025
11  Turkey 3,767,230 2023
12  Italy 3,720,271 2025
13  Mexico 3,436,930 2025
14  South Korea 3,363,419 2025
15  Spain 2,828,510 2025
16  Canada 2,722,795 2025
17  Saudi Arabia 2,688,520 2025
18  Egypt 2,381,507 2025
19  Nigeria 2,254,167 2025
20  Poland 2,019,780 2025
21  Taiwan 1,990,268 2025
22  Australia 1,981,672 2025
23  Iran 1,878,892 2025
24  Thailand 1,853,771 2025
25  Vietnam 1,807,050 2025
26  Bangladesh 1,782,105 2025
27  Pakistan 1,671,381 2025
28  Netherlands 1,516,663 2025
29  Argentina 1,490,164 2025
30  Malaysia 1,478,139 2025
Rank Country Value Peak year
1  Monaco 256,581 2023
2  Liechtenstein 231,713 2025
3  Luxembourg 146,818 2025
4  Bermuda 138,935 2024
5  Ireland 129,132 2025
6  Switzerland 111,047 2025
7  Norway 109,270 2022
8  Qatar 108,470 2012
9  Iceland 98,150 2025
10  Cayman Islands 97,750 2023
11  Singapore 94,481 2025
12  Isle of Man 94,300 2021
13  United States 89,599 2025
14  Macau 88,311 2014
15  San Marino 79,110 2008
16  Denmark 76,581 2025
17 Channel Islands 74,589 2023
18  Netherlands 73,174 2025
19  Faroe Islands 71,774 2023
20  Australia 68,481 2012
21  Sweden 62,036 2025
22  Austria 61,694 2025
23  Belgium 60,418 2025
24  Israel 60,009 2025
25  Germany 59,925 2025
26  Greenland 58,499 2023
27  Brunei 58,005 1980
28  Hong Kong 56,844 2025
29  United Kingdom 56,661 2025
30  Canada 56,358 2022
Rank Country Value Peak year
1  Monaco 270,100 2024
2  Liechtenstein 210,600 2024
3  Qatar 180,939 2012
4  Singapore 156,969 2025
5  Luxembourg 152,395 2025
6  Macau 149,794 2013
7  Ireland 147,878 2025
8  Norway 123,150 2022
9  Bermuda 119,719 2024
10  United Arab Emirates 104,995 2006
11  Switzerland 97,659 2025
12  Brunei 94,472 2025
13  Guyana 94,189 2025
14  Kuwait 91,435 2007
15  United States 89,599 2025
16  Cayman Islands 86,689 2023
17  Taiwan 85,127 2025
18  Denmark 84,763 2025
19  Isle of Man 84,600 2014
20  Netherlands 84,566 2025
21  San Marino 82,886 2025
22  Iceland 80,466 2025
23  Hong Kong 78,919 2025
24  Greenland 78,841 2023
25  Malta 78,711 2025
26  Faroe Islands 78,165 2023
27  Belgium 75,882 2025
28  Andorra 74,939 2024
29  Austria 74,852 2025
30  Saudi Arabia 74,668 2025

Twenty largest economies in the world by nominal GDP

The following is a list of the twenty largest economies by nominal GDP at peak value as of the specific year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Rank 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
1  United States  United States  United States  United States  United States  United States  United States  United States  United States  United States  United States
2  Japan  Soviet Union  Japan  Japan  Japan  Japan  China  China  China  China  China
3  Soviet Union  Japan  Soviet Union  Germany  Germany  Germany  Japan  Japan  Japan  Japan  India
4  West Germany  West Germany  West Germany  France  United Kingdom  United Kingdom  Germany  Germany  Germany  Germany  Japan
5  France  France  France  United Kingdom  France  China  United Kingdom  United Kingdom  United Kingdom  India  Germany
6  United Kingdom  United Kingdom  United Kingdom  Italy  Italy  France  France  France  France  United Kingdom  United Kingdom
7  Italy  Italy  Italy  Brazil  China  Italy  Italy  Brazil  India  France  France
8  China  Canada  Iran  China  Brazil  Canada  Brazil  Italy  Brazil  Brazil  Italy
9  Canada  China  Canada  Iran  Canada  Spain  Russia  Russia  Italy  Italy  Canada
10  Mexico  Mexico  Spain  Spain  Mexico  South Korea  India  India  Russia  Russia  Russia
Rank 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
11  Argentina  Argentina  China  Canada  Iran  Mexico  Spain  Canada  Canada  Canada  Brazil
12  Spain  India  Brazil  South Korea  Spain  Brazil  Canada  Spain  South Korea  South Korea  Mexico
13  Netherlands  Spain  Australia  Russia  South Korea  India  Australia  Australia  Spain  Mexico  Spain
14  India  Brazil  Netherlands  Mexico  Russia  Russia  South Korea  South Korea  Australia  Spain  Australia
15  Saudi Arabia  Iran  India  Netherlands  India  Australia  Mexico  Mexico  Mexico  Australia  South Korea
16  Australia  Australia  Mexico  Australia  Netherlands  Iran  Netherlands  Turkey  Indonesia  Turkey  Indonesia
17  Brazil  Netherlands  South Korea  India  Australia  Netherlands  Turkey  Netherlands  Turkey  Indonesia  Turkey
18  Sweden  Saudi Arabia  Switzerland  Switzerland  Switzerland  Turkey  Indonesia  Indonesia  Netherlands  Netherlands  Netherlands
19  Belgium  Nigeria  Sweden  Argentina  Argentina  Switzerland  Iran  Nigeria  Saudi Arabia  Saudi Arabia  Saudi Arabia
20  Switzerland  Sweden  Argentina  Belgium  Taiwan  Sweden  Switzerland  Saudi Arabia  Nigeria  Poland  Poland

Twenty largest economies in the world by GDP (PPP)

List of twenty largest economies by GDP based on purchasing power parity at peak value as of the specific year according to the International Monetary Fund and the CIA World Factbook.
Rank 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
1  United States  United States  United States  United States  United States  United States  United States  United States  China  China  China
2  Soviet Union  Soviet Union  Soviet Union  Japan  China  China  China  China  United States  United States  United States
3  Japan  Japan  Japan  China  Japan  Japan  India  India  India  India  India
4  West Germany  West Germany  West Germany  Germany  Germany  India  Japan  Japan  Japan  Russia  Russia
5  Italy  Italy  Italy  Russia  India  Germany  Germany  Germany  Germany  Japan  Japan
6  France  France  France  India  Italy  Russia  Russia  Russia  Russia  Germany  Germany
7  United Kingdom  United Kingdom  China  Italy  France  France  Brazil  Brazil  France  Indonesia  Indonesia
8  Brazil  Brazil  United Kingdom  France  United Kingdom  Italy  France  United Kingdom  Brazil  Brazil  Brazil
9  Mexico  Mexico  India  Brazil  Russia  United Kingdom  United Kingdom  France  United Kingdom  France  France
10  India  India  Brazil  United Kingdom  Brazil  Brazil  Italy  Indonesia  Indonesia  United Kingdom  United Kingdom
Rank 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
11  Spain  China  Mexico  Mexico  Mexico  Mexico  Indonesia  Italy  Italy  Turkey  Turkey
12  Saudi Arabia  Spain  Spain  Indonesia  Indonesia  Indonesia  Mexico  Mexico  Mexico  Italy  Italy
13  Canada  Canada  Canada  Spain  Spain  Spain  South Korea  Turkey  South Korea  Mexico  Mexico
14  China  Saudi Arabia  Indonesia  Saudi Arabia  Canada  South Korea  Spain  South Korea  Turkey  South Korea  South Korea
15  Argentina  Indonesia  Turkey  Canada  South Korea  Canada  Saudi Arabia  Saudi Arabia  Spain  Spain  Saudi Arabia
16  Poland  Iran  Saudi Arabia  South Korea  Saudi Arabia  Saudi Arabia  Iran  Spain  Canada  Canada  Spain
17  Netherlands  Turkey  Iran  Turkey  Turkey  Iran  Canada  Canada  Saudi Arabia  Saudi Arabia  Egypt
18  Iran  Argentina  South Korea  Iran  Iran  Turkey  Turkey  Iran  Egypt  Egypt  Canada
19  Indonesia  Netherlands  Netherlands  Ukraine  Netherlands  Australia  Nigeria  Nigeria  Nigeria  Nigeria  Nigeria
20  Turkey  Australia  Australia  Thailand  Australia  Thailand  Australia  Thailand  Iran  Poland  Bangladesh

Statistical indicators

Finance

  • GDP (GWP) (gross world product): (purchasing power parity exchange rates) – $110.06 trillion (2025 estimate), $117.165 trillion (2023) . The GWP is the combined gross national income of all the countries in the world. When calculating the GWP, add GDP of all countries. Also, GWP shows that imports and exports are equal. Because imports and exports balance exactly when considering the whole world, this also equals the total global gross domestic product (GDP).
  • GDP (GWP) (gross world product): (market exchange rates) – $60.69 trillion (2008). The market exchange rates increased from 1990 to 2008. The reason for this increase is the world's advancement in terms of technology.
  • GDP (real growth rate): The following part shows the GDP growth rate and the expected value after one year.
    • Developed Economies. A developed country, industrialized country, more developed country (MDC), or more economically developed country (MEDC), is a sovereign state that has a developed economy and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for evaluating the degree of economic development are gross domestic product (GDP), gross national product (GNP), the per capita income, level of industrialization, amount of widespread infrastructure and general standard of living. Which criteria are to be used and which countries can be classified as being developed are subjects of debate. The GDP of the developed countries is predicted to fall from 2.2% in 2017 to 2.0% in 2018 due to the fall in dollar value.
    • Developing Countries. A developing country is a country with a less developed industrial base (industries) and a low Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreement on which countries fit this category. A nation's GDP per capita, compared with other nations, can also be a reference point. In general, the United Nations accepts any country's claim of itself being "developing". The GDP of the developing countries is expected to rise from 4.3% in 2017 to 4.6% in 2018 due to political stability in those countries and advancement in technology.
    • Least developed countries. The least developed countries (LDCs) is a list of developing countries that, according to the United Nations, exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development, with the lowest Human Development Index ratings of all countries in the world. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed by the UN in its resolution 2768 (XXVI) of 18 November 1971. This is a group of countries that are expected to improve their GDP from 4.8% in 2017 to 5.4% in 2018. The predicted growth is associated advancement in technology and industrialization of those countries for the past decade.
  • GDP – per capita: purchasing power parity – $9,300, €7,500 (2005 est.), $8,200, €6,800 (92) (2003), $7,900, €5,000 (2002)
  • World median income: purchasing power parity $1,041, €950 (1993)
  • GDP – composition by sector: agriculture: 4%; industry: 32%; services: 64% (2004 est.)
  • Inflation rate (consumer prices); In economics, inflation is a general rise in the price level in an economy over a period of time, resulting in a sustained drop in the purchasing power of money. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation reflects a reduction in the purchasing power per unit of money – a loss of real value in the medium of exchange and unit of account within the economy. The opposite of inflation is deflation, a sustained decrease in the general price level of goods and services. The common measure of inflation is the inflation rate, the annualized percentage change in a general price index, usually the consumer price index, over time. national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation (In economics, hyperinflation is very high and typically accelerating inflation) in several Third World countries (2003):
  • Derivatives OTC outstanding notional amount: $601 trillion (Dec 2010) ([1])
  • Derivatives exchange traded outstanding notional amount: $82 trillion (June 2011) ([2])
  • Global debt issuance: $5.187 trillion, €3 trillion (2004), $4.938 trillion, €3.98 trillion (2003), $3.938 trillion (2002) (Thomson Financial League Tables)
  • Global equity issuance: $505 billion, €450 billion (2004), $388 billion. €320 billion (2003), $319 billion, €250 trillion (2002) (Thomson Financial League Tables)

Employment

  • Unemployment rate: 8.7% (2009 est.). 30% (2007 est.) combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%–12% unemployment.

Industries

  • Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2002 est.)

Energy

  • Yearly electricity – production: 21,080,878 GWh (2011 est.), 15,850,000 GWh (2003 est.), 14,850,000 GWh (2001 est.)
  • Yearly electricity – consumption: 14,280,000 GWh (2003 est.), 13,930,000 GWh (2001 est.)
  • Oil – production: 79,650,000 bbl/d (12,663,000 m3/d) (2003 est.), 75,460,000 barrels per day (11,997,000 m3/d) (2001)
  • Oil – consumption: 80,100,000 bbl/d (12,730,000 m3/d) (2003 est.), 76,210,000 barrels per day (12,116,000 m3/d) (2001)
  • Oil – proved reserves: 1.025 trillion barrel (163 km3 (39 cu mi) (2001 est.)
  • Natural gas – production: 3,366 km3 (808 cu mi) (2012 est.), 2,569 km3 (616 cu mi) (2001 est.)
  • Natural gas – consumption: 2,556 km3 (613 cu mi) (2001 est.)
  • Natural gas – proved reserves: 161,200 km3 (38,700 cu mi) (1 January 2002)

Cross-border

  • Yearly exports: $12.4 trillion, €11.05 trillion (2009 est.)
  • Exports – commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
  • Exports – partners: US 12.7%, Germany 7.1%, China 6.2%, France 4.4%, Japan 4.2%, UK 4.1% (2008)
  • Yearly imports: $12.29 trillion, €10.95 trillion (2009 est.)
  • Imports – commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
  • Imports – partners: China 10.3%, Germany 8.6%, US 8.1%, Japan 5% (2008)
  • Debt – external: $56.9 trillion, €40 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

Gift economy

  • Annual international aid: Official Development Assistance (ODA) of $204 billion (2022)

Communications

Telephones – main lines in use: 843,923,500 (2007)
4,263,367,600 (2008)

  • Telephones – mobile cellular: 3,300,000,000 (Nov. 2007)
  • Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 10,350 (2000 est.)
  • Internet users: 3,079,339,857 (31 December 2014 [3]), 360,985,492 (31 December 2000)

Transport

Transportation infrastructure worldwide includes:

  • Airports
    • Total: 41,821 (2013)
  • Roadways
    • Total: 32,345,165 km (20,098,354 mi)
    • Paved: 19,403,061 km (12,056,503 mi)
    • Unpaved: 12,942,104 km (8,041,851 mi) (2002)
  • Railways
    • Total: 1,122,650 km (697,580 mi) includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km (118,000 to 121,000 mi) of electrified routes of which 147,760 km (91,810 mi) are in Europe, 24,509 km (15,229 mi) in the Far East, 11,050 km (6,870 mi) in Africa, 4,223 km (2,624 mi) in South America, and 4,160 km (2,580 mi) in North America.[dubious – discuss]

Military

  • World military expenditure in 2018: estimated to $1.822 trillion
  • Military expenditures – percent of GDP: roughly 2% of gross world product (1999).
Military spending, top 25 countries by % GDP, 2024
Country % GDP spent on military
Ukraine
34.5
Israel
8.8
Algeria
8.0
Saudi Arabia
7.3
Russia
7.1
Myanmar
6.8
Oman
5.6
Armenia
5.5
Azerbaijan
5.0
Kuwait
4.8
Jordan
4.8
Burkina Faso
4.7
Mali
4.2
Poland
4.2
Burundi
3.8
Brunei
3.6
Morocco
3.5
United States
3.4
Estonia
3.4
Colombia
3.4
Latvia
3.3
Greece
3.1
Lithuania
3.1
Chad
3.0
Kyrgyzstan
3.0
Military spending, top 25 countries by PPP, 2024
Country $billions spent on military
United States
997
China
567
Russia
401
India
308
Ukraine
183
South Korea
96
Germany
99
Japan
91
France
91
United Kingdom
86
Brazil
64
Poland
62
Italy
60
Turkey
59
Indonesia
47
Colombia
43
Mexico
40
Spain
39
Australia
31
Canada
31
Netherlands
21
Philippines
21
Romania
21
Greece
17
Malaysia
14

Science, research and development

The Royal Society in a 2011 report stated that in terms of number of papers the share of English-language scientific research papers the United States was first followed by China, the UK, Germany, Japan, France, and Canada. In 2015, research and development constituted an average 2.2% of the global GDP according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Metrics and rankings of innovation include the Bloomberg Innovation Index, the Global Innovation Index and the share of Nobel laureates per capita.

Resources and environment

  • Forests (carbon sinks, wood, ecosystem services, ...)
    • Estimated number of trees that are net lost annually as of 2021: 10 billion
    • Global annual deforested land in 2015–2020: 10 million hectares
    • Global annual net forest area loss in 2000–2010 : 4.7 million hectares
  • Other land degradation and land- and organisms-related ecosystem disturbances
    • Soils (carbon sink, ecosystem services, food production, ...)
      • Soil erosion by water in 2012: almost 36 billion tons (based on a high resolution global potential soil erosion model developed in 2017)
      • Estimated annual loss of agricultural productivity due to soil erosion: 8 billion US dollars (based on the soil erosion data)
      • Soil erosion by water in 2015: approximately 43 billion tons (according to a 2020 study)
      • Environmental impact of pesticides
        • Pesticide use in tonnes of active ingredient in Australia in 2016: ca. 62,500 tonnes
  • Oceans (ecosystem services, food production, ...): Blue economy
  • Waste and pollution (effects of economic mechanisms, effects on ecosystem services)
    • As of 2018, about 380 million tonnes of plastic is produced worldwide each year. From the 1950s up to 2018, an estimated 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced worldwide, of which an estimated 9% has been recycled and another 12% has been incinerated with the rest reportedly being "dumped in landfills or the natural environment".
    • Air pollution
      • Number of human deaths caused annually by air pollution worldwide: ca. 7 million
      • Estimated global annual cost of air pollution: $5 trillion
    • Microplastic pollution
      • Estimated accumulated number of microplastic particles in the North Atlantic Ocean in 2014: 15 to 51 trillion particles, weighing between 93,000 and 236,000 metric tons
      • Estimated accumulated number of microplastic particles in the North Atlantic Ocean in 2020: 3700 microplastics per cubic meter

From the scientific perspective, economic activities are embedded in a web of dynamic, interrelated, and interdependent activities that constitute the natural system of Earth. Novel application of cybernetics in decision-making (such as in decision-making related to process- and product-design and related laws) and direction of human activity (such as economic activity) may make it easier to control modern ecological problems.

Historical development

Estimations of world population and GDP from a 2020 research paper
Year Population
(million)
GDP per capita
($1990 in PPP)
GDP in billion
($1990 in PPP)
1000000 BCE 0.125 400 0.05
300000 BCE 1 400 0.40
25000 BCE 3.34 400 1.34
10000 BCE 4 400 1.60
5000 BCE 5 404 2.02
4000 BCE 7 409 2.87
3000 BCE 14 421 5.90
2000 BCE 27 433 11.7
1000 BCE 50 444 22.2
500 BCE 100 457 45.7
200 BCE 150 465 69.7
1 168 467 78.4
200 190 463 88.0
400 190 463 88.0
500 190 463 88.0
600 200 462 92.3
700 210 460 96.6
800 220 459 101
900 240 456 109
1000 265 453 120
1100 320 512 164
1200 360 551 198
1300 360 551 198
1400 350 541 190
1500 438 625 274
1600 556 629 350
1700 603 658 397
1820 1,042 712 741
1870 1,276 884 1,128
1900 1,563
1913 1,793 1,543 2,767
1920 1,863
1940 2,299 2,181 5,013
1950 2,528 2,104 5,318
1960 3,042 2,764 12,170
1970 3,691 3,725 13,751
1980 4,440 4,511 20,026
1990 5,269 5,149 27,133
2000 6,077 6,057 36,806
2010 6,873 7,814 53,704
2019 7,620 9,663 73,640

Per the MSCI All Country World Index, the breakdown of market sector is as follows:

Sector 2012 2022
Energy 10.7 4.4
Materials 8.2 5.5
Industrials 11.5 10.6
Consumer Discretionary 11.2 11.7
Consumer Staples 9.4 6.6
Healthcare 8.8 11.6
Financials 19.5 14.4
Information Technology 13.1 21.2
Communication Service 4.0 7.5
Utilities 3.6 2.9
Real Estate 3.6

One example for a comparable metric other than GDP are the OECD Better Life Index rankings for different aggregative domains.

Legend
  Explained by: Housing
  Explained by: Income
  Explained by: Jobs
  Explained by: Community
  Explained by: Education
  Explained by: Environment
  Explained by: Civic engagement
  Explained by: Health
  Explained by: Life Satisfaction
  Explained by: Safety
  Explained by: Work-Life Balance
OECD Better Life Index rankings for 2016
Overall Rank
Country Housing Income Jobs Community Education Environment Civic engagement Health Life Satisfaction Safety Work-Life Balance
1  Norway
2  Australia
3  Denmark
4  Switzerland
5  Canada
6  Sweden
7  New Zealand
8  Finland
9  United States
10  Iceland
11  Netherlands
12  Germany
13  Luxembourg
14  Belgium
15  Austria
16  United Kingdom
17  Ireland
18  France
19  Spain
20  Slovenia
21  Czech Republic
22  Estonia
23  Japan
24  Slovakia
25  Italy
26  Israel
27  Poland
28  South Korea
29  Portugal
30  Latvia
31  Greece
32  Hungary
33  Russia
34  Chile
35  Brazil
36  Turkey
37  Mexico
38  South Africa

The index includes 11 comparable "dimensions" of well-being:

  1. Housing: housing conditions and spendings (e.g. real estate pricing)
  2. Income: household income (after taxes and transfers) and net financial wealth
  3. Jobs: earnings, job security and unemployment
  4. Community: quality of social support network
  5. Education: education and what one gets out of it
  6. Environment: quality of environment (e.g. environmental health)
  7. Governance: involvement in democracy
  8. Health
  9. Life Satisfaction: level of happiness
  10. Safety: murder and assault rates
  11. Work-life balance

Economic studies

To promote exports, many government agencies publish on the web economic studies by sector and country. Among these agencies include the USCS (US DoC) and FAS (USDA) in the United States, the EDC and AAFC in Canada, Ubifrance in France, the UKTI in the United Kingdom, the HKTDC and JETRO in Asia, Austrade and the NZTE in Oceania. Through Partnership Agreements, the Federation of International Trade Associations publishes studies from several of these agencies (USCS, FAS, AAFC, UKTI, and HKTDC) as well as other non-governmental organizations on its website globaltrade.net.

See also

Regional economies:

Events:

Lists:

  • List of countries by GDP sector composition
  • List of world's largest economies (nominal) – based on current currency market exchange rates
  • List of world's largest economies (PPP) – based on purchasing power parity
  • Historical list of world's largest economies (PPP) – for the years between 1 and 1998

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