Harley Hahn - Economics Explained - Understanding Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Money and
Economics

Understanding Gross Domestic Product

List of Figures

Understanding Gross Domestic Product contains eight figures, the first seven of which are tables of numbers.

For reference, here are links to each of these figures within the section in which they appear.

Figure 1: Countries, ranked by GDP

Figure 2: Economic regions, ranked by GDP

Figure 3: GDP of economic regions ranked by land mass

Figure 4: GDP of economic regions ranked by GDP/(Land Mass)

Figure 5: GDP of economic regions, ranked by population

Figure 6: GDP of most populous regions, ranked by per capita GDP

Figure 7: GDP of all economic regions, ranked by per capita GDP

Figure 8: Characteristics of countries, very high GDP per capita

All the Figures on One Page

Within the essay, I have analyzed the various numbers in different ways. If you want to do some analysis of your own, having all the tables is one spot will make it a lot easier.

To help you, here are all the figures in one place.

Figure 1: Countries, ranked by GDP

		2012 GDP ($trillion USD)
World		$71.707
United States	1	$15.685
China	2	$8.227
Japan	3	$5.964
Germany	4	$3.401
France	5	$2.609
United Kingdom	6	$2.441
Brazil	7	$2.396
Russia	8	$2.022
Italy	9	$2.014
India	10	$1.825
Canada	11	$1.819
Australia	12	$1.542
Spain	13	$1.352
Mexico	14	$1.177
Korea	15	$1.156

Figure 2: Economic regions, ranked by GDP

		2012 GDP ($trillion USD)
World		$71.707
European Union	1	$16.641
United States	2	$15.685
China	3	$8.227
Japan	4	$5.964
Brazil	5	$2.396
Russia	6	$2.022
India	7	$1.825
Canada	8	$1.819
Australia	9	$1.542
Mexico	10	$1.177
Korea	11	$1.156
Indonesia	12	$0.878
Turkey	13	$0.794
Saudi Arabia	14	$0.727
Switzerland	15	$0.632

Figure 3: GDP of economic regions ranked by land mass

		Land Mass (km²)	2012 GDP ($trillion USD)
World		132,773,914	$71.707
Russia	1	16,377,742	$2.022
China	2	9,569,901	$8.227
United States	3	9,158,960	$15.685
Canada	4	9,093,507	$1.819
Brazil	5	8,460,415	$2.396
Australia	6	7,682,300	$1.542
European Union	7	4,250,235	$16.641
India	8	2,973,193	$1.825
Argentina	9	2,736,690	$0.475
Kazakhstan	10	2,699,700	$0.196
Algeria	11	2,381,741	$0.208
Congo	12	2,267,048	$0.018
Saudi Arabia	13	2,149,690	$0.727
Mexico	14	1,943,945	$1.177
Indonesia	15	1,811,569	$0.878

Figure 4: GDP of economic regions ranked by GDP/(Land Mass)

		GDP/ Land Mass	Land Mass (km²)	2012 GDP ($trillion USD)
World		0.5	148,940,000	$71.707
European Union	1	3.9	4,250,235	$16.641
United States	2	1.7	9,158,960	$15.685
China	3	0.9	9,569,901	$8.227
India	4	0.6	2,973,193	$1.825
Mexico	5	0.6	1,943,945	$1.177
Indonesia	6	0.5	1,811,569	$0.878
Saudi Arabia	7	0.3	2,149,690	$0.727
Brazil	8	0.3	8,460,415	$2.396
Australia	9	0.2	7,682,300	$1.542
Canada	10	0.2	9,093,507	$1.819
Argentina	11	0.2	2,736,690	$0.475
Russia	12	0.1	16,377,742	$2.022
Algeria	13	0.1	2,381,741	$0.208
Kazakhstan	14	0.1	2,699,700	$0.196
Congo	15	0.0	2,267,048	$0.018
Japan		15.8	377,930	$5.964

Figure 5: GDP of economic regions, ranked by population

		Mid-2012 Population (millions)	2012 GDP ($trillion USD)
World		7,058.0	$71.707
China	1	1,350.4	$8.227
India	2	1,259.7	$1.825
European Union	3	506.2	$13.491
United States	4	316.1	$15.685
Indonesia	5	241.0	$0.878
Brazil	6	194.3	$2.396
Pakistan	7	180.4	$0.232
Nigeria	8	170.1	$0.269
Bangladesh	9	152.9	$0.123
Russia	10	143.4	$2.022
Japan	11	127.3	$5.964
Mexico	12	116.1	$1.177
Philippines	13	96.2	$0.250
Vietnam	14	89.0	$0.138
Ethiopia	15	87.0	$0.042

Figure 6: GDP of most populous economic regions, ranked by per capita GDP

		GDP Per Capita (USD)	Mid-2012 Population (millions)	2012 GDP ($trillion USD)
World		$10,160	7,058.0	$71.707
United States	1	$49,967	313.9	$15.685
Japan	2	$46,740	127.6	$5.964
European Union	3	$32,875	506.2	$16.641
Russia	4	$14,120	143.2	$2.022
Brazil	5	$12,331	194.3	$2.396
Mexico	6	$10,139	116.1	$1.177
China	7	$6,092	1,350.4	$8.227
Indonesia	8	$3,644	241.0	$0.878
Philippines	9	$2,603	96.2	$0.250
Nigeria	10	$1,580	170.1	$0.269
Vietnam	11	$1,551	89.0	$0.138
India	12	$1,449	1,259.7	$1.825
Pakistan	13	$1,285	180.4	$0.232
Bangladesh	14	$803	152.9	$0.123
Ethiopia	15	$482	87.0	$0.042

Figure 7: GDP of all economic regions, ranked by per capita GDP

		GDP Per Capita (USD)	Mid-2012 Population (millions)	2012 GDP ($trillion USD)
World		$10,160	7,058.0	$71.707
European Union		$32,875	506.2	$16.641
Luxembourg	1	$113,476	0.5	$0.057
Norway	2	$100,220	5.0	$0.501
Qatar	3	$87,323	2.1	$0.183
Switzerland	4	$79,050	8.0	$0.632
Australia	5	$70,082	22.0	$1.542
Denmark	6	$55,948	5.6	$0.314
Sweden	7	$55,389	9.5	$0.526
Canada	8	$52,123	34.9	$1.819
Singapore	9	$52,052	5.3	$0.277
United States	10	$49,967	313.9	$15.685
Austria	11	$46,893	8.5	$0.399
Japan	12	$46,740	127.6	$5.964
Netherlands	13	$46,294	16.7	$0.773
United Arab Emirates	14	$44,314	8.1	$0.359
Germany	15	$41,572	81.8	$3.401

Figure 8: Characteristics of countries with a very high GDP per capita

What Makes for a Very High GDP Per Capita?

Small to medium-sized land mass
Small to medium-sized population
Democracy
Free press
Stable government
Post-industrial economy (more dependence on services than on manufacturing and agriculture)
Business-friendly government
Long-range government planning
Significant investment in infrastructure
Highly literate and educated population
High-speed network connectivity
Stable work force
Diversified economy

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