The $80 Trillion World Economy

When the news talks about “the economy” they always talk about percentages, especially growth or recession. Meanwhile, the U.S. GDP (a flawed but popular measure) is almost $20 trillion, almost one quarter of the $80 trillion world economy.

The $80 Trillion World Economy in One Chart

Put the pretty picture and the giant numbers aside for a moment and take a step back. The U.S. news is full of angst about slowing growth, the loss of manufacturing, inequality, etc. Meanwhile, step back and note that only 5% of humans are American and yet this one country is nearly 25% of the entire global economy.

China is catching up, but its 1.3 billion citizens (4 times more than the U.S.) are 17% of the total global population but only 15% of the global economy. India’s 1.2 billion citizens are just 3% of the global economy.

Finally, I do a lot of work in Africa and note that only three African countries have economies large enough to show up on the infographic. Yet there are over 1 billion people now living in Africa and the total GDP is only currently around $2 trillion, a bit less than India.

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