World economy

For other uses, see World Economy (disambiguation).

File:World GDP per capita 1500 to 2003.svg

World GDP per capita between 1500 and 2003

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.

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. For example, it is unclear 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 2026, the following 12 countries and 2 collectives account for at least 2.0% of global economy by either Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in nominal or Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms: Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, the African Union and the European 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 2026 (or at peaked level)		List of country groups by GDP (PPP) in 2026 (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)	29,611,563	23.5%	79,107,485	35.5%	30	China India Indonesia Vietnam Thailand Bangladesh Malaysia Philippines
Major advanced economies (G7) (Continents: Europe, North America and Asia)	55,322,424	43.8%	62,292,231	28.0%	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)	18,491,297	14.6%	24,536,222	11.0%	36	South Korea Spain Taiwan Australia Netherlands Switzerland Singapore Belgium Ireland Sweden
Emerging and developing Europe (Continents: Europe and Asia)	6,760,161	5.4%	16,734,241	7.5%	14	Russia Turkey Poland Romania Ukraine
Middle East and Central Asia (Continents: Asia and Africa)	5,664,347	4.5%	16,316,928	7.3%	32	Saudi Arabia Egypt Iran Pakistan United Arab Emirates Kazakhstan Algeria
Latin America and the Caribbean (Continents: South America and North America)	8,008,219	6.3%	15,750,605	7.1%	33	Brazil Mexico Argentina Colombia Chile
Sub-Saharan Africa (Continent: Africa)	2,437,320	1.9%	8,021,927	3.6%	45	Nigeria South Africa
World	126,295,331	100.0%	222,759,639	100.0%	197

World economy by continent

Main article: List of continents by GDP § Continents by GDP (nominal)

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 2026. 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 2026 in million US$	List of the 30 largest economies by GDP (PPP) at their peak level as of 2026 in million Int$	List of the 30 economies by highest GDP (nominal) per capita at their peak level as of 2026 in million US$	List of the 30 economies by highest GDP (PPP) per capita at their peak level as of 2026 in Int$
Rank Country Value — World 126,295,331 1 United States 32,383,920 — European Union 23,034,637 2 China 20,851,593 3 Japan (2012) 6,333,804 4 Germany 5,452,858 5 United Kingdom 4,264,794 6 India 4,153,191 7 France 3,596,094 — African Union 3,555,435 8 Italy 2,738,164 9 Russia 2,656,452 10 Brazil 2,635,912 11 Canada 2,507,340 12 Australia 2,123,963 13 Mexico 2,120,855 14 Spain 2,091,222 15 South Korea (2021) 1,942,314 16 Turkey 1,640,223 17 Indonesia 1,539,872 18 Netherlands 1,449,704 19 Saudi Arabia 1,388,676 20 Switzerland 1,146,911 21 Poland 1,134,248 22 Taiwan 976,719 23 Nigeria (2014) 811,134 24 Ireland 779,381 25 Belgium 776,730 26 Sweden 760,481 27 Iran (2011) 722,130 28 Israel 719,848 29 Argentina 688,378 30 Singapore 659,572	Rank Country Value — World 222,759,639 1 China 44,295,453 2 United States 32,383,920 — European Union 30,677,594 3 India 18,902,320 — African Union 12,518,946 4 Russia 7,525,159 5 Japan 7,262,163 6 Germany 6,408,420 7 Indonesia 5,449,145 8 Brazil 5,229,586 9 France 4,734,241 10 United Kingdom 4,720,863 11 Turkey 4,025,249 12 Italy 3,871,906 13 Mexico 3,580,952 14 South Korea 3,542,014 15 Spain 2,977,960 16 Canada 2,910,718 17 Saudi Arabia 2,894,592 18 Egypt 2,566,688 19 Nigeria 2,424,223 20 Taiwan 2,274,626 21 Poland 2,164,271 22 Australia 2,098,888 23 Vietnam 2,025,331 24 Thailand 1,963,655 25 Bangladesh 1,921,752 26 Iran (2025) 1,845,572 27 Pakistan 1,797,698 28 Malaysia 1,608,504 29 Netherlands 1,592,206 30 Argentina 1,591,288	Rank Country Value 1 Monaco (2024) 288,002 2 Liechtenstein 226,809 3 Luxembourg 158,733 4 Bermuda (2024) 142,855 5 Ireland 140,186 6 Switzerland 126,177 7 Norway (2022) 113,122 8 Iceland 110,048 9 Qatar (2012) 108,470 10 Singapore 107,758 11 Cayman Islands (2024) 104,293 12 United States 94,430 13 Isle of Man (2021) 94,300 14 Macau (2014) 88,355 15 Denmark 83,445 16 Netherlands 79,918 17 San Marino (2008) 79,110 18 Australia 75,648 19 Channel Islands (2023) 74,586 20 Faroe Islands (2024) 74,175 21 Sweden 70,676 22 Israel 69,804 23 Austria 67,761 24 Germany 65,303 25 Belgium 65,112 26 United Kingdom 61,056 27 Canada 60,305 28 Finland 60,130 29 Hong Kong 59,640 30 Greenland (2023) 58,499	Rank Country Value 1 Monaco (2024) 270,100 2 Liechtenstein (2024) 210,600 3 Qatar (2012) 180,939 4 Singapore 173,708 5 Ireland 159,129 6 Luxembourg 156,719 6 Macau (2013) 149,859 8 Norway (2022) 129,914 9 Bermuda (2024) 124,253 10 United Arab Emirates (2006) 106,814 11 Switzerland 105,680 12 Taiwan 98,051 14 Guyana (2025) 97,899 13 Brunei 97,858 15 United States 94,430 16 Cayman Islands (2024) 92,201 17 Kuwait (2007) 91,435 18 Denmark 89,667 19 Netherlands 87,773 20 San Marino 87,141 21 Isle of Man (2014) 84,600 22 Iceland (2024) 84,257 23 Hong Kong 84,212 24 Malta 82,421 25 Faroe Islands (2024) 82,089 26 Andorra (2025) 79,567 27 Greenland (2023) 78,906 28 Saudi Arabia 78,815 29 Belgium 78,607 30 Austria 78,334

Twenty largest economies in the world by nominal GDP

Main article: List of countries by past and projected GDP (nominal)

Statistical indicators

Finance

File:Map of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita in 2021.svg

Countries or territories by GDP (PPP) per capita in 2021.

>$60,000   $50,000 – $60,000   $40,000 – $50,000   $30,000 – $40,000

$20,000 – $30,000   $10,000 – $20,000   $5,000 – $10,000   $2,500 – $5,000

$1,000 – $2,500   <$1,000   No data

File:Countries by total wealth (trillions USD), Credit Suisse.png

Countries by total wealth (trillions USD), Credit Suisse

• 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):
  • World 2.6% (2017), 2.8% (predicted 2018);
  • Developed Economies 1% to 4% typically
  • Developing Countries 5% to 60% typically
  • Least developed countries 11.4% (2017), 8.3% (predicted 2018)
• 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

File:World GDP Per Capita 1500 to 2000, Log Scale.png

World GDP per capita between 1500 and 2000 (log scale)

File:World GDP per capita 1500 to 2003.svg

World GDP per capita between 1500 and 2003

File:Gdp accumulated change.png

GDP increase, 1990–1998 and 1990–2006, in major countries

• 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

File:Global primary energy consumption, OWID.svg

Global primary energy consumption, measured in terawatt-hours (TWh) per year

Further information: World energy supply and consumption and Energy development

• 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.

Military

• World military expenditure in 2018: estimated to $1.822 trillion
• Military expenditures – percent of GDP: roughly 2% of gross world product (1999).

Further information: List of countries with highest military expenditures
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

See also: List of sovereign states by research and development spending

File:Scientific and technical journal publications per million residents, OWID.svg

Number of scientific or technical journal article publications per million residents as of 2013.

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

See also: Primary sector of the economy and Agriculture

Further information: 2021 in the environment and environmental sciences § International goals

File:Relative change in main global economic and environmental indicators from 1970 to 2017.webp

Shown is how the global material footprint and global CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel combustion and industrial processes changed compared with global GDP.

File:8000 BCE+ Loss of forest and grassland to grazing and crops.svg

The period since 1950 has brought "the most rapid transformation of the human relationship with the natural world in the history of humankind". Through 2018, humans have reduced forest area by ~30% and grasslands/shrubs by ~68%, to make way for livestock grazing and crops for humans.

• 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

Further information: History of globalization and Broad measures of economic progress

File:2010.09.27-LSE-Research-Danny.Quah-Map.png

Shift of the world's economic center of gravity since 1980 and projected until 2050

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

• Anarchy (international relations)
• Capitalism
• Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (book)
• Economic bubble
• Economic collapse
• Fourth Industrial Revolution
• Global financial system
• Global workforce
• Globality
• Globalization
• International trade
• Trade route
• Overconsumption
• Petrodollar recycling
• World Trade Report
• World history
  • Economic history of the world
• World-systems theory

Regional economies:

• Economy of Africa
• Economy of Asia
• Economy of Europe
• Economy of North America
• Economy of Oceania
• Economy of South America

Events:

• Great Recession
• World oil market chronology from 2003
• 2008 financial crisis
• 2007–2008 world food price crisis
• Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

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

External links

• OECD – Economic Outlook
• IMF – World Economic Outlook
• World Bank – Global Economic Prospects
• UN DESA – World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025
• CIA – The World Factbook – World
• Guardian Special Report – Global Economy
• World Bank Summary – Trade Statistics for World
• Statistics of the World – World Economy Overview — GDP, growth, inflation, and 440+ indicators for 218 countries from IMF and World Bank data

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Text copied from Wikipedia:World economy on 2 October 2026. Credit: Wikipedia contributors. Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.