World's Richest Countries 2008
Fastest-Growing Economies were China, Russia and Argentina
Jun 15, 2009
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the world’s most widely used indicator of the overall size and health of a country’s economy. That’s because GDP represents the total market value of all goods and services produced within a nation’s geographic boundaries during a given year.
In its simplest form, GDP equals a country’s Consumption, plus Investments, plus Government spending, plus Exports minus Imports (also called a nation’s net exports or balance of payments). Economists write this formula as C + I + G + (X-M).
In the fall of 2008, the investment component of America’s GDP started to unravel as credit dried up. In turn, these forces touched off a frightening slowdown in the global economy. Still, the United States remains as the world’s richest economy as measured by GDP.
Top 10 Richest Countries by 2008 GDP
Among the top 10 countries with the highest GDP sums last year, 5 were from the European Union. The 3 Asian countries (China, Russia and Japan) had the largest percentage gains over 2007. South America’s largest nation, resource-rich Brazil, also experienced a healthy two-digit jump in GDP.
1. United States … US$14.265 trillion (up 3.3% from 2007)
2. Japan … $4.924 trillion (up 12.3%)
3. China … $4.402 trillion (up 30.1%)
4. Germany … $3.668 trillion (up 10.4%)
5. France … $2.866 trillion (up 10.5%)
6. United Kingdom … $2.674 trillion (down 4.6%)
7. Italy … $2.314 trillion (up 9.3%)
8. Russia … $1.677 trillion (up 29.5%)
9. Spain … $1.612 trillion (up 11.9%)
10. Brazil … $1.573 trillion (up 17.9%).
Top 20 Wealthiest GDP Nations in 2008
America’s North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, Canada and Mexico, are among the top 20 richest countries by GDP in 2008. Those economies recorded single-digit GDP growth, while Poland and Indonesia led with high double-digit advances.
11. Canada … $1.511 trillion (up 5.2%)
12. India … $1.210 trillion (up 9.7%)
13. Mexico … $1.088 trillion (up 6.1%)
14. Australia … $1.011 trillion (up 11.1%)
15. South Korea … $947 billion (down 9.8%)
16. Netherlands … $868.9 billion (up 11.8%)
17. Turkey … $729.4 billion (up 12.4%)
18. Poland … $525.7 billion (up 23.8%)
19. Indonesia … $511.8 billion (up 18.4%)
20. Belgium … $506.4 billion (up 10.3%)
Rounding Out the Top 30 Richest Countries
Led by Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Iran, eight of the following 10 countries accomplished hefty double-digit increases. Even though they may account for the bottom level of the world’s top 30 GDP totals, only Taiwan and Sweden display more modest single-digit improvements.
21. Switzerland … $492.6 billion (up 15.3%)
22. Sweden … $484.6 billion (up 6.8%)
23. Saudi Arabia …. $481.6 billion (up 26.1%)
24. Norway … $456.2 billion (up 17.1%)
25. Austria … $415.3 billion (up 11.9%)
26. Taiwan … $392.6 billion (up 2%)
27. Greece … $357.5 billion (up 14.3%)
28. Iran … $344.8 billion (up 20.6%)
29. Denmark … $324.9 billion (up 10.4%)
30. Argentina … $326.5 billion (up 25.4%).
Based on the above GDP statistics, the U.S. (up only 3.3%) and its close trading partners namely Canada (5.2%), the U.K. and Mexico (6.1%) were among the poorest performers of the top 30 economies. The question is, can American technological innovations spearhead improvements in GDP that lead the global economic recovery?
Logic would dictate that if the world’s most powerful economy could ignite a global meltdown, then the USA should be able to start a reversal of the current downturn.
Sources
This analysis is based on latest statistics from the US Census Bureau - Foreign Trade Statistics and CIA World Factbook as of the date of article publication.
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