World economy

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.

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.

As of 2024, the following 20 countries or 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, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and the African Union.

The index includes 11 comparable "dimensions" of well-being:[65] To promote exports, many government agencies publish on the web economic studies by sector and country.

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.

World GDP per capita between 1500 and 2003
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
<$1,000
No data
Countries by total wealth (trillions USD), Credit Suisse
World GDP per capita between 1500 and 2000 (log scale)
World GDP per capita between 1500 and 2003
GDP increase, 1990–1998 and 1990–2006, in major countries
Global primary energy consumption, measured in terawatt-hours (TWh) per year
A pie chart showing global military expenditures by country for 2019, in US$ billions, according to SIPRI.
Number of scientific or technical journal article publications per million residents as of 2013.
Shown is how the global material footprint and global CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel combustion and industrial processes changed compared with global GDP. [ 42 ]
The period since 1950 has brought "the most rapid transformation of the human relationship with the natural world in the history of humankind". [ 43 ] Through 2018, humans have reduced forest area by ~30% and grasslands/shrubs by ~68%, to make way for livestock grazing and crops for humans. [ 44 ]
Shift of the world's economic center of gravity since 1980 and projected until 2050 [ 61 ]