Ever wondered what country is the richest in the world? A country’s wealth is not determined by it’s total earnings, but its
GDP (Gross Domestic Product). So what is GDP? It is basically a measure of the
value of all the services and goods
produced domestically. The more these goods and services, the more the
GDP. The basic factors that come into consideration while calculating
GDP per capita are;
Investments made by the industry,
export and import ratio,
consumption, and government
spending. This means that the more the spending and imports, the lesser the GDP. And the more the exports, the higher the GDP.
There is another measure with which countries are rated. That is GDP per capita. It is basically what you get when you divide the GDP by the total population.
Some say it is not a better indicator of a country’s wealth, since fast
growing economies don’t mean anything if they have a large population
(like India and China). So here, we have organized the top 10 list
according to GDP, and not GDP per capita.
10. Canada – $1.759 Trillion
- Continent: North America
- Capital city: Ottawa
- Population: 34,753,000
- GDP per capita: $51,147
- Land Area: 9,984,670 km2
- Official languages: English, French
- Currency: CAD (Canadian Dollar – $)
Surprised? Don’t be! Canada
has experienced a recent inflow of immigrants from all over the world.
The growth of its manufacturing, mining and service sectors has
increased productivity, and it exports various good to the U.S, U.K,
Japan etc. It ranks Number 10 according to GDP per capita ($51,147) And also has made its way into our top 10 list according to its current GDP income.
9. India – $1.843 Trillion
- Continent: Asia
- Capital city: New Delhi
- Population: 1,210,193,422
- GDP per capita: $1,527
- Land Area: 3,287,263 km2
- Official languages: Hindi, English
- Currency: INR (Indian Rupee)
India is one of the fastest growing
economies in the world! It’s economy is based upon business investments,
private consumptions, agricultural outputs, and its key service
sectors. Although it’s economy is booming, India’s GDP per capita is
still far below other countries in the list. That is due to the large
population. India is the second most populus country in the world after
China.
8. Italy - $2.245 Trillion
- Continent: Europe
- Capital city: Rome
- Population: 60,681,514
- GDP per capita: $37,046
- Land Area: 301,338 km2
- Official languages: Italian
- Currency: EUR (Euro – €)
It has a closed income of USD $2,287.704
trillion and according to the World Bank, the International Monetary
Fund, and the CIA World Factbook, it has become the fourth largest
economy in Europe when it comes to nominal GDP since they have
diversified industrial and infrastructure economies. It is one of the
eight members of the industrialized nations of the G8 group.
Italy has broadened its horizons for its
industrial and road and rail network developments. Due to this
progress, it has a nominal GDP of USD $2,287.704 trillion and with the
review of the World Bank, the IMF, and the Central Investigation
Authority, Italy has developed into the 4th major economy in Europe. It
is one of the members of G8 Consortium.
7. Brazil - $2.422 Trillion
- Continent: South America
- Capital city: Brasilia
- Population: 192,376,496
- GDP per capita: $12,423
- Land Area: 8,514,877 km2
- Official languages: Portuguese
- Currency: BRL (Brazilian Real – R$)
Brasil’s main GDP growth comes from service sectors, agriculture,
mining, and manufacturing. In fact, it has the largest economy among
all of the South American countries. Brazil had a GDP growth of 0.8% in 2011!
6. United Kingdom - $2.603 Trillion
- Continent: Europe
- Capital city: London
- Population: 62,262,000
- GDP per capita: $39,459
- Land Area: 243,610 km2
- Official languages: English
- Currency: GBP (Pound Sterling)
U.K. has an average quarterly growth of 0.58% and has retained its high GDP despite the recession that hit most other countries. Hence it has one of the most stable economy. Britain’s major income comes from the manufacturing industry (automobiles etc.), value added exports and its service sector.
5. France - $2.808 Trillion
- Continent: Europe
- Capital city: Paris
- Population: 65,821,885
- GDP per capita: $44,400
- Land Area: 674,843 km2
- Official languages: French
- Currency: EUR (Euro – €), CFP Franc
Before 2011 ended, France reached a GDP growth of 0.30%.
It is focusing on industrial development. France too was adversely hit
by the recession in 2008-9, but has started to come back since 2010, and
establishing itself as the second largest economic force in Europe.
4. Germany - $3.628 Trillion
- Continent: Europe
- Capital city: Berlin
- Population: 81,799,600
- GDP per capita: $44,555
- Land Area: 357,021 km2
- Official languages: German
- Currency: EUR (Euro – €)
Germany is most well known for its manufacturing industry. It is the second largest car manufacturing company, after Japan, with respect to production and sales. And its other machinery is also renowned throughout the world for its reliability. German engineering is considered one of the best in the world and it is making lots of head-ways into research and development.
Germany is number one considering
economic expansion. It focuses on exports mainly, which make up 1/3rd of
the total national output. It has an annual GDP growth of 0.31%, making it the strongest and most stable economy in Europe.
3. Japan - $5.855 Trillion
- Continent: Asia
- Capital city: Tokyo
- Population: 127,960,000
- GDP per capita: $45,774
- Land Area: 377,944 km2
- Official languages: Japanese
- Currency: JPY (Japanese Yen - ¥)
Japan is the world leader in the automotive industry. It exports cars and other machinery worldwide. It also is the leader in modern Mechanics and Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence. Japan has managed to remain in the top 5 list for the last 52 years!
All this despite the frequent earthquakes and tsunamis and other
natural disasters as well as recessions etc. Hence Japan is one of the
most resilient nations when it comes to coping with odds, be they
natural obstructions or atomic bombs!
2. China - $6.988 Trillion!
- Continent: Asia
- Capital city: Beijing
- Population: 1,339,724,852
- GDP per capita: $5,184
- Land Area: 9,640,821 km2
- Official languages: Modern Standard Mandarin
- Currency: CNY (Renminbi Yuan)
China has amazed us and everybody else
in the last couple of decades. Before, it was just a mass of people
under communist rule. But in the past few decades, China has surpassed
all other nation with respect to its economic growth. It is the fastest
growing economy on the planet with a GDP growth of a staggering 2.15%!!
China’s economy revolves around trade. Its people are hard working and business oriented. It is the second largest importer of goods, and the largest exporter in the world. Chinese products have flooded many international markets providing relatively inexpensive alternatives
to the heavy duty, hefty priced items by the alligators of the market!
That’s why it is the most successful economy. China’s products have
penetrated nearly all fields in the markets, and with such low price
tags, are forcing other manufacturers to revise their pricing, hence
stealing customers from other companies and causing other businesses to
go in losses! This two-pronged strategy has been quite effective.
1. United States of America - $15.065 Trillion!!
- Continent: North America
- Capital city: Washington D.C.
- Population: 313,042,000
- GDP per capita: $48,147
- Land Area: 9,826,675 km2
- Official languages: English
- Currency: USD (U.S. Dollar – $)
To tell you the truth, no surprises
there! Although the GDP sum is quite staggering – more than twice that
of its nearest competitor. Like China, it also focuses on trade. The
highest recorded GDP growth was 3.28%! Despite
recessions, and the alleged “war on terrorism” in Iraq and Afghanistan,
and other wars such as Vietnam and Gulf War, it still is the world’s leading economy. That is perhaps because it is home to some of the largest and richest companies.
It is the leader in exports of Arms and Ammunition,
and other war machinery like tanks, fighter planes etc. USA also
dominates the aerospace industry housing Lockheed Martin and Boeing, the
best in their trade. not only that, it is the big guy in the petroleum
industry as well, with Exxon Mobil being one of the largest oil and Gas
company in the world. Among the top 10 richest companies in the world,
two are from USA. It dominates the IT and Computing sector as well,
with Big Guys like Google, Microsoft, Apple etc in the house! USA also
hosts the most amount of millionaires and Billionaires.
