World economy

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

• GDP (GWP) (gross world product): (purchasing power parity exchange rates) – $59.38 trillion (2005 est.), $51.48 trillion (2004), $23 trillion (2002). 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:,[29] this also equals the total global gross domestic product (GDP). According to the World Bank, the 2013 nominal GWP was approximately US$75.59 trillion. In 2017, according to the CIA's World Factbook, the GWP was around US$80.27 trillion in nominal terms and totaled approximately 127.8 trillion international dollars in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). The per capita PPP GWP in 2017 was approximately Int$17,500 according to the World Factbook.
• GDP (GWP) (gross world product):[30] (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[31] (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)[32]
• 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);[33]
  • Developed Economies 1% to 4% typically
  • Developing Countries 5% to 60% typically
  • Least developed countries 11.4% (2017), 8.3% (predicted 2018)[33]
• Derivatives OTC outstanding notional amount: $601 trillion (Dec 2010) ()
• Derivatives exchange traded outstanding notional amount: $82 trillion (June 2011) ()
• 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)

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

• Unemployment rate: 8.7% (2009 est.). 30% (2007 est.) combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%–12% unemployment.

• Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2002 est.)

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

• Yearly electricity – production: 21,080,878 GWh (2011 est.),[34] 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.),[35] 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)

• 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.)

• Yearly economic aid – recipient: net Official Development Assistance (ODA) of $135.2 billion (2014)[36]

Telephones – main lines in use: 843,923,500 (2007)
4,263,367,600 (2008)

• Telephones – mobile cellular: 3,300,000,000 (Nov. 2007)[37]
• Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 10,350 (2000 est.)
• Internet users: 3,079,339,857 (31 December 2014 ), 360,985,492 (31 December 2000[38])

Transportation infrastructure worldwide includes:

• Airports
  • Total: 41,821 (2013)[39]
• 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.

A pie chart showing global military expenditures by country for 2019, in US$ billions, according to SIPRI.

• World military expenditure in 2018: estimated to $1.822 trillion[40]
• Military expenditures – percent of GDP: roughly 2% of gross world product (1999).

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.[41] In 2015, research and development constituted an average 2.2% of the global GDP according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics.[42] Metrics and rankings of innovation include the Bloomberg Innovation Index, the Global Innovation Index and the share of Nobel laureates per capita.

Shown is how the global material footprint and global CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel combustion and industrial processes changed compared with global GDP.[43]

Deforestation of tropical rainforest and woodland (1700-2004)[44]

• Forests (carbon sinks, wood, ecosystem services, ...)
  • Estimated number of trees that are net lost annually as of 2021: 10 billion[45][46]
  • Global annual deforested land in 2015–2020: 10 million hectares
  • Global annual net forest area loss in 2000–2010 : 4.7 million hectares[47]
• 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)[48]
    • Estimated annual loss of agricultural productivity due to soil erosion: 8 billion US dollars (based on the soil erosion data)[49]
    • Soil erosion by water in 2015: approximately 43 billion tons (according to a 2020 study)[50]
    • Environmental impact of pesticides
      • Pesticide use in tonnes of active ingredient in Australia in 2016: ca. 62,500 tonnes[51]
• 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".[52]
  • Air pollution
    • Number of human deaths caused annually by air pollution worldwide: ca. 7 million[53][54][55]
    • Estimated global annual cost of air pollution: $5 trillion[56][57][58]
  • 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[59]
    • Estimated accumulated number of microplastic particles in the North Atlantic Ocean in 2020: 3700 microplastics per cubic meter[59]

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.[60]