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."World Economy." – Definition. American English Definition of with Pronunciation by Macmillan Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 January 2015. 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, , 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 ,Oxfam: Richest 1 percent sees share of global wealth jump 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.Rigged rules mean economic growth increasingly "winner takes all" for rich elites all over world. Oxfam. 20 January 2014.Neuman, Scott (20 January 2014). Oxfam: World's Richest 1 Percent Control Half Of Global Wealth. NPR. Retrieved 25 January 2014. 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 groupList 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 countriesMajor economiesValue(in millions of US$)Share of Global GDPValue(in millions of US$)Share of Global GDPEmerging and developing Asia(Continents: Asia and Oceania) 29,611,563 23.5% 79,107,485 35.5% 30 55,322,424 43.8% 62,292,231 28.0% 7Other advanced economies(advanced economies excluding the G7)(Continents: Europe, Asia, Oceania and North America) 18,491,297 14.6% 24,536,222 11.0% 36Emerging and developing Europe(Continents: Europe and Asia) 6,760,161 5.4% 16,734,241 7.5% 14Middle East and Central Asia(Continents: Asia and Africa) 5,664,347 4.5% 16,316,928 7.3% 32Latin America and the Caribbean(Continents: South America and North America) 8,008,219 6.3% 15,750,605 7.1% 33Sub-Saharan Africa(Continent: Africa) 2,437,320 1.9% 8,021,927 3.6% 45World 126,295,331 100.0% 222,759,639 100.0% 197
World economy by continent
GDP sector composition (2019 estimate) Continent Agricultural Industrial ServiceWorld 7,908.260 38,354.363 81,575.461Asia 5,105.362 20,858.549 32,939.397North America 292.467 5,008.594 18,426.200Europe 838.199 8,175.402 20,598.902 539.510 2,014.140 5,024.223Africa 1,076.690 1,941.037 3,559.579Oceania 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 highestGDP (nominal) per capita at their peak level as of 2026 in million US$GDP per capita data for Monaco, Bermuda, Qatar, the Cayman Islands, the Isle of Man, Macau, the Channel Islands, the Faroe Islands and Greenland by World Bank List of the 30 economies by highestGDP (PPP) per capita at their peak level as of 2026 in Int$GDP per capita (PPP) data for Qatar, Macau, Norway, Bermuda, the UAE, Guyana, Kuwait, the Cayman Islands, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Andorra and Greenland by World BankGDP per capita (PPP) data for Monaco and Liechtenstein by CIA Rank Country Value—WorldIMF GDP for the World and the European Union126,295,331132,383,920—23,034,637220,851,5933 (2012)World Bank GDP (Nominal) for Japan6,333,80445,452,85854,264,79464,153,19173,596,094—IMF GDP (nominal) for Africa (Region)3,555,43582,738,16492,656,452102,635,912112,507,340122,123,963132,120,855142,091,222151,942,314161,640,223171,539,872181,449,704191,388,676201,146,911211,134,24822976,71923 (2014)811,13424779,38125776,73026760,48127 (2011)722,13028719,84829688,37830659,572 Rank Country Value—World222,759,639144,295,453232,383,920—30,677,594318,902,320—IMF GDP (PPP) for Africa (Region)12,518,94647,525,15957,262,16366,408,42075,449,14585,229,58694,734,241104,720,863114,025,249123,871,906133,580,952143,542,014152,977,960162,910,718172,894,592182,566,688192,424,223202,274,626212,164,271222,098,888232,025,331241,963,655251,921,75226 (2025)1,845,572271,797,698281,608,504291,592,206301,591,288 Rank Country Value1 (2024)288,0022226,8093158,7334 (2024)142,8555140,1866126,1777 (2022)113,1228110,0489 (2012)108,47010107,75811104,2931294,43013 (2021)94,30014 (2014)88,3551583,4451679,91817 (2008)79,1101875,6481974,58620 (2024)74,1752170,6762269,8042367,7612465,3032565,1122661,0562760,3052860,1302959,64030 (2023)58,499 Rank Country Value1 (2024)270,1002 (2024)210,6003 (2012)180,9394173,7085159,1296156,7196 (2013)149,8598 (2022)129,9149 (2024)124,25310106,81411105,6801298,05114 (2025)97,8991397,8581594,43016 (2024)92,20117 (2007)91,4351889,6671987,7732087,14121GDP (PPP) per capita for the Isle of Man (2014)84,60022 (2024)84,2572384,2122482,42125 (2024)82,08926 (2025)79,56727 (2023)78,9062878,8152978,6073078,334
Twenty largest economies in the world by nominal GDP
The following is a list of the twenty largest economies by nominal GDP at peak value as of the specific year, according to the International Monetary Fund.Rank19801985199019952000200520102015202020252030203112345678910Rank19801985199019952000200520102015202020252030203111121314151617181920
Twenty largest economies in the world by GDP (PPP)
List of twenty largest economies by GDP based on purchasing power parity at peak value as of the specific year according to the International Monetary Fund and the CIA World Factbook.Rank19801985199019952000200520102015202020252030203112345678910Rank19801985199019952000200520102015202020252030203111121314151617181920
Statistical indicators
Finance
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.