Line
GDP per Person Over Two Centuries
Real GDP per person, 2011 international dollars
5 of 5 series are above their level a year earlier·3 of 5 are at a five-year high
Plays the chart through its history. Pauses are where the data set a record or moved most.
China · Continuation · the recent trend, flattening · 3 years
Continuation isn't available for United States: Last observation was 1392 days ago — too stale to project.
Continuation isn't available for United Kingdom: Last observation was 1392 days ago — too stale to project.
Continuation isn't available for Japan: Last observation was 1392 days ago — too stale to project.
Continuation isn't available for India: Charts project up to 4 series.
Dashed: the projection from the latest reading. Shaded: the range about two in three outcomes land in. A projection, not a promise.
Adjusted for inflation and for price levels between countries. Before records become yearly, a line joins benchmark years. From the Maddison Project Database, which asks that the original sources for each country be cited: they are listed on each series’ page.
Average income in five economies since 1820. Britain and the United States pulled away first; Japan caught up after the Second World War; China and India have only begun to close the gap in the last few decades.
What this chart reads
- GDP per Person, Historical (Maddison): United Statesas “United States”behindlatest 2022-12-31
- GDP per Person, Historical (Maddison): United Kingdomas “United Kingdom”behindlatest 2022-12-31
- GDP per Person, Historical (Maddison): Japanas “Japan”behindlatest 2022-12-31
- GDP per Person, Historical (Maddison): Chinaas “China”behindlatest 2022-12-31
- GDP per Person, Historical (Maddison): Indiaas “India”behindlatest 2022-12-31
Sources
GDP per Person, Historical (Maddison): United States. Source: Maddison Project Database 2023 (Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen). Cite as: Bolt, Jutta and Jan Luiten van Zanden (2024), "Maddison style estimates of the evolution of the world economy: A new 2023 update", Journal of Economic Surveys, 1–41. DOI: 10.1111/joes.12618. Licence: Maddison Project Database, version 2023 by Jutta Bolt and Jan Luiten van Zanden, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://www.rug.nl/ggdc/historicaldevelopment/maddison/releases/maddison-project-database-2023 The database asks that all original papers be cited when its data is shown in graphical form. The original sources for United States, as the database lists them: Sources added since MPD 2013: - 1650 - 1790: McCusker, John J., ‘Colonial Statistics’, Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Time to the Present, in S. B. Carter, S. S. Gartner, M. R. Haineset al. New York, Cambridge University Press. V-671. - 1790 - 1870: Sutch, R. (2006). National Income and Product. Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Time to the Present, in S. B. Carter, S. S. Gartner, M. R. Haineset al. New York, Cambridge University Press III-23-25. - 1800-1830: Prados de la Escosura, L. (2009). “Lost Decades? Economic Performance in Post-Independence Latin America,” Journal of Latin America Studies 41: 279–307. (updated data) - GDP pc: 2008 - 2022: Total Economy Database the Conference Board for all countries included in TED. Otherwise UN national accounts statistics Sources used by Angus Maddison (original dataset, last updated 2010): - 1820-1950: GDP movement from Maddison (1995a), amended for 1820–70 to include income of the indigenous population (taken to be $400 per capita in 1820 and 1870). This is a one-off release; Palanor will load the next version when the Maddison Project publishes one.
GDP per Person, Historical (Maddison): United Kingdom. Source: Maddison Project Database 2023 (Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen). Cite as: Bolt, Jutta and Jan Luiten van Zanden (2024), "Maddison style estimates of the evolution of the world economy: A new 2023 update", Journal of Economic Surveys, 1–41. DOI: 10.1111/joes.12618. Licence: Maddison Project Database, version 2023 by Jutta Bolt and Jan Luiten van Zanden, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://www.rug.nl/ggdc/historicaldevelopment/maddison/releases/maddison-project-database-2023 The database asks that all original papers be cited when its data is shown in graphical form. The original sources for United Kingdom, as the database lists them: Sources added since MPD 2013: - Scheidel, W. and Friesen, S. J., ‘The size of the economy and the distribution of income in the Roman Empire’, Journal of Roman Studies, 99 (2009), pp. 61–91 - 1252–1700 (England): Broadberry, S.N., B. Campbell, A. Klein, M. Overton and B. van Leeuwen (2015), British Economic Growth 1270-1870 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - 1700–1870: Broadberry, S.N., B. Campbell, A. Klein, M. Overton and B. van Leeuwen (2015), British Economic Growth 1270-1870 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - GDP pc: 2008 - 2022: Total Economy Database the Conference Board for all countries included in TED. Otherwise UN national accounts statistics Sources used by Angus Maddison (original dataset, last updated 2010): - 1870-1950: C.H. Feinstein, National Income Expenditure and Output of the United Kingdom 1855-1965, Cambridge, 1972 This is a one-off release; Palanor will load the next version when the Maddison Project publishes one.
GDP per Person, Historical (Maddison): Japan. Source: Maddison Project Database 2023 (Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen). Cite as: Bolt, Jutta and Jan Luiten van Zanden (2024), "Maddison style estimates of the evolution of the world economy: A new 2023 update", Journal of Economic Surveys, 1–41. DOI: 10.1111/joes.12618. Licence: Maddison Project Database, version 2023 by Jutta Bolt and Jan Luiten van Zanden, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://www.rug.nl/ggdc/historicaldevelopment/maddison/releases/maddison-project-database-2023 The database asks that all original papers be cited when its data is shown in graphical form. The original sources for Japan, as the database lists them: Sources added since MPD 2013: - 724-1874: Bassino, Jean-Pascal & Broadberry, Stephen & Fukao, Kyoji & Gupta, Bishnupriya & Takashima, Masanori, (2018). "Japan and the Great Divergence, 730-1874," CEI Working Paper Series 2018-13, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University - 1874-1940: Fukao, K., Bassino, J.-P., Makino, T., Paprzycki, R., Settsu, T., Takashima, M., and Tokui, J. (2015) Regional Inequality and Industrial Structure in Japan: 1874-2008, Tokyo: Maruzen Publishing. - GDP pc: 2008 - 2022: Total Economy Database the Conference Board for all countries included in TED. Otherwise UN national accounts statistics This is a one-off release; Palanor will load the next version when the Maddison Project publishes one.
GDP per Person, Historical (Maddison): China. Source: Maddison Project Database 2023 (Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen). Cite as: Bolt, Jutta and Jan Luiten van Zanden (2024), "Maddison style estimates of the evolution of the world economy: A new 2023 update", Journal of Economic Surveys, 1–41. DOI: 10.1111/joes.12618. Licence: Maddison Project Database, version 2023 by Jutta Bolt and Jan Luiten van Zanden, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://www.rug.nl/ggdc/historicaldevelopment/maddison/releases/maddison-project-database-2023 The database asks that all original papers be cited when its data is shown in graphical form. The original sources for China, as the database lists them: Sources added since MPD 2013: - 1000-1661: Broadberry, S.N., Guan, Hanhui and David Daokui Li (2018), “China, Europe and the Great Divergence: a Study in Historical National Accounting, 980-1850”, Journal of Economic History, 78, 4, 955-1000 - 1661–1933: Broadberry, S.N., Guan, Hanhui and David Daokui Li (2018), “China, Europe and the Great Divergence: a Study in Historical National Accounting, 980-1850”, Journal of Economic History, 78, 4, 955-1000 - 1661–1933: Xu, Y. Z. Shi, B. van Leeuwen, Y Ni, Z Zhang, and Y Ma, (2016) 'Chinese National Income, ca. 1661-1933', Australian Economic History Review 57(3), 368–393 - 1952–2008: Wu, Harry X. (2014), “China’s growth and productivity performance debate revisited – Accounting for China’s sources of growth with a new data set” The Conference Board Economics Program Working Paper Series EWP#14-01. - GDP pc: 2008 - 2022: Total Economy Database the Conference Board for all countries included in TED. Otherwise UN national accounts statistics This is a one-off release; Palanor will load the next version when the Maddison Project publishes one.
GDP per Person, Historical (Maddison): India. Source: Maddison Project Database 2023 (Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen). Cite as: Bolt, Jutta and Jan Luiten van Zanden (2024), "Maddison style estimates of the evolution of the world economy: A new 2023 update", Journal of Economic Surveys, 1–41. DOI: 10.1111/joes.12618. Licence: Maddison Project Database, version 2023 by Jutta Bolt and Jan Luiten van Zanden, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://www.rug.nl/ggdc/historicaldevelopment/maddison/releases/maddison-project-database-2023 The database asks that all original papers be cited when its data is shown in graphical form. The original sources for India, as the database lists them: Sources added since MPD 2013: - 1600–1870: Broadberry, S.N., Custodis, J. and Gupta, B. (2015), “India and the great divergence: an Anglo-Indian comparison of GDP per capita, 1600–1871” Explorations in Economic History, 55: 58-75. - GDP pc: 2008 - 2022: Total Economy Database the Conference Board for all countries included in TED. Otherwise UN national accounts statistics Sources used by Angus Maddison (original dataset, last updated 2010): - 1870-1900: A. Heston, "National Income", in D. Kumar and M. Desai, Cambridge Economic History of India, vol. 2, Cambridge, 1983, p. 397. - 1900-46: A. Maddison, "Alternative Estimates of the Real Product of India, 1900-46", Indian Economic and Social History Review, 22, 2, 1985. - 1946-50: A. Maddison, Class Structure and Economic Growth: India and Pakistan Since the Moghuls, Allen and Unwin, London, 1971, p. 169. This is a one-off release; Palanor will load the next version when the Maddison Project publishes one.
Charts are drawn from Palanor's signal library and recomputed from source data on every view. Transformations (changes, indexing, year-on-year rates) are Palanor's.