Whatshot
Property Talk
Property Talk
Date: 2018-10-05
Tradingeconomics.com - resource of global economic data
As a student of economics I am always fascinated by relative productivity of people, companies and countries. Why are some companies just so much more productive than others Why are some countries so much more productive with so far fewer people
Tradingeconomics.com is an amazing resource of global economic data and a tool every economics student should have at hand. In its exhaustive list of 200 countries with detailed economic stats on each, a casual analysis will leave any reader asking one question.
Is the US the greatest country on the planet I can already hear the French and Germans howling in protest. Gross Domestic Product, an excellent measure of countries' productivity and economic value it adds to the world reveals some startling realities.
The US has the largest economy with 2017 GDP of US$19,39trillion. The entire Euro Area added together is considered the next largest at US$12,59 trillion followed by China at US$12,24 trillion. Japan (surprisingly for some) is fourth at US$4,87trillion.
Here is the interesting thing. The US produces all that from 325.72 m people. The Europeans produce a lot less with almost the same number of people at 340.72m.
China produces about the same the EuroZone does but with 1,390.08m people. The 126.71m Japanese produce an impressive amount but their growth rate of 1% is decidedly pedestrian when compared to the growth rate of the top three.
The US economy growing at 2.90%, the Euro Area at 2.10% and China at 6.70%. To try and put this into perspective for South Africans, the annual growth of the US Economy is US$562.34 bn versus the total value of the South African annual GDP output being a mere US$349bn.
Starts to put your relative importance in global trade and productivity into perspective. Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain make up the core strength of the Euro Area. Canada's 36,96m people produce US$1,7 trillion a year, compared to Russia's 146.88m who manage US$1,6 trillion. South Korea follows just behind Russia at US$1,5trillion p.a. with only 51,45m people.
The South Koreans are on average 4,4 times as productive than we are with our 56,5m people. India is fascinating. With 1,283.6m people it produces US$2,6 trillion p.a. with annual growth rate at a whopping 8,2% and Debt to GDP of a relatively low 68,7%. US Debt to GDP is 105,4% and although high compared to China's low of 47.6% is nothing compared to the Japanese Debt/GDP of 253%. Greece is at 178.6%. South Africa has Debt/GDP of 53.1% and NZ an incredibly low 22,2%.
Guess which reasonable size economies of larger than US$200bn p.a. are growing faster than India at the moment Only Ireland at 9%. Two large economies are currently in meltdown. Argentina with GDP shrinking by 4,2% p.a, interest rates at 60% and inflation at 34,4% p.a. The real tragedy is Venezuela however with GDP contracting by -13,2% and hyper-inflation of over 200,000%.
That is Zimbabwe style implosion and it is therefore no surprise to see mass migration out of Venezuela and why the neighbouring South American countries are nervous about contagion.