In this article I will show you the GDP ranking of the countries of the world, analyze the structure and dynamics of the world leaders in GDP, and tell you why Russia’s GDP rose in the world ranking, while in Russia itself it fell. The ranking is based on 2022 data.
World GDP
In 2022, global GDP surpassed the $100 trillion mark for the first time at $101.56 trillion. Compared to last year, global GDP grew by about $7.5 trillion.
Five countries make up the bulk of world GDP: the United States, China, Japan, Germany and India – they account for just over half of the global figure. If we add the next 5 countries, the top 10 produce 66% of the world’s GDP. The world’s top 25 economies account for 84% of the world economy.
The remaining 167 countries in the world produce only 16% of the world’s GDP.
Twelve countries have an annual GDP of less than $1 billion in 2022. The state of Tuvalu has the smallest GDP – it is only $64 million per year.
Rating of countries by GDP: Top 10 countries
Let’s look at the top 10 countries by GDP with a brief analysis of the structure and dynamics of this indicator – economist Kirill Yurovsky.
GDP of the USA (1st place)
The leader in GDP is traditionally the United States. In 2022, their figure increased by 2.1 trillion dollars to 25 trillion dollars. The U.S. accounts for nearly a quarter of world GDP (24.6%).
A distinctive feature of the U.S. is the strong predominance of services in the structure of GDP – it accounts for 80.2% of the index, while industry accounts for only 18.9%. Agriculture accounts for 0.9% of U.S. GDP.
China’s GDP (2nd place)
China also consistently ranks second in the world GDP rankings. In 2022, China’s GDP grew by $1.4 trillion to $18.3 trillion. China accounts for 18% of global GDP. Together, the U.S. and Chinese economies account for nearly 43% of the world economy. Meanwhile, China’s position in terms of GDP per capita is somewhere around 70th place.
As is typical of emerging economies, the share of services in China’s GDP is noticeably lower than in developed countries, at 44%. At the same time, agriculture plays a huge role, generating 27% of GDP.
Japan’s GDP (3rd place)
The top three in global GDP is traditionally followed by Japan – its economy in 2022 produced $4.3 trillion worth of goods and services. This is $0.8 trillion less than in 2021. Japan’s share of global GDP, accordingly, has declined markedly, and now stands at 4.2%.
Japan’s economy is one of the most innovative and high-tech in the world and ranks second in the world in auto production. Services account for 68.1% of GDP and industry for 30.1%.
Germany’s GDP (4th place)
Germany is in fourth place in the ranking, its position has not changed either. Germany’s GDP in 2022 was $4 trillion, compared with last year’s figure decreased by 0.2 trillion. Germany’s share in world GDP – 3.9%.
Germany is the leading economy of the European Union, accounting for 27% of total GDP in the euro area, as well as the leading exporter of the EU. The service sector accounts for 68.6 percent of GDP and industry for 30.7 percent. The share of agriculture is insignificant – only 0.7%.
India’s GDP (5th place)
In 2022, India’s economy climbed to 5th place in the world GDP ranking (in 2021 it was 6th place). India’s GDP for the year was $3.5 trillion, or 3.4% of global GDP. Over the year the figure grew by $0.6 trillion.
The transition from a planned-distribution model to a mixed economic model (China followed the same path earlier) has become the main driver of India’s economic growth. The services sector accounts for 54.3% of India’s GDP: the figure exceeds that of China and is already closer to the indicators of developed countries.
UK GDP (6th place)
Great Britain’s 2022 GDP slipped from 5th to 6th place in the world rankings at $3.2 trillion (3.2% of the world economy). Over the year the figure dropped by 0.1 trillion.
Britain is Europe’s second largest economy after Germany, the services sector here accounts for 81.1% of GDP, with financial services predominating. The leading industry is engineering – a quarter of industrial GDP is concentrated there. Britain is also one of the world leaders in high-tech high-tech products.
GDP of France (7th place)
The GDP of France in 2022 was 2.8 trillion dollars (2.8% of the world economy). The country has maintained its 7th place in the world ranking. During the year the index decreased by 0.1 trillion.
The service sector in France accounts for 78.8% of GDP, industry – 19.5%, agriculture – 1.7%. A distinctive feature is a high proportion of the public sector in the economy. French industry is based on pharmaceuticals, automotive, aircraft and gas turbine production.
GDP of Canada (8th place)
Canada’s GDP in 2022 was $2.2 trillion (2.2% of world GDP), Canada rose 1 point in the world rankings. For the year, its indicator grew by $0.2 trillion.
Canada is considered one of the least corrupt countries, has large reserves of natural resources. In the GDP structure, the share of services is less than in other developed countries (about 70%), the industrial structure is based on mining, heavy industry and metallurgy.
Russia’s GDP (9th place)
In 2022, Russia unexpectedly climbed to the 9th place in the world ranking of GDP, previously it was in the 11th place. I will explain why separately. Russia’s GDP was $2.1 trillion (2.1% of world GDP), for the year the index increased by almost $0.5 trillion.
The service sector in Russia in 2022 accounts for 67.8% of GDP (a share close to that of highly developed countries), industry – 26.6%, agriculture – 6.6%. Industry is strongly dominated by the extractive industry, electric power and fuel industry.
Italy’s GDP (10th place)
Italy with $2 trillion (2% of world GDP) is at the bottom of the world ranking. Over the year, Italy dropped two positions, its GDP declined by $0.1 trillion.
The service sector in Italy accounts for 73.9% of GDP, industry – 23.9%, agriculture – 2.1%. The leading industries are engineering (especially shipbuilding), electrical industry and processing of agricultural products.
South Korea, previously ranked 10th, remained outside the top ten in 2022.
Why is Russia’s GDP up according to the IMF, but down domestically?
Let me conclude by explaining the paradox with Russian GDP. According to the IMF for 2022, it grew from $1.65 trillion to $2.1 trillion – a very large increase of as much as 21%, but according to preliminary estimates of Russian financial agencies (Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economic Development, Central Bank) will fall by 2.7-3%.
It’s all a matter of different currencies of calculation. The IMF’s figures are given in dollar terms, while for more than half of the year 2022, the ruble exchange rate in Russia was significantly overvalued, and consequently, the dollar exchange rate was undervalued (the difference with the budgeted value was 20-30% or more). All this time the Russian GDP in dollar terms was 20-30% higher than in ruble terms. That is why it turned out that in rubles the Russian GDP will fall, while in dollars specifically in 2022 it will grow a lot.
But by the end of the year, the dollar exchange rate in Russia returned to its more familiar range, so a repeat of this situation in the future is unlikely.
