When someone asks what are the 10 richest countries in the world by 2015 GDP in a conversation, you can be sure no one will have an answer for that. When it comes to making a top 10 countdown to the richest man on Earth, we all know a few names on the list and some others ring a bell, but that’s not the case referring to the richest countries in the world.
We can mention two main methods for defining the richest countries in the world. The most commonly accepted method for such definition is to take into account the GDP data per capita, which is nothing more that how rich the average citizen of a country is, and what this person is able to buy with their annual income. The other method takes into account the countries with the largest economies, measured by total gross domestic product (GDP), and this is the method on which we focus our study.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Gross Domestic Product is defined as “an aggregate measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident, institutional units engaged in production (plus any taxes, and minus any subsidies, on products not included in the value of their outputs)”.
For this article in particular, we used the total gross domestic product of each country in the world to list the top 10 richest countries in the world by GDP. Most of the countries listed below have always been on the list, but for others, this would be a first appearance. With the world’s economics shifting as rapidly as the new iPhone comes out for sale, we can only assume these countries will remain on the list for a few years, or even months. Such is the case of the United States of America, which has been the number one richest country in the world for several years, but has dropped to the second spot according to the International Monetary Fund on April 2015.
This phenomenon is being carefully followed by economists worldwide, and they predict that China will be the world’s largest economy in the years to come, and that India -currently holding the third spot over Japan- will continue to grow steadily, and might even top the United States in the future. Countries like China and India have had a GDP growth of over 80% since the year 2008, and the projections for these two countries are enormous if they continue to grow at this pace. With all that taken into account, let’s see which are the 10 richest countries in the world by 2015 GDP:
10. France: $2.634 trillion
Formerly one of the top five richest countries in the world, France has been a bit of a downer in the past few years. Actually, in modern day economy, we have seen small signs of growth in european countries such as Spain and Germany among others, whilst France shows no signs of recovery.
9. United Kingdom: $2.641 trillion
The United Kingdom has always been a part of the list, with a very stable economy and one of the most powerful currencies in the world. Even in today’s volatile global market, the experts have been surprised with a steady growth over the last two years and project this will continue to happen until at least the last quarter of 2016.
8. Indonesia: $2.840 trillion
With a steady growth rate of more than 61% since the year 2008, the Indonesian economy is one of the fastest growing markets on the planet. The President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, attributes the fast economic growth of the country to the more than $20 billion invested in infrastructure and the economic growth of their neighbors China and Japan.
7. Brazil: $3.259 trillion
Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America, and reports over 27% growth since the year 2008. However, the country reported a mere 0.1% growth last year and the vast majority of experts predict the country will only worsen in the next few years. Political and economic unrest in the population keep the country paralyzed and not even hosting a Soccer World Cup last year helped.
6. Russia: $3.458 trillion
Even though the european giant managed to show growing signs in the last quarter of 2014, the Russian economy has been consistently drowning, and first quarter of 2015 shows a decrease in manufacturing, exporting and industrial production, which translates into a consumer confidence plummet as the ruble, and the oil prices fall to a two-year low.
5. Germany: $3.815 trillion
The German economy is considered as one the most stable markets in the world. Germany ended 2014 on a strong growth note and the predictions are for a consistent growth in the years to come. Munich is listed on The Top 10 Richest Cities In The World as the 9th richest city in the world by per capita GDP.
4. Japan: $4.843 trillion
Japan has been steadily dropping for the past few years. However, Japan’s economy continues to be one the world’s largest and the projections say they will continue to be so in the upcoming years. The consumer confidence is at a high point in the first quarter of 2015, which paints a picture of confidence in the market for the upcoming months.
3. India: $7.997 trillion
India is the second highest growing economy of the world, with more than 81% growth since 2008, it is only outgrown by China. Manufacturing and industrial production has grown in the first quarter of 2015, but the government needs a Bill to pass the senate in order to make reforms to improve the economy in the upcoming years.
2. United States: $18.125 trillion
The now second biggest economy in the world has been outgrown by Asian giant, China. However, the United States economy has been growing since the last quarter of 2014, and with the oil pricing going down everyday, consumer confidence is up, and household economy has a wider budget due to low gas prices.
And, the richest country in the world by 2015 GDP is: China: $18.976 trillion
Having grown and outstanding 93.1% since the year 2008, China is now the largest economy in the world, as predicted by the experts. Even though the GDP growth is down by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2014, the experts predict China will continue to grow. China is expected to integrate their economy with Asia and the Middle East, which targets them to be the next world’s economic superpower in the years to come, this makes them the number one on the 10 richest countries in the world by 2015 GDP list.
