15 Largest Economies in the World Ranked by 2015 PPP

13. South Korea

Projected 2015 GDP growth: 2.7%
GDP based on PPP valuation (in billions of dollars): 1,849.4

After the Korean War, South Korea’s economy and infrastructure were devastated, and it became one of the poorest countries in the world for over a decade. Per capita income was less than $80, and poverty was widespread. A series of reforms began when general Park Chung Hee seized power in the 1960’s, which resulted in rapid economic growth in the 1960’s until the 1990’s. “The Miracle on the Han River”, a saying used to refer to South Korea’s rapid economic development, has transformed the once-agricultural nation into the 13th largest by PPP, and one of the most developed in the world.