Which country had the world's biggest economy the decade you were born?

The 10 richest countries every decade

Want to know which countries ruled the roost the decade you arrived on the planet? Using GDP data in 1990 International Geary-Khamis dollars (a hypothetical currency that has the same purchasing power parity as US dollars at any given time) compiled by economist Angus Maddison, we reveal the world's 10 biggest economies from 1940 to 2000. Read on to find out the richest countries of decades past.

The 1940s

The global economy was worth a total of $4.5 trillion in 1940, with the USA leading the way, as it had done so since the late 19th century. America's GDP totaled $930 billion and its share of the global pie was 20.7% at the time. 

The 1940s

Exiting the Great Depression, the nation's economy would be revitalized by World War II, which the US entered in 1941. The Soviet Union, which was also on the eve of war in 1940, had the second largest economy with a GDP of $429 billion.

The 1940s

Nazi Germany was next. The brutal regime, which invaded Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and France in 1940, had a GDP of $377 billion. The UK, which was the only country left fighting the Nazis by the end of 1940, was in fourth position. Its GDP was $331 billion.

The 1940s

GDP data for China is missing for 1940, but the nation is likely to have had the world's fifth largest economy. India's economy was worth $265 billion in 1940, while Imperial Japan, which joined the Axis alliance in 1940 and would attack the US the following year, had a GDP of $210 billion.

The 1940s

Occupied France was next with a GDP of $166 billion, followed by Italy, which was under Mussolini's fascist dictatorship. Indonesia, making its final appearance in the top 10, had the world's ninth largest economy with a GDP of $87 billion, with Canada's GDP of $63 billion  placing the country 10th.

The 1950s

The 1950s was a decade of spectacular economic growth and increasing prosperity around the world as countries recovered from the horrors of World War II. At the start of the decade the global economy was worth a total of $5.3 trillion, with America out in front.

The 1950s

Buoyed on by massive postwar infrastructure spending and skyrocketing industrial output, the US economy boomed during this time. In 1950, the country's GDP topped $1.5 trillion and made up a hefty 28.3% of the global economy, with annual growth peaking at a whopping 13.4%.

The 1950s

The Soviet Union had the world's second largest economy. The GDP of America's Cold War nemesis totaled $510 billion in 1950 and would grow significantly over the following 10 years. The UK was next with a GDP of $348 billion.

The 1950s

An economic powerhouse during the 1950s, the UK “never had it so good” according to the then-Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. War-ravaged West Germany, which was on the verge of its very own and mainly US-financed economic miracle in 1950, was number four with a GDP of $265 billion.

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The 1950s

China's GDP in 1950 was $245 billion, while India was in sixth place with an economy worth $222 billion, ahead of France, which had a GDP of $220 billion. Italy was the world's eighth largest economy in 1950, followed by Japan, and Canada in the number 10 spot.

The 1960s

By 1960, the postwar economic boom, aka the Golden Age of Capitalism, was in full swing. America was still out in front by a long margin, but was beginning to lose its dominance. The nation's GDP of $2 trillion in 1960 represented 23.8% of the $8.4 trillion global economy, down 4.5% from 1950.

The 1960s

The Soviet Union held on to second place with a GDP of $843 billion, though growth slowed in the early 1960s as the Khrushchev regime spent lavishly on its armed forces and space program.

The 1960s

West Germany had built a formidable manufacturing base by 1960, the so-called Wirtschaftswunder or 'Miracle on the Rhine', overtaking the UK by this point with a GDP of $558 billion against the UK's $453 billion.

The 1960s

China's economy, which was being damaged severely by Chairman Mao's catastrophic Great Leap Forward, was worth $442 billion in 1960. While China's economy was floundering, Japan's was thriving with a GDP of $375 billion and rising. In fact, Japan enjoyed the fastest economic growth in the world during this period.

The 1960s

France's economy was the world's seventh largest in 1960 followed by India, Italy and Brazil, which outpaced Canada to take the 10th spot with a GDP of $167 billion. The South American nation experienced rapid industrialization at this time with annual growth averaging 6%.

The 1970s

The 1970s was the decade when the postwar economic boom finally came to an end. In 1970, America was still number one with a GDP of $2 trillion, but its share of the global economy, which was worth $8.4 trillion at this point, had slipped slightly to 22.5%, a decrease of 1.3% compared to 1960.

The 1970s

The economy of the Soviet Union was worth $1.3 trillion in 1970 thanks to reforms enacted by the Brezhnev regime during the mid-1960s. Japan had moved from the world's sixth largest economy in 1960 to the planet's third biggest in 1970.

The 1970s

Now a fully-fledged developed nation, Japan had a powerful manufacturing base and was about to transition to a service-driven economy. Its GDP in 1970 had swelled to a bumper $1 trillion.

The 1970s

Prosperous West Germany was the world's fourth largest economy in 1970 with a GDP of $843 billion, followed by China, which was beginning to recover from the disastrous economic policies of the 1960s. Its GDP stood at $637 billion.

The 1970s

The UK, which was entering a period of deindustrialization and economic decline, had fallen to sixth place with a GDP of $599 billion, followed by France, Italy, India and Brazil, which had an economy worth $292 billion in 1970.

The 1980s

In 1980, the global economy was worth a humongous $20 trillion. America remained the largest economy with a GDP of $3.1 trillion, but its share of the global pie had fallen again compared to the previous 10 years, down by 1.5% from 1970.

The 1980s

The US economy went from recession to boom during the decade. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, was entering a terminal period of economic decline in 1980, though its GDP of $1.7 trillion was second only to America's.

The 1980s

Japan boasted the world's third largest economy in 1980 with a GDP of $1.6 trillion, edging ever closer to the number two spot. West Germany was next. Bolstered by its robust manufacturing base, the country's GDP had risen to $1.1 trillion.

The 1980s

China launched a series of market reforms in the late 1970s that went on to transform the nation's economy. In 1980, China's GDP had soared to $1 trillion. France had the world's sixth largest economy in 1980 with a GDP of $814 billion, having overtaken the ailing UK. 

The 1980s

Like the US, the UK was in recession at the start of the 1980s but was booming by the end of the decade. Its GDP was $718 billion in 1980. Italy was in eighth place, while Brazil had climbed to ninth, with India in the number 10 spot.

The 1990s

In 1990, the global economy totaled $27.1 trillion. Yet again, the USA had the largest economy. The nation's GDP had grown to $5.8 trillion and remarkably the US had increased its share of the global economy, which stood at 21.4% in 1990, up 0.4 percentage points from 1980.

The 1990s

Japan had taken the second spot by 1990 with a GDP of $2.3 trillion, but with its economy beginning to stagnate, China, which would go on to enact further market-friendly reforms, was catching up fast. Its GDP topped $2.1 trillion in 1990.

The 1990s

Reunified Germany was next. The country, which united on 3 October 1990, had a GDP of $1.3 trillion in 1990. The Soviet Union, which was teetering on collapse in 1990 and would break up the following year, had fallen down the rankings. Its GDP had slumped to $1.2 trillion.

The 1990s

In contrast, India had risen up the rankings following economic reforms in the 1980s that boosted the economy, its GDP standing at $1.1 trillion in 1990. France held its lead over the UK. The French economy was worth $1 trillion in 1990 compared to the UK's, which had a GDP of $945 billion.

The 1990s

Italy's GDP was $926 billion in 1990, putting the country in ninth place, down from eighth spot in 1980, though the liberalization of the economy during the decade would push the country up the rankings. Also down a place, Brazil was the world's 10th largest economy with a GDP of $744 billion.

The 2000s

At the turn of the millennium the global economy hit a staggering $36.7 trillion. Needless to say, the US was number one in 2000 with a GDP of $8 trillion, having increased its share of the global economy to 21.8%, up 0.4 percentage points from 1990. Strong economic growth prevailed in America from the mid-1990s to 2008. 

The 2000s

China had become the world's second largest economy by 2000 off the back of further sweeping market reforms, with its GDP topping $4.3 trillion. Annual growth would go on to average 10% during the decade. China is now on course to be the world's biggest economy by 2030.

The 2000s

While the Japanese economy had entered a long period of stagnation by 2000, its GDP totaled an enormous $2.7 trillion. Booming India had surpassed Germany by 2000 to take the fourth spot. Its GDP was $1.9 trillion in 2000s.

The 2000s

Germany's GDP amounted to $1.6 trillion in 2000, followed by France's, which was $1.3 trillion. The UK, now the world's seventh largest economy, down from number three in 1950, had a GDP of $1.2 trillion.

The 2000s

Italy had moved up the rankings to land in the eighth spot with its GDP totaling $1.1 trillion in 2000, while Brazil was number nine. Russia, which saw its economy crash in the 1990s, had dropped to the 10th spot with its GDP down to $774 billion.

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