China Overtakes The US As The World’s Largest Economy

International Monetary Fund says that China overtakes the United States as the world’s largest economy. The latest figures show the Chinese economy is worth £ 11 trillion compared with £ 10.8 trillion for the US. It means that America falls into the second place for the first time since 1872.

China – whose wealth has accelerated in recent decades amid rapid industrialisation – is expected to extend its lead, with the IMF estimating its economy will be worth £ 16.7trillion in 2019, the Dailymail marks. That would be 20 per cent bigger than the US economy, which is forecast to be worth £ 13.8trillion by then.

The numbers are based on ‘purchasing power parity’ (PPP) which makes adjustments for the fact that goods are cheaper in countries such as China relative to the US.
Without these adjustments for living costs, the Chinese economy is still smaller than that of the US, at £ 6.4trillion.

According to the International Comparison Program (ICP), under the authority of the United Nations and hosted by the World Bank, new assessments put China’s economy at 87% of the size of the US in 2011, BBC informs.

And in 2005, the same organisation put China at only 43%. But, the latest figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2012 put China’s economic output at about half the size of the US. China’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012 was $ 8.2tn (£ 4.9tn) while the US was $ 16.2tn.

China enjoyed three decades of double-digit growth before the global downturn, as industrialisation and sweeping economic reforms created a new powerhouse in the East.

Nigeria also demonstrates the high economic development and since April 6, 2014 has become Africa’s biggest economy.

President Goodluck Jonathan said that Nigeria is officially the largest economy in Africa with a Gross Domestic Product of $ 510 billion which also places country as the 26th largest economy in the world.