Size of the Economy: We’re Number 1

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United States ranks as number one in the world economy, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $20.49 trillion. This is nothing new. The United States has had the largest economy in the world since 1871. In second place, and growing rapidly during the twenty-first century, is China with a GDP of $13.4 trillion. The third largest economy is Japan ($4.97 trillion) and the fourth largest is Germany ($4.25 trillion)

California, the economic powerhouse in the United States, has an estimated GDP of $3.63 trillion (2022) and is about to overtake Germany as the fourth largest economy in the world. On a per capita basis, the Golden State is the second largest economy in the world. California surpassed Brazil and France in 2015 and supplanted the United Kingdom in 2017.

Source: Matthew A. Winkler, “California Poised to Overtake Germany as World’s No. 4 Economy,” Bloomberg News, October 24, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-10-24/california-poised-to-overtake-germany-as-world-s-no-4-economy