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GDP per capita, long-run history: compare countries

See GDP per capita, long-run history for up to four countries side by side.

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GDP per capita, long-run history by country

GDP per capita, long-run history

Annual, International dollars (2011 prices)

Source: Maddison Project Database 2023
GDP per capita, long-run history: latest observations by country
Date FranceUnited StatesGermanySouth Korea
32,28544,57632,08821,541
33,41045,88633,36723,108
33,92045,87834,26023,804
34,15346,26634,59125,251
34,29247,15834,71625,679
35,09448,49335,52926,647
35,49549,65536,20627,443
36,16650,49038,01428,516
36,84650,90239,75229,717
36,76250,27640,71530,118
35,53548,45338,96329,968
36,08749,26741,11031,538
36,69149,67543,18932,225
36,62650,43643,28832,826
36,64751,01143,35933,712
36,81951,79744,13334,573
37,07852,80844,40535,358
37,34453,30145,03036,255
38,03754,15246,06537,296
38,55555,45546,37738,214
39,08556,46946,76238,936
35,91454,37944,99638,607
38,24257,52346,15940,278
39,06658,48746,64841,321

Source: Bolt, J. and van Zanden, J.L. (2024), Maddison style estimates of the evolution of the world economy: A new 2023 update, Journal of Economic Surveys, 1-41, DOI 10.1111/joes.12618. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. The original sources are listed on each page.

All data sources

Original sources of these estimates

GDP pc: 2008 - 2022: Total Economy Database the Conference Board for all countries included in TED. Otherwise UN national accounts statistics

France

  • 1: Scheidel, W. and Friesen, S. J., ‘The size of the economy and the distribution of income in the Roman Empire’, Journal of Roman Studies, 99 (2009), pp. 61–91
  • 1276–1800: Ridolfi, L., & Nuvolari, A. (2021). L’histoire immobile? A reappraisal of French economic growth using the demand-side approach, 1280–1850. European Review of Economic History, 25(3), 405–428
  • 1850-1913: Toutain, Le Produit interieur de la France de 1789 a 1982, Presses Universitaires de Grenoble, 1987
  • 1920-1950: Toutain, Le Produit interieur de la France de 1789 a 1982, Presses Universitaires de Grenoble, 1987

United States

  • 1650 - 1790: McCusker, John J., ‘Colonial Statistics’, Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Time to the Present, in S. B. Carter, S. S. Gartner, M. R. Haineset al. New York, Cambridge University Press. V-671.
  • 1790 - 1870: Sutch, R. (2006). National Income and Product. Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Time to the Present, in S. B. Carter, S. S. Gartner, M. R. Haineset al. New York, Cambridge University Press III-23-25.
  • 1800-1830: Prados de la Escosura, L. (2009). “Lost Decades? Economic Performance in Post-Independence Latin America,” Journal of Latin America Studies 41: 279–307. (updated data)
  • 1820-1950: GDP movement from Maddison (1995a), amended for 1820–70 to include income of the indigenous population (taken to be $400 per capita in 1820 and 1870).

Germany

  • 1500-1850: Pfister, U. (2022). Economic Growth in Germany, 1500–1850. The Journal of Economic History, 82(4), 1071–1107
  • 1850-1950: Hoffmann, Grumbach and Hesse, op. cit., pp. 454-5.

South Korea

  • 1911-1990: Cha, M.S., Kim, N.N., Park, K.-J., Park, Y. (Eds.) (2020), Historical Statistics of Korea. Studies in Economic History, New York: Springer Publishing
  • 1820, 1870: Maddison, A. Monitoring the World Economy, 1995