China's Economy Is Growing Fast, But Still Far From the Top

Remember this when discussing the Chinese Economic Miracle. For all of its impressive economic growth, it still lags behind the EU and the U.S.

Here is Wikipedia's 2008 GNP-list:
1 United States $14,441 Billion
2 Japan              $4,910 Billion
3 China              $4,327 Billion
4 Germany         $3,673 Billion
5 France            $2,866 Billion

Also check out this graph: GDP in 2008, Millions of US Dollars

If you compare per capita, China ends up on 99th place in IMF's list (2009) with $3,566/capita compared to $46,443 for the U.S., $43,147 for Sweden, and $94,418 for tiny Luxembourg, which leads the pack. China's growth is astounding, and shows what a country can do if it can combine market incentives with a clever strategy for investments in infrastructure, education and a trade policy that is heavily focused on promoting it's export potential. The limits of growth will in China's case weigh in more and more as the country depletes its energy and water resources, and the population's willingness to accept severe pollution and social dislocation and inequalities abates, putting more pressure on it's ossified political system.

Hans Sandberg