China surpasses Germany as world’s third-largest economy
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Published: 14 Jan, 2009 CET.
Updated: Wed 14 Jan 2009 12:35 CET
China has surpassed Germany to become the world’s third-largest economy, according to new figures released by Beijing on Wednesday.
The Chinese government revised its gross domestic product for 2007 upward to 25.73 trillion yuan, which is €2.8 trillion. The German economy – Europe’s largest – only measured €2.49 trillion in 2008.
“Since unofficial economic activity in China is much bigger than in Germany, this probably happened a long time ago,” said Stephen Green from the Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai.
But he also pointed out that the overall size of a country’s GDP was less important than a nation’s per capital income as a measure of prosperity. In 2007, Germany with its 82 million inhabitants was ranked 23 in the world, whereas China’s population of 1.3 billion came in at 132.
Comments
See Also
The Chinese government revised its gross domestic product for 2007 upward to 25.73 trillion yuan, which is €2.8 trillion. The German economy – Europe’s largest – only measured €2.49 trillion in 2008.
“Since unofficial economic activity in China is much bigger than in Germany, this probably happened a long time ago,” said Stephen Green from the Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai.
But he also pointed out that the overall size of a country’s GDP was less important than a nation’s per capital income as a measure of prosperity. In 2007, Germany with its 82 million inhabitants was ranked 23 in the world, whereas China’s population of 1.3 billion came in at 132.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.