Economic Growth
Good health, nutrition, a place to live, education… Many of the things we care most about require goods and services produced by people: the care that nurses and doctors give; the food we eat; the homes we live in; the education that teachers provide.
Economic growth means an increase in the quantity or quality of the many goods and services that people produce.
The history of economic growth is, therefore, the history of how societies left widespread poverty behind. In places that have seen substantial economic growth, few now go without food, almost all have access to education, and parents rarely suffer the loss of a child. The work of historians shows this was not the case in the past.
Similarly, the history of economic growth is also the history of how large global inequalities emerged – in nutrition, health, education, basic infrastructure, and many other dimensions. In some countries, the quantity and quality of the goods and services underpinning these outcomes grew substantially over the past two centuries; in others, they did not.
Of course, economic growth does not reflect everything we value. On Our World in Data we provide thousands of measures that try to capture these many different dimensions, covering topics such as biodiversity, pollution, time use, human rights and democracy.
Economic growth is, however, central to shaping people's overall living conditions. Just as in the past, the future of global poverty and inequality will depend on whether, and which, countries are able to substantially grow their economy. As such, it is one of the most important aspects of understanding our world today and what is possible for the future.
On this page, you can find all our data, visualizations, and writing on the topic.
Research & Writing
What is economic growth? And why is it so important?
The goods and services that we all need are not just there – they need to be produced – and growth means that their quality and quantity increases.
Breaking out of the Malthusian trap: How pandemics allow us to understand why our ancestors were stuck in poverty
The Industrial Revolution ended the Malthusian trap in which incomes were determined by the size of the population – making it possible for a country to leave abject poverty behind.
Poverty and Economic Growth
The economies that are home to the poorest billions of people need to grow if we want global poverty to decline substantially
How much economic growth is necessary to reduce global poverty substantially?
The history of the end of poverty has just begun
Which countries achieved economic growth? And why does it matter?
Economic Growth and the Environment
More Articles on Economic Growth
Is globalization an engine of economic development?
Does trade cause growth?
Historical poverty reductions: more than a story about 'free-market capitalism'
Structural transformation: how did today’s rich countries become ‘deindustrialized’?
The importance of social networks for innovation and productivity
How are incomes adjusted for inflation?
Interactive Charts on Economic Growth
GDP per capitaPenn World Table, constant international-$
GDP per capitaWorld Bank, constant international-$
GDP per capitaMaddison Project Database, constant international-$
Global GDP over the long run
Global average GDP per capita over the long run
Gross domestic product (GDP)Penn World Table, constant international-$
Gross domestic product (GDP)World Bank, constant international-$
Gross domestic product (GDP) by world regionMaddison Project Database, constant international-$
Access to electricity vs. GDP per capita
Annual average growth of trade vs. GDP per capita
Annual growth of GDPIMF
Annual growth of GDP per capitaWorld Bank
Annual growth of GDP per employed person
Annual working hours vs. GDP per capitaPenn World Table
Augmented Human Development Index vs. GDP per capita
CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita
Child mortality rate vs. GDP per capita
Distribution of gross domestic product by economic sector
Economic complexity rank vs. GDP per capita
GDP per capitaWorld Bank, constant US$
GDP per capita in EnglandBroadberry et al., since 1270
GDP per capita: Comparing data from World Bank and Maddison Project Database
GDP per capita: Comparing data from World Bank and Penn World Table
GDP per employed person
GNI per capita vs. GDP per capita
Government spending as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita
Gross domestic product (GDP)World Bank, constant US$
Gross domestic product (GDP)Fouquin and Hugot, current GBP
Gross domestic product (GDP)Maddison Project Database, constant international-$
Gross domestic product (GDP) in EnglandBroadberry et al., since 1270
Gross national income (GNI) per capitaWorld Bank
Hidden Hunger Index vs. GDP per capita
Human Capital Index vs. GDP per capita
Human Development Index vs. GDP per capita
Income or consumption of the poorest 10% vs. GDP per capita
Labor force participation rate of men aged 65+ in the United States
Life expectancy vs. GDP per capitaMaddison, historical
Mean income or consumption per day vs. GDP per capita
Mean vs. median income or consumptionWorld Bank
Median income or consumption per day vs. GDP per capita
National poverty line vs. GDP per capita
Output of key industrial sectors in the United KingdomBroadberry et al.
Output of key industries in the United KingdomBroadberry et al., more industries
Output of key service and industrial sectors in the United Kingdom
Price level relative to the US vs. GDP per capita
Productivity vs. GDP per capita
Productivity: output per hour worked
Self-reported life satisfaction vs. GDP per capita
Share of adults with an account at a financial institution
Share of household consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita
Share of manufacturing in gross domestic product (GDP)
Share of population living in extreme poverty vs. GDP per capita
Share of workers employed in agriculture vs. GDP per capita
Tax revenues as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita
Unemployment rateIMF
World Bank income groups
Share of employment in agriculture, industry, and services
Time required to start a business
Cite this work
Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. When citing this topic page, please also cite the underlying data sources. This topic page can be cited as:
Max Roser, Pablo Arriagada, Joe Hasell, Hannah Ritchie and Esteban Ortiz-Ospina (2023) - “Economic Growth” Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/economic-growth' [Online Resource]BibTeX citation
@article{owid-economic-growth,
author = {Max Roser and Pablo Arriagada and Joe Hasell and Hannah Ritchie and Esteban Ortiz-Ospina},
title = {Economic Growth},
journal = {Our World in Data},
year = {2023},
note = {https://ourworldindata.org/economic-growth}
}
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