Official figures suggest that China has replaced Japan as the world’s second
largest economy, after an estimated 10 percent growth rate left China with an economy worth close to $5.8trillion at the end of quarter four 2010. Japanese growth hovered around the 3 percent mark
in 2010 with a total GDP value of $5.47 trillion. Analysts have
told the BBC that it is ‘realistic’ that China will overhaul the US’ economy in about a decade, which, as Pete has demonstrated, does not look too outrageous a suggestion.
All of this puts me in mind of the European Union. The CIA World Factbook records that the EU leads the globe in GDP (purchasing power parity): with an estimated value of $14,890,000,000,000, against the US’ $14,720,000,000,000.
So, there is collective strength in the Old World yet, and so much of Eastern Europe’s markets remain underdeveloped.
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