China vs US GDP, 1960 to today
Six decades of the world's two biggest economies, with Japan, Germany and India for scale.
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What the data shows
- In 2025, United States ranks #1 with $30.77T, ahead of China ($19.50T) and Germany ($5.05T).
- United States holds #1 for the whole period, 1960 to 2025.
About this chart
In 1960 China's economy was a sliver of America's in dollar terms. Market reforms from 1978, joining the WTO in 2001 and decades of rapid growth turned it into the clear number two, passing Japan around 2010.
These are current-dollar figures at market exchange rates, so currency swings show up as bumps. Adjusted for purchasing power, China's economy is already the larger of the two.
The data
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (NY.GDP.MKTP.CD), current US$ trillions. Retrieved November 3, 2026.
| Date | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇨🇳 China | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇩🇪 Germany | 🇮🇳 India |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | $0.54T | $0.06T | $0.05T | $0.08T | $0.04T |
| 1961 | $0.56T | $0.05T | $0.06T | $0.10T | $0.04T |
| 1962 | $0.60T | $0.05T | $0.07T | $0.11T | $0.04T |
| 1963 | $0.64T | $0.05T | $0.08T | $0.11T | $0.05T |
| 1964 | $0.68T | $0.06T | $0.09T | $0.12T | $0.06T |
| 1965 | $0.74T | $0.07T | $0.10T | $0.13T | $0.06T |
| 1966 | $0.81T | $0.08T | $0.12T | $0.14T | $0.05T |
| 1967 | $0.86T | $0.07T | $0.14T | $0.15T | $0.05T |
| 1968 | $0.94T | $0.07T | $0.16T | $0.16T | $0.05T |
| 1969 | $1.02T | $0.08T | $0.19T | $0.18T | $0.06T |
| 1970 | $1.07T | $0.09T | $0.22T | $0.22T | $0.06T |
| 1971 | $1.16T | $0.10T | $0.25T | $0.25T | $0.07T |
| 1972 | $1.28T | $0.11T | $0.33T | $0.30T | $0.07T |
| 1973 | $1.43T | $0.14T | $0.45T | $0.40T | $0.09T |
| 1974 | $1.55T | $0.14T | $0.50T | $0.45T | $0.10T |
| 1975 | $1.68T | $0.16T | $0.54T | $0.49T | $0.10T |
| 1976 | $1.87T | $0.15T | $0.61T | $0.52T | $0.10T |
| 1977 | $2.08T | $0.18T | $0.75T | $0.60T | $0.12T |
| 1978 | $2.35T | $0.15T | $1.06T | $0.74T | $0.14T |
| 1979 | $2.63T | $0.18T | $1.10T | $0.88T | $0.15T |
| 1980 | $2.86T | $0.19T | $1.15T | $0.95T | $0.19T |
| 1981 | $3.21T | $0.20T | $1.27T | $0.80T | $0.19T |
| 1982 | $3.34T | $0.21T | $1.18T | $0.78T | $0.20T |
| 1983 | $3.63T | $0.23T | $1.30T | $0.77T | $0.22T |
| 1984 | $4.04T | $0.26T | $1.37T | $0.73T | $0.21T |
| 1985 | $4.34T | $0.31T | $1.46T | $0.74T | $0.23T |
| 1986 | $4.58T | $0.30T | $2.16T | $1.05T | $0.25T |
| 1987 | $4.86T | $0.27T | $2.64T | $1.30T | $0.28T |
| 1988 | $5.24T | $0.31T | $3.19T | $1.41T | $0.30T |
| 1989 | $5.64T | $0.35T | $3.17T | $1.40T | $0.30T |
| 1990 | $5.96T | $0.36T | $3.25T | $1.78T | $0.32T |
| 1991 | $6.16T | $0.38T | $3.72T | $1.88T | $0.27T |
| 1992 | $6.52T | $0.43T | $4.06T | $2.14T | $0.29T |
| 1993 | $6.86T | $0.45T | $4.63T | $2.08T | $0.28T |
| 1994 | $7.29T | $0.57T | $5.10T | $2.22T | $0.33T |
| 1995 | $7.64T | $0.74T | $5.64T | $2.59T | $0.36T |
| 1996 | $8.07T | $0.87T | $5.02T | $2.51T | $0.39T |
| 1997 | $8.58T | $0.97T | $4.58T | $2.22T | $0.42T |
| 1998 | $9.06T | $1.04T | $4.15T | $2.25T | $0.42T |
| 1999 | $9.63T | $1.10T | $4.69T | $2.21T | $0.46T |
| 2000 | $10.25T | $1.22T | $5.04T | $1.97T | $0.47T |
| 2001 | $10.58T | $1.36T | $4.44T | $1.97T | $0.49T |
| 2002 | $10.93T | $1.49T | $4.25T | $2.10T | $0.51T |
| 2003 | $11.46T | $1.68T | $4.57T | $2.53T | $0.61T |
| 2004 | $12.22T | $1.98T | $4.94T | $2.85T | $0.71T |
| 2005 | $13.04T | $2.32T | $4.88T | $2.89T | $0.82T |
| 2006 | $13.82T | $2.79T | $4.65T | $3.05T | $0.94T |
| 2007 | $14.47T | $3.60T | $4.62T | $3.48T | $1.22T |
| 2008 | $14.77T | $4.67T | $5.16T | $3.81T | $1.20T |
| 2009 | $14.48T | $5.19T | $5.34T | $3.48T | $1.34T |
| 2010 | $15.05T | $6.19T | $5.81T | $3.47T | $1.68T |
| 2011 | $15.60T | $7.67T | $6.28T | $3.82T | $1.82T |
| 2012 | $16.25T | $8.67T | $6.33T | $3.60T | $1.83T |
| 2013 | $16.88T | $9.74T | $5.27T | $3.81T | $1.86T |
| 2014 | $17.61T | $10.67T | $4.99T | $3.96T | $2.04T |
| 2015 | $18.30T | $11.28T | $4.53T | $3.43T | $2.10T |
| 2016 | $18.80T | $11.46T | $5.11T | $3.54T | $2.29T |
| 2017 | $19.61T | $12.54T | $5.04T | $3.77T | $2.65T |
| 2018 | $20.66T | $14.15T | $5.15T | $4.06T | $2.70T |
| 2019 | $21.54T | $14.56T | $5.25T | $3.96T | $2.84T |
| 2020 | $21.38T | $15.00T | $5.19T | $3.94T | $2.67T |
| 2021 | $23.73T | $18.20T | $5.23T | $4.36T | $3.17T |
| 2022 | $26.05T | $18.32T | $4.45T | $4.20T | $3.25T |
| 2023 | $27.81T | $18.27T | $4.38T | $4.56T | $3.50T |
| 2024 | $29.30T | $18.73T | $4.19T | $4.69T | $3.76T |
| 2025 | $30.77T | $19.50T | $4.44T | $5.05T | $3.96T |
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Frequently asked questions
Is China's economy bigger than the US?
At market exchange rates, no: the US economy is still clearly larger, as the last column of the table shows. Adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP), China has been larger since the mid-2010s; see the GDP (PPP) chart.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank, World Development Indicators (NY.GDP.MKTP.CD), current US$ trillions. Retrieved November 3, 2026. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.
Can I turn this chart into a video?
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