October 12, 2008

Developing economies produce 41% of global output – WB

The latest development indicators showed that output from developing economies has climbed to more than 40% of the world’s total output, which reached USD 59 trillion in 2006.

World Bank, which released the World Development Indicators 2008, said that developing economies’ output had grown from 36% in 2000, to 41%. It said that China currently ranked as the second largest economy after the US, using new measurements that took into account the differences in price levels between countries.

World Bank said that most of the developing regions had increased their shares in the global output, except regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean. The World Bank added that the share of high-income economies had decreased by 5%.

Mr Alan Gelb acting World Bank chief economist and senior vice president for development economics said that “We live in a world of highly interdependent markets for goods, services, finance, labor and ideas. When we measure economies on a comparable global scale, the growing clout of developing countries comes into sharp relief.”