It was bound to happen, and finally has. Bloomberg reports this morning that China's Economy Grew 9.9% in 2005, Passing U.K. as 4th-Largest (based on market exchange rates):
China's economy grew 9.9 percent in 2005, probably overtaking the U.K. as the world's fourth largest, powered by record exports and investment in manufacturing. Gross domestic product rose to 18.2 trillion yuan ($2.3 trillion) after expanding 10.1 percent in 2004, statistics bureau Commissioner Li Deshui said today in Beijing. Investment in urban areas jumped 27.2 percent last year, he said.
The economy grew 9.9 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier after expanding a revised 9.8 percent in the previous three months, the NBS said today. Economists forecast growth of 9.5 percent in the quarter and 9.8 percent for the full year, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
Li told reporters he's "cautiously optimistic'' about China's growth outlook for this year. "The driver of the economy is shifting from investment to a more balanced situation based on consumption,'' he said. Average GDP growth of 10 percent is sustainable for "many years,'' said Li.
...The U.K. economy was worth $2.14 trillion in 2004, according to the World Bank, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has forecast 1.7 percent growth for the country in 2005. The U.S. economy, which measured $11.7 trillion in 2004, is the world's largest.
Love that last sentence - just in case you didn't know! Meanwhile, today's Financial Express reports 'India to be world No. 3':
India will surpass Japan as the world's third largest economy in 2006 as measured in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), according to a forecast by a US professional services firm. India's economy, measured in PPP terms, will eclipse the $4 trillion mark in 2006, making it equal to or greater than Japan's. Only the United States and China will possess larger economies, according to Keystone India's Chief Economist William T. Wilson.
"The results of liberalizing strategic sectors such as telecom, banking, aviation and real estate are now beginning to show. After growing at 8.5 per cent and 6.9 per cent in 2003 and 2004 respectively, India's economy is expected to grow 7.8 per cent in 2005-2006 (fiscal year ending in March) then decelerate modestly to 7 per cent in 2006-2007.
As my previous post Can China overtake the US? pointed out, China is already the second largest economy on a PPP basis - and should outstrip the United States within the next decade or two.
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