Development and Globalization: - Unctad

18
1.3 Output and demand
OVERVIEW DEFINITIONS
World output remains heavily concentrated in developed
countries. In 2001, developing countries accounted for
only about one fifth of world nominal gross domestic
product (GDP), while they represented 80% of the global
population.
Real per capita GDP declined in Africa and Central and
Eastern Europe between 1980 and 2000. The lowest level
was recorded in Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa
(excluding South Africa), where it was $337 in 2000. The
situation was even worse for the group of least developed
countries, where real per capita GDP was only $297.
While in developing countries real per capita GDP
increased from $936 in 1980 to $1,417 in 2000, in
developed countries it soared from $20,397 to $30,557.
Income gaps that had persisted during the first three
decades after 1950 widened further subsequently as
growth momentum stalled in many poorer countries,
particularly after the debt crisis of the 1980s.
The most remarkable success stories are in developing Asia,
where real per capita GDP more than doubled between
1980 and 2000. In particular, countries in the South and
East Asian region, which until the financial crisis of 1997
showed rapid and uninterrupted economic growth,
overtook other developing countries and narrowed the
income gap with major industrial economies. Notably,
China had annual average GDP growth rates of 10%
beginning in the early 1980s. By contrast, in Africa and
Latin America, the 1980s were characterized by negative
per capita growth, followed by a weak recovery for Latin
America in the 1990s.
To learn more
● Gross domestic product (GDP) is an aggregate measure
of production equal to the sum of the gross values added
of all resident institutional units engaged in production
(plus any taxes, and minus any subsidies, on products not
included in the value of their outputs). It is the sum of the
final uses of goods and services (all uses except
intermediate consumption) measured in purchasers’
prices, less the value of imports of goods and services, or
the sum of primary incomes distributed by resident
producer units.
● Nominal GDP is expressed in current prices. Nominal GDP
in US$ is computed with current exchange rates.
● Per capita GDP is GDP divided by population.
● Real GDP is expressed in base-year prices. In this chapter,
real GDP is at 1995 constant prices and in 1995 US$.
DATA SOURCES
[1] UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics 2003, tables 7.1 and 7.2.
UNCTAD conducts policy-oriented analytical work to improve understanding of current and emerging issues regarding
economic growth in the world and particularly in developing countries. The results of these studies are published in the
annual Trade and Development Report.