Overview: Led by recovery in Western Europe and strong performances by the US, Canada, and key Third World countries, real global output - gross world product (GWP) - rose 3% in 1994 compared with 2% in 1993. Results varied widely among regions and countries. Average growth of 3% in the GDP of industrialized countries (60% of GWP in 1994) and average growth of 6% in the GDP of less developed countries (34% of GWP) were partly offset by a further 11% drop in the GDP of the former USSR/Eastern Europe area (now only 6% of GWP). With the notable exception of Japan at 2.9%, unemployment was typically 5%-12% in the industrial world. The US accounted for 22% of GWP in 1994; Western Europe accounted for another 22%; and Japan accounted for 8%. These are the three "economic superpowers" which are presumably destined to compete for mastery in international markets on into the 21st century. As for the less developed countries, China, India, and the Four Dragons - South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore - once again posted records of 5% growth or better; however, many other countries, especially in Africa, continued to suffer from drought, rapid population growth, inflation, and civil strife. Central Europe made considerable progress in moving toward "market-friendly" economies, whereas the 15 ex-Soviet countries (with the notable exceptions of the three Baltic states) typically experienced further declines in output, sometimes as high as 30%. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government in a number of cases is losing control over resources as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, and in India. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of nearly 100 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems, the industrialized countries have inadequate resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. (For the specific economic problems of each country, see the individual country entries in this volume.)
National product: GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $30.7 trillion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $5,400 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): all countries: 25% developed countries: 5% developing countries: 50% (1994 est.) note: national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from stable prices to hyperinflation
Unemployment rate: 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 5%-12% unemployment
Exports: $4 trillion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and
services
partners: in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries
Imports: $4.1 trillion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and
services
partners: in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries
External debt: $1 trillion for less developed countries (1993 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1994 est.)