Image: — © AFP WANG Zhao
The International Monetary Fund has just warned of slowing global economic growth in its latest analysis. Similar to this finding, a newly issued report reveals the world’s wealthiest countries by real gross domestic product in 2025.
To evaluate how countries rank in real economic terms, researchers at BestBrokers calculated Real GDP figures for 135 countries, based on IMF data covering the 10 years between 2016 and 2025. GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, is the total monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period. It is the main measure of a country’s economic size and health.
Analysing real GDP is important since it strips out the effects of inflation and temporary price changes, offering a true picture of economic performance and living standards. While nominal figures often highlight the largest economies, real GDP reveals the relative strength and resilience of countries, showing where growth is genuine and where it is eroded by rising prices.
The U.S., China, and Germany lead in real GDP figures just as they do in nominal terms in 2025; however, the values are significantly reduced once the GDP deflator is applied and inflation is taken out of the equation, resulting in a ‘real figure’ that is between 16% (China) and 23% (the U.S.) lower than the nominal one.
Countries with the highest Real GDP in 2025:
- United States: $23.83 trillion (nominal $30.62 trillion)
- China: $16.77 trillion (nominal $19.40 trillion)
- Germany: $4.07 trillion (nominal $5.01 trillion)
- Japan: $3.81 trillion (nominal $4.28 trillion)
- United Kingdom: $3.44 trillion (nominal $3.96 trillion)
- France: $2.97 trillion (nominal $3.36 trillion)
- India: $2.30 trillion (nominal $4.13 trillion)
- Italy: $2.20 trillion (nominal $2.54 trillion)
- Canada: $1.76 trillion (nominal $2.28 trillion)
- Russia: $1.73 trillion (nominal $2.54 trillion)
In 2025, the U.S. leads in real GDP with $23.83 trillion, approximately 23% lower than its nominal GDP of $30 trillion. Since 2024, its real GDP has grown modestly by 2.02%, up from $23.36 trillion.
China and Germany round out the top three in the 2025 real GDP ranking. China’s real GDP stands at $16 trillion, about 16% below its nominal $19 trillion, while Germany’s real GDP is $4.07 trillion, roughly 20% lower than its nominal $5.01 trillion. Both countries show similar year-on-year growth, increasing by 4.61% and 4.59%, respectively.
In terms of real GDP per capita, Liechtenstein tops the list at $231,478, followed by Ireland with $125,005 and Luxembourg at $106,732. At the opposite end, Argentina ranks lowest with just $12.88 in real GDP per person, with Moldova not far ahead at $253.61 per citizen.
Ghana recorded the largest year-over-year increase in real GDP, rising 17.35% from $13.91 billion to $16.32 billion in 2025. It was followed by Ireland with a 13.90% annual increase and Morocco at 11.62%. In contrast, Ethiopia and Egypt saw significant declines, with real GDP falling by 34.63% and 23.89%, respectively.
Looking at changes over the past decade, Armenia has seen its real GDP nearly double, rising 97.7% from $7.01 billion to $13.86 billion between 2016 and 2025. Albania also saw a significant increase of 88.5%, from $12.63 billion to $23.80 billion. In contrast, Argentina and Türkiye experienced dramatic declines, with real GDP falling 98.8% ($47.81 billion vs $590.54 million) in Argentina, and 88.4% ($525.32 billion vs $60.90 billion) in Türkiye.
The disparities across regions, rapid expansions in some emerging markets, contrast with sharp contractions in others.