Country Profiles, Country Reports, Country Economies, Country Economics, Economic Profiles, World Country Reports

EconomyWatch

Last Updated: 18, May 2021

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Note: a full list of EconomyWatch.com are shown below.

EconomyWatch.com has compiled extensive profiles of all the national economies in the world, including a summary of their economy, structural details and statistics.

Each country profile is designed to give a summary of that country, its economy and economic profile. It provides economic indicators, data and statistics, as well as analyses of its history, GDP, GDP growth, GDP per capita, prospects, sectors and international trading relations, imports & exports.

We have more in depth sections for the larger economies. Please choose your desired country from the list below to see the economic profile.

Table of Contents

Country Economy

The country economy pages include data and analysis on economic indicators as shown below. Each country has many supporting articles covering a range of in-country topics including trade, imports & exports, policies, banks, companies, real estate, mortgage, credit cards, insurance and so on. You can use the search box if you can’t find the article you are looking for from the country page.

Country Reports, Analysis and Data

Reports on economic activity, trends and developments, together with forecasts on economic expectations are widely available. EconomyWatch.com compiles details and links to some of these.As a rule, richer and faster growing countries receive wide analyst coverage, and reports will be available in great detail on consumer activity, specific industry categories, housing, investment, money flows and so on. Smaller countries have less coverage and are harder to get reports on.Analysts will tend to use primary and secondary sources of economic data, apply their own analytical models to that data, interview industry or government leaders, carry out market research, draw inferences, and then produce reports with source data, qualitative analysis of that data, and forecasts and recommendations based on the trends they have inferred.Organisations such as Moody’s Economy.com and Economist Intelligence Unit have global coverage in their paid reports and data sections.

Country GDP, Country GNP

A country’s Gross Domestic Product or GDP is a measure of the entire economic activity of that country. The formula used is:

GDP = C + G + I + NX

Where ‘C’ is private consumption, ‘G’ is government spending, ‘I’ is business capital expenditure or investment, and ‘NX’ is net exports, or exports – imports.

There are 3 types of approach for measuring GDP.

The first is nominal GDP, which looks at the total GDP for that country in its current financial value.

Real GDP looks to remove the artificial effect of inflation. So if the inflation rate was 3% from the base year of analysis, real GDP will reduce the total figure by 3% to enable a like-for-like comparison.

Both real and nominal GDP will tend to be based on official exchange rates to convert local currencies into US$, the currency for comparison.

Purchase Power Parity GDP, or PPP GDP, uses the average cost of a basket of consumer goods is taken in one country, and then compared with the cost of the same basket of goods in the US. That ratio is used to determine GDP. This approach says that cost of living, rather than traded exchange rates, is a fairer way to assess the value of economic activity in each country.

Since the US dollar is the reserve currency of the world, USA GDP is the same whether nominal or PPP GDP is used.

Gross National Product or GNP is similar to GDP, except that it seeks to add in income earned by its citizens abroad, and to take away income earned by foreign residents within that country. It seeks to measure only what the citizens of that country have produced, where ever they may have produced it.

Core GDP figures are used in conjunction with GDP growth rates, which act as a proxy for overall economic growth, and GDP per capita, which is GDP divided by population, effectively a measure of how rich that country the citizens of that country are on average.

Country Population, Country Census, Births, Deaths and Immigration

Country population figures are derived from various sources including estimates from national governments, the World Bank, the IMF, and the CIA.

The primary of calculation is government census figures, where census, tax or local government officials will make a complete record of all inhabitants of a country. This is an expensive exercise and therefore can only be carried out in anything from 5-25 year periods. In some countries it has been impossible to carry out a census, thanks to inaccessibility, war or natural disaster.

Census figures are therefore supplemented by data on births, deaths, immigration, emigration, school intakes, tax payers and any other data sources a government can draw on to estimate its population.

Country Inflation, Interest and Unemployment Rates

Inflation is the rise in prices of goods and services over time. Inflation is influenced by the supply and demand of both products and the money used to buy them.

A country’s inflation rate measures inflation in that economy over time. This is either using the Consumer Price Index or CPI, which measure the increase in a typical basket of goods, or the Wholesale Price Index or WPI, which measures the prices of goods sold from factories to wholesale buyers.

Interest is the cost that a borrower of money pays to a lender, expressed as a percentage of the principal loan amount.

Country Interest Rates primarily refer to the interest rate set by the central bank or Treasury department of that country, and refer to the rate at which the central bank loans money to commercial banks. It therefore will determine interest rates for mortgages, personal and commercial loans.

Unemployment is a measure of the number of working age adults who do not have jobs. Different countries have different rules to determine how temporary, part-time and contract workers are measured. The national unemployment rate is usually determined by looking at tax payers versus those seeking unemployment benefits or other forms of relief.

Country Tax Rates, Country Taxation, National Debt

Each country evolves a taxation approach to bring in revenues for the government to spend on public services. Country tax regimes are often complex affairs that include income tax, corporate tax, property tax, fuel tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) or Goods & Services Tax (GST), capital gains tax, estate or inheritance tax, and local, regional or state taxes.

For many countries, tax revenues are not enough to pay for all government and public expenses that are incurred.

These countries will need to borrow money, which is called the national or public debt. It is measured as a percentage of GDP, and is financed by government issued bonds.

Country Currency, Country Exchange Rates

Each country has its own currency that is accepted as legal tender. Some smaller countries use US dollars as their currency, and some states have a common currency, most famously the members of the European Union who use the Euro.

Before the Bretton Woods agreement, currencies were pegged against the gold (the Gold Standard), but today most currencies are trade against each other in open markets, or are pegged to the US dollar, which has become the reserve currency of the world.

A country’s exchange rate determines how much of a foreign currency can be bought by local currency.

Definitions and Overviews

Population

Population Density

City Population, Urban Population, Urbanization, Urbanisation

Country Industry, Country Industries, Country Sector, Country Sectors

Airports, World Airports, Economic Impact of Airports

Country Rankings, Country Ranking, Economic Rankings, Country Comparison, Ranking Data

Country Data, Country Statistics, Country Indicators, Data by Country

Country Analysis, Country Analyses, Countries Analysis

Country Forecast, Country Forecasts

National Income, Country Income

Country GDP, Country GNP, Country GDP Data, Country GDP Reports

Country Growth, Country GDP Growth, Country GDP Growth Rates

Country Per Capita Income, Country GDP Per Capita

Country Consumption, National Consumption, Private Consumption, Household Data

Country Rates, National Rates

National Debt, Country Debt, Countries Debt, Debt Data

National Wealth, Country Wealth, Countries Wealth, Wealth Data

Emerging Markets

Featured Countries: Country Profiles, Country Economic Profiles

World Economy/ Economic Profile
European Union

All Countries: A-Z Country Profiles

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