Which country has the largest economy?

Measured by nominal gross domestic product, the United States has been the largest economy in the world for more than a century. Its GDP was about 27.7 trillion dollars in 2023, roughly a quarter of global output. China is second at around 18 trillion dollars, followed by Germany, which overtook Japan for third place in 2023. However, when economies are compared by purchasing power parity, which adjusts for how much money actually buys locally, the IMF has ranked China first since around 2016. The US lead rests on huge consumer spending, dominant technology and financial sectors, and the role of the dollar as the main global reserve currency.