Ask the students to rank what they think the world's five largest economies are in terms of GDP by dragging the countries up or down the list and get them to defend their decisions. Encourage them to think in terms of resources, such as land, labour and capital.

Discussion can be developed by challenging them with questions like:

China has 4 times as many people as the US. Why do you think the US GDP is higher?

Starting with the highest value drag the countries into the correct order according to GDP.
Rank Country
  • 01United StatesUnited States
  • 02ChinaChina
  • 03IndiaIndia
  • 04JapanJapan
  • 05GermanyGermany
  • 06RussiaRussia
  • 07BrazilBrazil
  • 08United KingdomUnited Kingdom
  • 09FranceFrance
  • 10MexicoMexico

GDP is a measure of the total size of an economy (the value of goods and services produced). Based on the GDP figures for the other countries ranked in order, what do you think the GDP of China, UK and India will be? Discuss your answers before revealing the true figures.

Guess the GDP values for China, India and the UK

Rank Country GDP (Billions of US$)
  • 01United StatesUnited States16,799.7
  • 02ChinaChina13,395.4
  • 03IndiaIndia5,069.2
  • 04JapanJapan4,698.8
  • 05GermanyGermany3,232.6
  • 06RussiaRussia2,556.2
  • 07BrazilBrazil2,423.3
  • 08United KingdomUnited Kingdom2,390.9
  • 09FranceFrance2,278.0
  • 10MexicoMexico1,842.6
GDP is a measure of the total size of an economy (the value of goods and services produced). Using the table as a guide, draw the likely positions of the following countries' PPFs in 2013
  • India
  • China
  • UK

PPF Curve

ppf graph
PPF for 2013
Read the information on the screen then bring back up the graph and redraw the PPF based on the information

News of the future

China has passed the US as the world's largest economy 21 February, 2040 – Analysts report that China has passed the US as the largest economy in the world last year. With a nominal GDP of US$29,300 billion for the year 2039, China is ahead of the US by more than US$500 billion. China has increased their GDP tenfold over the last 35 years.
The US was the world's largest economy for about a century, since the British Empire suffered severely in the Second World War. China can now look for a reign on the throne for about 30–40 years before the currently fastest growing major economy, India, is likely to surpass it. India became the world's third largest economy in the year 2034 with the help of its growing population and will challenge the size of the US economy in a decade.

PPF Curve

ppf graph
PPF for 2040
This video demonstrates why it is that the US is the world’s largest economy even though China has a far greater population - there are good points on productivity and labour costs.
How would resources actually be allocated in a system with no government?
How can we measure the extent to which an economy is either more command or more free market?