Work out a country's gross domestic product from its spending, or from its incomes, using either of the two standard methods.
GDP = personal consumption + gross investment + government consumption + net exports. Use any currency, but use the same one for every box. A blank box counts as 0.
GNP = employee compensation + proprietors' income + rental income + corporate profits + interest income. GDP = GNP + indirect business taxes + depreciation + net income of foreigners.
Gross domestic product is the market value of all the final goods and services produced inside a country in a period, usually a quarter or a year. It is the most common single measure of the size of an economy. Growth of more than about two percent a year is generally taken as a sign of a healthy economy, while two quarters in a row of falling GDP is the usual rule of thumb for a recession.
This method adds up what is spent on the output. Personal consumption is household spending. Gross investment covers business spending on equipment, buildings and stock, and new housing. Government consumption is public spending on goods and services. Net exports are exports minus imports, so a country that buys more from abroad than it sells has negative net exports, which lowers GDP.
This method adds up what is earned from producing the output. It starts with wages and salaries, the income of owners of unincorporated businesses, rent, company profits and interest, which together give gross national product, or GNP. It then adds indirect business taxes, depreciation, and the net income of foreigners to reach GDP. Net income of foreigners is what foreigners earn inside the country minus what its citizens earn abroad, and it can be negative.
In theory, spending on output and income from output are the same number, because every dollar spent is a dollar earned by someone. In practice the two estimates differ a little because of measurement errors, and statisticians report the difference. This page lets you try either method with your own figures.
With the expenditure approach, add personal consumption, gross investment, government consumption and net exports, where net exports are exports minus imports.
Net exports are the value of exports minus the value of imports. They are negative when a country imports more than it exports.
GDP counts what is produced inside a country's borders. GNP counts what is produced by a country's own citizens and companies, wherever they are. The difference is the net income of foreigners.
A real economy has a positive GDP. A negative result here just means the numbers you entered, such as very large imports, add up to less than zero.
Any, as long as every box uses the same currency and the same time period. Figures are often given in millions, billions or trillions.
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