MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – China could surpass the United States as the world’s largest economy this year, sooner than widely expected, the Financial Times reported Wednesday citing the world’s leading statistical agencies.
The US, which has been the global leader since overtaking the UK in 1872, remained the world’s largest economy in 2011 but was closely followed by China, according to figures compiled by the World Bank’s International Comparison Program.
Most economists previously thought China would overtake the US as early as in 2019.
“With the IMF expecting China’s economy to have grown 24 percent between 2011 and 2014 while the US is expected to expand only 7.6 percent, China is likely to overtake the US this year,” the report says.
The figures “revolutionize the picture of the world’s economic landscape, boosting the importance of large middle-income countries.” India is the third-largest economy, followed by Japan and Germany.
Russia, which accounts for more than 70 percent of the CIS, comes sixth and Brazil, which makes up to 56 percent of Latin America, is ranked seventh, the report said, citing the ICP survey.
