Two Thousand Years of Economic Statistics, Years 1–2012

Book excerpt: Who's winning and who's losing? This book provides hard data for all who ponder the shifting sands of power, whether economic, military or demographic, and seek keys to decipher the media news. Going far beyond the major powers and the BRIC countries, this economic statistical work, issued every few years, presents historical statistics in nine sections. Volume 1 lists (1) Population by rank, (2) GDP Per Capita by rank, (3) GDP by rank, (4) Growth Rates of Population by rank, (5) Growth Rates of GDP Per Capita by rank, (6) Growth Rates of GDP by rank. Volume 2 (sold separately) covers: (1) Population/Growth Rates of Population by country, (2) GDP Per Capita/Growth Rates of GDP Per Capita by country, and (3) GDP/Growth Rates of GDP by country. This biennial work contains data generally not available elsewhere, and in ways that help make it possible to draw useful comparisons. First, it provides statistical data for all countries of the world (236 countries, within their 2011 borders) since the year 1950 (by decade, with 2011 in addition), plus forecasts for 2020 and 2030. Second, it provides data for 135 countries since the year 1000 (with data for 1000, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1820, 1870, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1913, 1920, 1929, and 1938). Third, it provides data for 134 countries for the first year AD. In Volume 1 [572 pages], this data is arranged by rank, or size. In Volume 2 [438 pages], the countries are listed alphabetically. This book is based on the groundbreaking works of Angus Maddison but it gives data up to the most recent year available and calculates GDP (gross and per capita) in the prices of that year. For recent years, the World Bank, CIA, and Encyclopedia Britannica were principal sources. But, despite the author's great debt to these sources, the preponderance of data in the book is not direct citations from them but rather the result of calculations. Among other computational techniques he uses a new logarithmic interpolation which takes care of cross-country statistical distortions when calculating in the prices of the most recent year. For every line of data (for every country, each year), he provides a note on the technique used in obtaining his estimate (i. e., proxy, exponential interpolation, direct estimate with source citation, etc.). Dr. Avakov's annual title, "Quality of Life, Balance of Powers, and Nuclear Weapons," gives a current snapshot of world economic and military statistics. This work, "Two Thousand Years of Economic Statistics," gives world population figures and current GDP data in a historical perspective.