In this article, we look at the 20 largest economies in the world by 2050. You can skip our detailed analysis of the global economic dynamics, and head directly to the5 Largest Economies in the World by 2050.
PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, also known as PwC, is a professional services network, headquartered in London. It is considered one of the world’s top accountancy firms, alongside Deloitte and KPMG. In 2017, PwC released a report titled The World in 2050, which involved projections on how the world economic order is going to look like three decades later.
The global economy is expected to grow 130% by 2050, with China projected to possess around 20% share of the world’s GDP in purchasing power parity. India is likely to surpass the United States, which is currently the largest economy in the world. The EU's share of the world’s GDP is projected to drop below 10%. The Emerging 7, or E7, economies are projected to grow almost twice as fast as the advanced G7 economies due a negative growth of -0.3% (per annum on average) in the working age population of the G7 economies between 2016 and 2050.
This, if it happens, will be a radical shift in global economic power, considering that in 1995, the E7 economies were half the size of the G7 countries. All of these projections reiterate what analysts have long been saying, that this is going to be Asia’s century.
Corporations have always had a key role to play in any nation’s economic prosperity. A McKinsey Global Institute report highlighted that the business sector contributed 72% of the total share of the GDPs of OECD member nations. This included the United States, where in 2017, $14 trillion out of its then total GDP of $20 trillion came from the corporate sector. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s 2022 revenue of $394 billion, was higher than the GDP of most economies in the world, and accounted for more than 1.5% of the United States’ nominal GDP of $25 trillion.
Over the last few decades, a number of large corporations like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), among others, have begun shifting their operations to Asian countries not just due to cheap, skillful labour, but also because of the vast opportunities offered by the market size in Asia. The continent is home to more than half of the world’s population, with the World Bank categorizing 80% of the Asian developing economies as middle income economies, while 15.6% as high income economies.
China is Asia’s largest economy and is projected by PwC to be the largest economy in the world by 2050. Today, 95% of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhones, iPads, and Macbooks are manufactured in China. The country was also the source of about 20% of the company’s revenue in 2022 ($74 billion). Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is also making inroads in India. Earlier this year, Tim Cook inaugurated the tech giant’s first retail store in the country in Mumbai.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has also been increasing its investments in Asia. The company announced in 2021 that it was setting up a datacenter in Indonesia, which is likely to increase its revenues by over $6 billion. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) also expects its cloud services portfolio to add $39 billion to the United Arab Emirates economy. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)'s Google also plans by 2024 to open up a new datacenter in Japan, near Tokyo, worth $690 million. In 2018, it invested $550 million in powerhouse JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce company, to expand its presence in the Asian markets.
Asian corporations themselves contribute an estimated $19 trillion to the global economy each year. In June 2023, Brand Finance ranked India’s Tata Group among the world’s largest companies. Reliance Industries Limited surpassed Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA), BMW, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Sony on Forbes’ The Global 2000 list of the world’s largest public corporations. A Taiwanese company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, commonly known as TSMC, accounts for 60% of the annual output in the global foundry industry.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) is one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world, and holds a dominant share in China’s wholesale and retail markets. Another major company is the Japanese car manufacturer, Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM). It holds a good 11.5% share of the output in the global automobile industry.
With that said, let's move on to the list of largest economies in the world by the mid 21st century.
Methodology
We have ranked the top economies in the world by middle of the 21st century based on projections made by the PwC. In order to check for room for subjectivity, we also referred to forecasts made by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) for the biggest economies in the world in 2050 and 2075. However, there were some projections that appeared to be deviating from widely accepted economic forecasts. These being related to Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom outranking Brazil in 2050, as well as US outranking India. As a tie-breaker, we dug into the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which released a report in 2009 on how the G20 economies would fare in 2050. Their estimates were closer to PwC, therefore, we went ahead with PwC’s rankings for this article.
20 Largest Economies in the World by 2050
Let's head over to the list of the biggest economies in the world by 2050.
20. Vietnam
Projected GDP at PPP: $3.18 trillion
Vietnam is expected to be among the three fastest growing economies in the world between 2016 and 2050. Its economy is projected to grow at 5.2% per annum on average, which will enable it to climb 12 positions to become the 20th largest economy in the world in 2050. Vietnam is one of the countries that will benefit from shifting US supply chains amid the US-China economic war.
19. Philippines
Projected GDP at PPP: $3.34 trillion
PwC’s projections have estimated the GDP of the Philippines to grow at an average of 4.3% each year to 2050. In 2023, it is forecasted to grow 6.3%. According to the Asian Development Bank, the country is on track to become an upper middle-income economy.
18. South Korea
Projected GDP at PPP: $3.54 trillion
South Korea is currently Asia’s fourth largest economy, and the 13th biggest in the world. However, its share of the global GDP is expected to drop in the coming decades due to declining working age populations, and as new drivers of the world economy take center stage.
17. Iran
Projected GDP at PPP: $3.90 trillion
Despite being severely affected by western sanctions and having one of the weakest currencies in the world, Iran found a place in our list of the 20 Largest Economies in Asia. By 2050, it is projected to be among 20 largest economies in the world.
16. Pakistan
Projected GDP at PPP: $4.24 trillion
Pakistan is the fifth most populous nation in the world, and has a sizable population of youth which is the driving force of its economy. Despite recent economic challenges, the country is forecasted by PwC to be among the 20 largest economies in the world by 2050. A report released in December 2022 by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) tipped Pakistan to be the sixth largest economy in the world by 2075.
15. Egypt
Projected GDP at PPP: $4.33 trillion
Egypt is projected to overtake countries like Canada and Italy on a PPP basis by 2050 to be the 15th largest economy in the world. Currently, it ranks 32nd among the 50 Largest Economies in the World in 2023.
14. Nigeria
Projected GDP at PPP: $4.35 trillion
Nigeria is the richest country in Africa and boasts the largest gas reserves in the continent. According to PwC, Nigeria has the potential to move up to being the 14th largest economy in the world if it is able to strengthen national institutions, develop the country’s infrastructure, and diversify its economy.
13. Saudi Arabia
Projected GDP at PPP: $4.69 trillion
Saudi Arabia is the sixth largest economy in Asia. It is one of the largest exporters of oil in the world, and is a founding member of OPEC. By 2050, it is projected to be the 13th largest economy in the world.
12. France
Projected GDP at PPP: $4.71 trillion
France will drop out of the list of the 10 largest economies in the world by 2050. The French economy will continue to remain strong, but it will not be growing at the pace certain other advanced economies will be growing at.
11. Türkiye
Projected GDP at PPP: $5.18 trillion
Türkiye’s currency has taken a heavy beating against the US Dollar since 2021, but generally the economy remains strong and on the path of growth. The GDP grew by over 5% last year. PwC has projected Türkiye’s economy to be the 11th largest in the world by 2050.
10. United Kingdom
Projected GDP at PPP: $5.37 trillion
Europe’s second largest economy, the United Kingdom, will drop down to 10th spot by 2050. However, despite Brexit it could grow faster than a lot of other European nations due to its large share of the working age population compared to some of the other countries in the region, the PwC said in its report.
9. Germany
Projected GDP at PPP: $6.14 trillion
According to PwC, Germany will be one of the countries whose population will shrink in size by 2050. Investment rate, as percent of GDP, is also projected to decline in Germany, as early as in 2025 - from 22% in 2016 to 20%. The country will be the ninth largest economy in the world by 2050.
8. Japan
Projected GDP at PPP: $6.78 trillion
Driven by exports in electronics and automobiles, Japan is the second largest economy in Asia, and the third largest in the world with a GDP of $4.5 trillion in 2022. However, by 2050, it is projected to drop down in the rankings to eighth position. Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) is headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan.
7. Mexico
Projected GDP at PPP: $6.86 trillion
Mexico is one the biggest exporters in the Latin America region, and the country already boasts a GDP nearing $1.5 trillion. It is projected to be among the fastest growing economies during the coming years, receiving a significant share of US supply chains shifting closer to home. Mexico will be the seventh largest economy in the world by 2050.
6. Russia
Projected GDP at PPP: $7.13 trillion
Russia, with its huge proven oil and natural gas reserves, will continue to remain among the ten largest economies in the world by 2050. A status it still holds currently. In 2050, Russia is projected to be the sixth largest economy in the world with a GDP at PPP of $7.13 trillion.
