Which economy is bigger, China's or the United States'? It depends on how you turn yuan into dollars. At market exchange rates, US GDP was $30.8 trillion in 2025 and China's was $19.5 trillion, by the World Bank's figures. At purchasing power parity, which adjusts for prices, China's was $41.3 trillion, ahead of the US. India came third at PPP, with $17.2 trillion, against $3.96 trillion at market rates.
The compare countries tool puts any two countries, or a country and a continent, side by side. It shows GDP, GDP per person, price levels and income. The figures come from the World Bank's World Development Indicators, last updated October 8, 2026, with data through 2025.
Market rates or purchasing power parity
Purchasing power parity, or PPP, converts money by what it buys rather than by the exchange rate. An international dollar buys in any country what a US dollar buys in the United States. The World Bank's International Comparison Program prices the same goods and services around the world to set these rates.
PPP is the better measure for comparing living standards, since a haircut or a bus fare costs far less in India than in Switzerland. Market rates are better for what an economy's output is worth in world markets, such as for trade or debt. The tool also shows a price level: a country's GDP at market rates divided by its GDP at PPP. The US is 100% by definition.
A worked example: the United States and China
Per person, the gap is wide. In the China vs the United States comparison, US GDP per person was $90,027 in 2025, at both PPP and market rates. China's was $29,333 at PPP and $13,862 at market rates. So the US figure at PPP is 3.1 times China's.
Prices across the US economy averaged 212% of China's. In the tool's terms, $100 spent in the United States buys about what $47.26 buys in China. A dollar goes 2.1 times as far there. That is why the order of the two economies flips: at market rates the US economy is 1.58 times China's, and at PPP it is 75% of China's.
The gap has narrowed fast. After inflation, GDP per person at PPP grew 40% in the US from 2000 to 2025, or 1.3% a year. In China it grew 517%, or 7.5% a year. The US figure was 14 times China's in 2000 and 3.1 times in 2025.
The richest countries per person
Singapore had the highest GDP per person at PPP in 2025, $163,354. Luxembourg ($156,542) and Ireland ($155,089) came next. The United States ranked 9th of 186 countries with figures. South Sudan was lowest, at $1,155.
| Country | Per person at PPP | At market rates | Prices vs US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | $163,354 | $98,814 | 60% |
| Luxembourg | $156,542 | $147,252 | 94% |
| Ireland | $155,089 | $131,592 | 85% |
| Qatar | $128,883 | $72,525 | 56% |
| Norway | $104,044 | $94,594 | 91% |
| United States | $90,027 | $90,027 | 100% |
Where a dollar goes furthest
Prices are lowest against US prices in Nigeria, Egypt and Afghanistan. There a dollar goes as far as $7.79, $6.55 and $5.36 would in the United States. Afghanistan's figure is from 2024. Prices are highest in Iceland, at 118% of US prices, then Switzerland and Barbados.
By continent, North America had the highest GDP per person at PPP, $64,226 in 2025, followed by Europe at $59,585. Africa had the lowest, $7,605. Each continent adds up its countries and divides by their population, so bigger countries count for more.
What the comparison leaves out
The tool covers the 193 member states of the United Nations, each with the World Bank's latest figures from 2015 on. Territories such as Hong Kong and Puerto Rico are left out. A few countries, such as North Korea, have no recent figures. The IMF publishes its own estimates, which usually differ by a few percent.
A price level covers a whole economy, not just what households buy. Your own costs in either place depend on where you live and what you buy. Median income comes from household surveys, which many countries run only every few years. Some measure what households spend rather than what they earn, so compare those figures with care.
Use it on your own site
Each comparison is free to embed on a blog or site with copy-and-paste code, with no ads or tracking. Here is how to embed it.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, updated October 8, 2026; World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform, September 22, 2026 release. Figures are educational estimates, not financial advice.