In 1850 India produced about one seventh of everything made in the world. A century later it produced one twenty fourth. The share bottomed out around 1980. It has more than doubled since.
The numbers come from the Maddison Project, the standard long run record of world output. All values are in 2011 international dollars, which adjust for price differences between countries.
Share of world GDP, 1850 to 2022
Per cent of world output, in 2011 international dollars
Values before 1950 are spaced decades apart. Pre-1947 figures are historical estimates and carry wide margins.
Source: Maddison Project Database 2023, via Our World in Data
The long fall
India's share fell from 14.4% in 1850 to 4.2% in 1950. Two things drove it.
- The rest of the world industrialised. Britain, Europe and then the United States grew fast for a hundred years.
- India did not grow at all. Income per person in 1947 was about the same as in 1850. Our companion story shows that flat line.
The fall did not stop at independence. India grew after 1950, but the world grew faster. India's share kept slipping until it reached 3.2% in 1980.
The climb back
The turn came in the 1980s and sped up after the 1991 reforms. India's share rose to 4.7% in 2000, 6.0% in 2010 and 8.1% in 2022.
China's path is sharper. It fell further, to about 5% in the 1950s, then rose faster. By 2022 China produced 20.7% of world output, more than the United States at 15.0%.
14.4%
India's share of world GDP in 1850
3.2%
The low point, in 1980
8.1%
India's share in 2022
What the chart does not say
Share of world output is not the same as living standards. India has about 18% of the world's people and 8% of its output. Average income is still well below the world average. The gap is closing, but it is large.
The measure also uses purchasing power. At market exchange rates India's share is smaller, because prices in India are lower than in rich countries.