Looking for old economic data, I found the very interesting Maddison Project Database, it looks back for centuries on any economic data available and has incredibly old GDP per capita information, measured in 2011$. I focused on the last 100 years and got the AI to analyze and give a few insights and fun facts (not always fun). I hope you don’t mind, to build a solid framework around the data would require an extensive analysis of periods, countries etc. What it lacks is the human knowledge that every person from every country has about their history. So it’s yours to comment, or not. The raw data is available at the mentioned project website.
Expanding the Scope: A Country-by-Country Snapshot
1. North America as the Benchmark
- United States:
- Grew from $10,153 in 1920 to $58,487 in 2022—a nearly 5.8-times increase.
- Canada:
- Rose from $6,154 in 1920 to $45,530 in 2022, a more than 7-fold increase.
2. Latin America: Diverse Journeys
- Argentina:
- In 1920, Argentina had the highest GDP per capita in Latin America at $5,536, but by 2022 it reached only $18,292.
- Chile & Uruguay:
- Chile: Jumped from $4,248 in 1920 to $22,741 in 2022.
- Uruguay: Moved from $3,580 in 1920 to $20,182 in 2022.
- Mexico:
- Grew from $2,552 in 1920 to $16,235 in 2022, showing a clear, steady upward trend.
- Panama:
- Rose from $2,445 in 1920 to an impressive $23,557 in 2022—a nearly 10-fold surge.
- Cuba:
- Moved from $2,378 in 1920 to $7,649 in 2022—a growth that, while steady, pales in comparison to some neighbors.
- Nicaragua & Honduras:
- Nicaragua: Grew from $2,007 in 1920 to $5,093 in 2022.
- Honduras: Increased from $1,957 in 1920 to $5,187 in 2022.
- Peru & Bolivia:
- Peru: Advanced from $1,954 in 1920 to $12,763 in 2022—a significant 6.5-fold increase.
- Bolivia: Grew from $1,932 in 1920 to $6,481 in 2022, roughly a 3.4-fold increase.
- Venezuela:
- Experienced a dramatic arc—from $1,903 in 1920 up to a peak of $16,270 in 1980, then collapsing to $5,267 by 2022.
- Colombia, Ecuador & El Salvador:
- Colombia: Climbed from $1,707 in 1920 to $14,469 in 2022.
- Ecuador: Rose from $1,680 in 1920 to $10,124 in 2022.
- El Salvador: Increased from $1,487 in 1920 to $9,219 in 2022.
- Brazil:
- Began at $1,242 in 1920 and reached $14,640 in 2022—an almost 12-fold increase, marking one of the most substantial relative improvements.
Comments
I don’t see GDP as a reliable measure of how well a country is doing economically.
In Canada for example, a lot of our commerce is necessary just to make life not awful and not too deadly (due to our ridiculous climate), and a lot of it is artificially inflated by regulations that stop us from living sensibly and sustainably (illegal to build small houses or own small efficient cars or to raise our own food).
In my mind, a country with a moderate GDP might very well be more healthy. It means its people need less to live and aren’t obligated to buy into (or addicted to) luxury commerce.
As a Venezuelan seeing most of the people that supported Chavez on 98′ support Trump now, doesn’t bode well for the US future.