California’s economy has
surpassed that of the United Kingdom to become the world’s fifth
largest, according to new federal data made public Friday.
California’s gross domestic product rose by $127 billion from 2016 to 2017, surpassing $2.7 trillion.
Meanwhile,
the U.K.’s economic output slightly shrank over that time when measured
in U.S. dollars, due in part to exchange rate fluctuations.
The
data demonstrate the sheer immensity of California’s economy, home to
nearly 40 million people, a thriving technology sector in Silicon
Valley, the world’s entertainment capital in Hollywood and the nation’s
salad bowl in the Central Valley agricultural heartland. It also
reflects a substantial turnaround since the Great Recession.
All
economic sectors except agriculture contributed to California’s higher
GDP, said Irena Asmundson, chief economist at the California Department
of Finance. Financial services and real estate led the pack at $26
billion in growth, followed by the information sector, which includes
many technology companies, at $20 billion. Manufacturing was up $10
billion.
California last had the world’s fifth largest
economy in 2002 but fell as low as 10th in 2012 following the Great
Recession. Since then, the most populous U.S. state has added 2 million
jobs and grown its GDP by $700 billion.
California’s economic output is now surpassed only by the total GDP of the United States, China, Japan and Germany.
From LA Times