Western/Atlantic Civilization GDP Data 1945-present CE ("American Period")

GDP and GDP per capita estimates for Western/Atlantic civilization during "American period" (1945-present CE), showing post-war growth, Cold War economic competition, globalization, and information age transformation.

Western / Atlantic

Data Summary

• GDP (1945 CE): ~$4,302.9 billion (2011 international $)
• GDP per capita (1945 CE): ~$9,462 (2011 international $)
• GDP (2020 CE): ~$37,272.4 billion (2011 international $)
• GDP per capita (2020 CE): ~$45,169 (2011 international $)
• Trend: Rising (1945–2020 compound growth recomputed from the 1945 and 2020 rows: GDP ~2.9% a year, per capita ~2.1% a year)
• Confidence: Strong for the source series; the 20-country membership is a Civitas definition, not a Maddison regional aggregate
• Source: Maddison Project Database 2023 (Bolt & van Zanden 2024), via Our World in Data; 20-country Civitas aggregate (16 Western European countries: AUT, BEL, DNK, FIN, FRA, DEU, ITA, NLD, NOR, SWE, CHE, GBR, IRL, PRT, ESP, GRC; 4 offshoots: USA, CAN, AUS, NZL). Population = GDP ÷ GDP per capita; per capita is population-weighted. World 2020 (OWID_WRL), same units: ~$118,590.0 billion; ~$15,461 per capita.
• Period: 1945-present CE ("American period" - post-war growth, Cold War, globalization, information age); latest Maddison 2023 year is 2022

Polity Context

• Primary Polities:
  • United States of America (1776-present CE) - Global hegemon, largest economy
  • united kingdom (1707-present CE) - Post-imperial power
  • france (1792-present CE) - European power
  • germany (1871-present CE) - European power, reunification
  • italy (1861-present CE) - European power
  • european union (1993-present CE) - Supranational organization
• Note: This data represents civilization-level aggregates across multiple polities; specific polities may vary

Time Series Data

Key Events

• 1945-1991 CE: Cold War → Cold War (1945-1991 CE) - Economic competition, military spending
• 1944 CE: Bretton Woods system → bretton woods 1944ce - Post-war economic order
• 1971 CE: Nixon shocks → nixon shocks 1971ce - End of gold standard, economic transformation
• 1990s CE: Globalization acceleration → Globalization Acceleration (1990s CE) - Economic integration, trade expansion
• 2008 CE: Global Financial Crisis → global financial crisis 2008ce - Economic crisis, global impact
• 2020 CE: COVID-19 pandemic → covid 19 pandemic 2020ce - Economic disruption, recovery

Comparative Context

• Share of the world economy (2020 CE): the twenty countries in this card account for 37,272.4 billion of a world total of 118,590.0 billion (2011 international dollars; Maddison Project Database 2023 via Our World in Data; the world figure is Our World in Data’s own aggregate, not a Civitas sum)
• Earlier comparisons: the older regional, world and Sinitic comparisons are not shown. They mixed data vintages and units and are not supported by the sourced series used on this card.

Pattern Relevance

• GGS Analysis:
  • Guns: Military technology and economic capacity (Cold War, nuclear age)
  • Germs: Medical advances, demographic transition, COVID-19
  • Style: Information age administrative capacity, economic systems, globalization
• "American Period": United States economic dominance, global economic integration
• Great Convergence: Other civilizations (especially Sinitic) catching up economically
• Economic Transformation: Industrial → service → information economy

Links

• Western / Atlantic Civilization - Civilization claim
• Guns–Germs–Style (GGS) Axes and Success/Failure Mechanisms - GGS framework
• Cold War (1945-1991 CE) - Cold War
• Soviet Union Dissolution (1991 CE) - End of Cold War
• Globalization Acceleration (1990s CE) - Globalization
• global financial crisis 2008ce - Financial crisis
• covid 19 pandemic 2020ce - COVID-19 pandemic