China unseats Japan as world’s no. 2 economy

Japan relinquished its 42-year status as the world’s second-largest economy, after the United States, to China in terms of nominal gross domestic product (GDP) on a U.S. dollar basis in 2010. Japan’s nominal GDP–the total value of goods and services without accounting for inflation–last year increased 1.8% from the previous year to 479.22 trillion yen (US$5.47 trillion), while China’s figure was US$5.88 trillion. According to Japan’s Cabinet Office forecast, China’s GDP will surpass that of the United States by 2025, propelling China into the status of the world’s largest economy. (February 15,2011)