As China has emerged as a world power, it has increasingly been a case of Us (as in U.S.) vs. Them. Not in military combat, fortunately, but in day-to-day trade battle and all-out currency competition.
So which country currently holds the edge?
Master of Finance.org compared the two on many different levels – with some interesting results. Overall, the U.S. retains its top position as THE world superpower. But China is closing in.
Some of the figures used are outdated, but consider just a few of the comparisons given:
GDP. The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) is nearly twice as large as China’s — $15.29 trillion vs. $7.298 trillion, but U.S. GDP is growing at 1.7% annually vs. 9.28%.
Government spending. U.S. government expenditures are a whopping $3.599 trillion for a population of 313 million, while China’s government expenditures are $1.729 trillion for a population of 1.343 billion. The deficit in the U.S. is 8.6% of GDP compared with 1.1% in China.
Poverty and employment. The U.S., with a labor force of 153 million, has an unemployment rate of 9% and a poverty level of 15.1%. China, with a labor force of 795 million, has an unemployment rate of 6.5% and a poverty level of 13.4% (of course, it’s all relative).
Freedom. For economic freedom, the U.S. ranks 4th, while China ranges 118th. However, the U.S. ranks first for incarceration, with 730 of every 100,000 people in jail, while Chine ranks 124th with 121 of every 100,000 people in jail.
The results, which we found on zerohedge.com, are interesting, but we are very happy to be living in the United States instead of China.