Economic Optimism - Big Picture

Just like in our personal lives it is important to keep perspective during the difficult patches. Regarding the economy it's important to look at the long term trends to see both the present economic reality and to see the future possibilities for world economic growth.

Below are just some examples of the significant growth of different countries economies over time. So while any snapshot in time may be less optimistic the overall trend remains positive and supports a point of view of optimism for the growth of wealth in the world.

Russia
Russia's economy grew nearly five-fold, from about 7 trillion rubles in 2000 to almost 33 trillion rubles in the last eight years. The country is basking in a boom fuelled by high oil and natural gas prices

Ireland
When Ireland first joined the EU in 1973, per capita GDP stood at just 63% of the EU average. By 2002, the nation had made such huge strides that it actually ranked among the richest countries in the EU, sporting a GDP of about 120% of the EU average.

United States
In the 20th century, the real standard of living in the United States went up seven for one.

Eastern Europe
On May 1, 2004 European re-unification became a reality when 10 countries in all, 8 from central and eastern Europe, joined the European Union (EU). Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Hungary and Lithuania all formally joined the EU on that date. On top of this, two additional members, Romania and Bulgaria, are scheduled to join the Union in May, 2007.
On average, the new Member States posted GDP growth of +3.7% in 2003, a whopping ten times the pace logged for the rest of the EU. In some smaller countries that have seen particularly high foreign investment, the growth rate is even higher.

India
It is one of the fastest growing economy in the world. Indian Economy experienced a GDP growth of 9.0 percent during 2005-06 to 9.4 percent during 2006-07. By 2025 the India's economy is projected to be about 60 per cent the size of the US economy. The transformation into a tri-polar economy will be complete by 2035, with the Indian economy only a little smaller than the US economy but larger than that of Western Europe. By 2035, India is likely to be a larger growth driver than the six largest countries in the EU, though its impact will be a little over half that of the US.
India, which is now the fourth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, will overtake Japan and become third major economic power within 10 years.