The line chart illustrates the share of total world production for Asian, Europe and the rest of the world from 1840 to 2000. Overall, the proportion of Asian and that of Europe witnessed downward trend despite fluctuation, while the reverse was true for the share of the rest of the world.
In 1840, the share of Asia stood at around 53%, significantly higher than that of Europe and five time as much as that of the rest of the world. After this point, it dropped rapidly, reaching its lowest level at around 23% in 1960. Then the figure for Asia had increased to almost double in the end of period, reaching nearly 40%, becoming the biggest share in 2000
The percentage of Europe started at approximately 38%, then it had risen to a peak of around 48% in 1880. Over the next 120 years, there was a gradual decrease in the share of Europe, dropping to around 25% in 2000.
Importantly, although the share of rest of world was accounted for the least share of total world production in the initial years od this period, a massive growth in the share had been observed in the later years. After increasing from just under 10% in 1840 to a peak of 40% in 1960, it declined steadily before reaching only about 35%.