The bar chart chart below compares the percentage of production in Asia, European countries and the rest of the world between 1840 and 2000. It is clear that, Asia dominated twice in this period. Although, Europe dominated three times. The figures for the rest of the world were sometimes lower than Asian and European countries.
In 1840, the figure for Asia was the highest with nearly 50% of global production. It was about 10% more than Europe and five times more than other countries. By 1880, European countries had the highest share in production with almost 40% of global production. After forty years, in 1920, Europe was still in the first place in the worldwide production with nearly 45%.
After four decades, European countries was the leading producer in the world production with approximately 50%. Not similarly, in this year the figure for other countries was higher than Asian countries. By contrast, in the beginning of twenty first century (2000), Asia accounted for about 40% of global market. The percentage of production in the rest of the world was higher than Europe for nearly 5%.