The graph depicts the proportion of goods and services produced in Asia, Europe, and the rest of the world over a 160-year period, from 1840 to 2000.
Overall, it is evident that Asia, in 1840, and Europe, in 1920, accounted for roughly 50% of the world output, making them the leading producers worldwide in the respective years. The rest of the world, despite its modest initial figure at 10%, witnessed a triple increase at the end of the period.
Starting off at 50%, Asia proudly introduced itself as one of the largest producers in 1840, followed by Europe with roughly 40% of goods worldwide being manufactured within the same year. Meanwhile, the other regions contributed merely 10% to the total output. Throughout the next 80 years, there was a considerable drop in the percentage of products made in Asia, its figure was in fact the lowest in the world, at 20%. The figure for Europe, surprisingly, significantly climbed to 50%, making the continent the top producer at the contemporary time. Following Europe was the production output of the rest of the world, reaching 30%, which nearly tripled itself 80 years ago.
Within the next 80 years of the period, Asia saw a continual surge to around 45% in 2000, ranking first in the global production output, and 5% away from recovering to the original figure in 1840. In the meantime, the percentage of Europe’s products continued to decrease to 28%, whereas the products made in the remaining regions of the globe reached its peak at nearly 37%, and afterwards recorded a slight drop to approximately 32%.