Methodology
How we calculate the Real GDP score and where the data comes from.
Formula
Real GDP = (Physical + Human + Natural + Institutions + Technology) / 5
Each dimension is normalized 0-100. Equal weights.
The 5 Dimensions
Physical Capital
Infrastructure, machinery, buildings, transport networks, energy grids, telecoms. Everything humans have built that enables production.
Human Capital
Education, health, skills, experience. The productive capacity of people. The single largest component of national wealth in advanced economies (~70%).
Natural Capital
Arable land, forests, mineral reserves, water, biodiversity, ecosystem services. Both renewable and non-renewable. The asset most distorted by GDP accounting.
Institutional Capital
Rule of law, government effectiveness, corruption control, regulatory quality, political stability, accountability. The rules of the game and how well they're enforced.
Technology & Innovation
R&D expenditure, patents, scientific output, total factor productivity. The "Solow residual" — the growth that can't be explained by more labor or more capital.
Limitations
This is an approximation, not gospel. Honest caveats:
Equal weights are a choice. Weighting all 5 dimensions equally is simple and transparent, but it's a political decision. You might argue institutions matter more than natural capital, or vice versa.
Each score compresses complexity. "Institutions: 58" for Italy hides enormous variation between Northern and Southern regions, between different aspects of governance.
Data availability varies. Some countries have better statistical infrastructure than others. Low-income countries may have less reliable data.
We publish the data. Download the JSON, change the weights, build your own ranking. That's the point.