The gross domestic product (GDP) of a country can be defined as the value of the total final output of all goods and services produced in a single year within a country's boundaries. The growth is expressed as a percent.
Several developing economies of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) dominate the list of the top-20 countries in terms of highest average GDP between 2002-2012. While some countries on the list weathered the financial crisis well – bouncing back from the dark days of 2008-2009 – others, particularly in the CIS – are still in troubled waters. How these economies will fare throughout the second decade of the millennium is uncertain. Qatar, which had strong double-digit growth in the early 2000's, is slowing at a projected growth of 6% for 2012. Likewise, Azerbaijan, which had the second-highest GDP growth of the past decade, slowed in recent years and is projected to have 7.1% growth in 2012. Sierra Leone, third on the list, is benefiting from political stability after the devastating civil war that plagued the country between 1991 and 2002. The country's forecasted GDP for 2012 is an astonishing 51.4%. China and India, still viewed a economic powerhouses of the future by most economists, maintained strong GDP figures over the 2002-2012 period. Their growth (in China's case by becoming a center for low-wage manufacturing and exporting, in India's case by emphasizing services) has set the stage for a change in the world's economic balance of power. Which emerging markets countries will dominate growth in the future is a subject of much debate. Click on the column heading to sort the table. | 
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