The world’s total output of goods and services, known as the gross world product (GWP), rose by 5.4 percent in 2008, to $69 trillion. The rate of growth, a deceleration from the heated 7.5 percent annual average of the previous five years, was dampened by the global recession that emerged during the year. The data are calculated based on the purchasing power parity exchange rate, which converts national output to a common currency that reflects equivalent purchasing power across countries.

Read: Growth in World Economic Output Slows 

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