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Groningen Growth and Development Centre
Faculty of Economics and Business
Groningen Growth and Development Centre Historical Development Historical National Accounts

Historical National Accounts

Historical National Accounts
ESF
nwo

The datahub on Comparative Historical National Accounts provides information on Gross Domestic Product, including an industry breakdown, for the 19th and 20th centuries. This dataset is a complement to Angus Maddison’s estimates of World GDP. It gives the user GDP estimates at current as well as constant prices, and presents more detailed estimates at an industry level. These data will enable researchers to analyse the process of economic growth and structural change in more detail. The construction of the database was supported by grants from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), grant no: 380-53-002, and the European Science Foundation (ESF). The database is coordinated by Jutta Bolt.

Attribution requirement - When using these data (for whatever purpose), please make the following reference:

Downloadable Data Western Europe

Country Period Latest Update
Belgium 1835-1990 January 2009
Finland 1860-2005 January 2009
France 1815-1938 January 2009
Germany 1850-1959 January 2009
Italy 1861-1913 January 2009
Netherlands 1807-1939 January 2009
Spain 1850-1958 January 2009
Sweden 1800-1997 January 2009
United Kingdom 1855-1965 January 2009

Downloadable Data Eastern Europe

Country Period Latest Update
Bulgaria 1939-1991 January 2009
Czechoslovakia 1937-1991 January 2009
Hungary 1938-1991 January 2009
Poland 1937-1991 January 2009
Romania 1938-1991 January 2009
Yugoslavia 1975-1991 January 2009

Downloadable Data North America

Country Period Latest Update
United States 1869-1957 February 2009

Downloadable Data Asia

Country Period Latest Update
China 1933 March 2009
India, undivided (before 1900) 1873-1900 March 2009
India, undivided (after 1900) 1900-1947 March 2009
Japan 1885-1940 January 2009
Korea 1911-1940 January 2009
Taiwan 1902-1938 January 2009

Downloadable Data Latin America

Country Period Latest Update
Latin America 1900-1976 July 2010

Downloadable Data World Agriculture

Country Period Latest Update
World Agricultural Production
World Agricultural Production data file 1800-1938 March 2010

All Countries

The long term constant output estimates for Agriculture, Mining, Manufacturing and Industries for all countries have been compiled into the "overview" file below. The series, as listed in the Historical National Accounts datahub, have been extended to include the year 2005, using data from the GGDC 10-sector database.

Country Overview Period Latest Update
All Countries ca. 1870-2005 March 2009

Sources and Methods

J.P. Smits, P.J. Woltjer and D. Ma (2009), "A Dataset on Comparative Historical National Accounts, ca. 1870-1950: A Time-Series Perspective", Groningen Growth and Development Centre Research Memorandum GD-107, Groningen: University of Groningen.

Extending the Database

This version of the datahub presents the first generation of disaggregated Historical National Accounts for a number of European and East Asian countries as well as the United States. It is our aim to expand on this selection of countries as well as supplement the currently available data with new or revised figures. We will try and incorporate any additions, revisions or suggestions made by our users - based on either already published country studies or as yet unpublished research - and we will provide regular updates accordingly. If you would like to make any additions to the Historical National Accounts datahub please contact us at the following address: ggdc rug.nl.

Last modified:13 December 2021 08.58 a.m.