500 Years of the Richest Countries — Epic GDP PPP per Capita Race

Experience 500 years of global economic history in one epic animated bar chart race.
This video shows how the richest countries in the world changed from 1525 to 2025, using GDP PPP per capita to compare real living standards across time.

Watch nations rise and fall — from Venice, the Dutch Republic, and England…
to the United States, Switzerland, Kuwait, Singapore, and more.
See how wars, revolutions, discoveries, empires, and industries shaped the wealth of nations.

GDP PPP per capita reveals:
✔ how wealthy the average person could be
✔ how quality of life evolved
✔ which economies advanced fastest
✔ how global power shifted over centuries

This is economic history told through motion — a story of prosperity, decline, recovery, and transformation.

🌍 What you’ll see in this video

The Republic of Venice dominating early global wealth

The Dutch Golden Age and the birth of modern capitalism

England’s rise after the civil war and the Industrial Revolution foundations

The United States becoming the world’s top economy

Switzerland’s financial and industrial boom

The Middle Eastern oil giants entering the rankings

Modern microstates like Monaco, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg rising to the top

The dramatic movements leading to today’s richest nations

📊 Data metric used:

GDP (PPP) per capita – adjusted for purchasing power, allowing fair comparison across countries and centuries (MPD (Bolt & van Zanden 2024) — Long-run GDP (PPP) per capita estimates (1 CE-2022), World Bank — GDP per capita (PPP) current international dollars, used for recent years’ comparison.


⏳ Video Format

Animated bar chart race showing year-by-year changes from 1525 to 2025.

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Music:
Scott Buckley - Legacy
Scott Buckley - Ignis
Savfk - The Power
Scott Buckley - Rites of Passage