Oceans, the 5th largest economy in the world - The oceanic "superpower" has doubled in value in 25 years
If the oceans were a country, they would be the fifth largest economy in the world. From 1995 to 2020, the oceans accounted for 3% to 4% of the planet's global gross value added and up to 133 million full-time jobs.
These calculations were made by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in its latest report on the Global Ocean Economy to 2050. The report also specifies that oceans cover 71% of the Earth's surface and comprise 90% of the biosphere. They provide food security for over 3 billion people, allow the transport of over 80% of the world's goods, and host submarine cables that carry 98% of international internet traffic.
These are the main reasons why if the oceans were a country, they would be the fifth largest economy in the world based on 2019 data. Today, the largest countries by GDP are the United States with $27.72 trillion, China with $17.8 trillion, Germany with $4.52 trillion, Japan with $4.2 trillion, and India with $3.56 trillion in fifth place. The top ten is completed by Britain with $3.38 trillion, France with $3 trillion, Italy with $2.3 trillion, Brazil with $2.17 trillion, and Canada with $2.14 trillion.
The global ocean economy has doubled in real terms in 25 years, from US$1.3 trillion in 1995 to US$2.6 trillion in 2020, recording an average annual growth rate of 2.8% over this period.
As the Organization points out, if these historical trends continue, the global ocean economy could quadruple by 2050, compared to 1995 levels.
Tourism, offshore oil and gas extraction generated about two-thirds of the total gross value added from the oceans. However, the distribution of the workforce varied greatly. Maritime and coastal tourism was the largest employer in the ocean economy, while offshore oil and gas extraction generated high economic output but relatively low employment. Economic output from shipbuilding and offshore wind energy also expanded rapidly.
In particular, coastal marine tourism with a value of $789 billion, and offshore oil and gas extraction with $988 billion, accounted for the largest share of the total gross value, according to the Organization.
Offshore wind energy and marine renewable energy have experienced an average annual growth rate of 31%, with global gross value added increasing from $38 million in 2000 to $4.6 billion in 2020.
Employment levels in the ocean economy have remained relatively stable, peaking at 151 million full-time equivalents in 2006. They then fell to 101 million in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have been recovering since then.
The People's Republic of China, the United States, Japan, Norway and the United Kingdom had the largest ocean economies in absolute terms during this period. However, countries such as Norway are more dependent on the ocean for their economy, the report notes.
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