GDP vs GNP

Last Updated :

-

Blog Author :

Edited by :

Reviewed by :

Table Of Contents

arrow

Differences Between GDP and GNP

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP) are considered to measure a country’s annual output, where Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure of national production during the whole year. In contrast, Gross National Product (GNP) measures the annual output or manufacturing by a country’s citizens in their home country or abroad. Hence, the country’s border is not considered in the GNP calculation.

Gross Domestic Product considers the market value of all final goods and services produced by factors of production such as capital and labor located within a country or economy during the given period, generally yearly or quarterly. However, the Gross National Product considers the market value of all final goods and services produced by factors of production such as capital and labor supplied by citizens of a country, regardless of whether this similar production takes place internally within the province or outside of the country.

What is GDP?

The total market value of the goods and services produced in a country within a certain time is known as a Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is the most widely used measure of the size of a nation's economy. However, it includes only newly-produced goods and services purchases and does not include the sale or resale of goods produced in previous periods. In addition, the transfer of payments made by the government, such as unemployment, retirement, and welfare benefits, are not economic output and are not included in the calculation of GDP.

  • The values used in calculating GDP are the market values of final goods and services—that is, the value of the vehicle engine that Toyota makes is not explicitly included in GDP; their value is included in the final prices of vehicles that use the machines. Similarly, the value of a Rembrandt painting that sells for 15 million Euros is not included in the computation of GDP, as it was not produced.
  • The goods and services provided by the government are covered in GDP even though they are not explicitly priced in markets. For instance, the services provided by police or the judiciary, and goods such as highways, dams, and infrastructure improvements, are included because these goods and services are not sold at market prices. GNP vs. GDP is valued at its cost to the government.
  • The Gross Domestic Product stands for the monetary measure of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific period. Though GDP is usually calculated annually, it can be calculated every quarter.

The following formula can calculate GDP:

GDP = C + I + G + (X – M)

Where,

  • C= Total Private Consumption
  • I= Total Investment Amount
  • G= Government Spending
  • X - M= Difference between the export and import of a country 
GDP vs GNP

What is GNP?

Gross National Product (GNP) estimates the total measure of all final products and services produced in a given period utilizing production owned by the country's residents. GNP is usually calculated by taking the sum of individual consumption expenditures, private domestic investment, government expenditure, net exports, and any income earned by residents from overseas investments, minus income earned within the domestic economy by foreign residents. Net exports represent the difference between what a country exports minus any imports of goods and services.

GNP= GDP + NR – NP

Where,

  • NR= Net Income Receipts
  • NP= Net outflow to foreign assets

GDP vs. GNP Explained in Video

GDP vs GNP Infographics

GDP-vs-GNP-info

Example

Depending on certainty, a country's GDP can be higher or lower than its GNP. It depends on a given country's domestic to foreign production ratio.

For example, according to public data available on various platforms, China's GDP is $300 billion greater than its GNP due to many foreign companies producing in the country. In contrast, the GNP of the U.S. is $250 billion greater than its GDP because of the greater amounts of production that take place outside of the country's borders.

Key Differences

  • The aggregate of all the goods and the services generated within the country's geographical limits is GDP. And the aggregate of all the goods and services rendered by the country's citizens is known as GNP.
  • Gross Domestic Product considers the production of products within the country's boundaries. On the other hand, Gross National Product measures the production of products by the companies, industries, and other firms of the country's residents.
  • The fundamentals for calculating the Gross Domestic Product are location, while Gross National Product is based on citizenship.
    In the case of Gross Domestic Product, productivity is calculated on a country's scale. So, while we talk about a Gross National Product, its calculation is the productivity on an international level.
  • Gross Domestic Product focuses on calculating domestic production, but Gross National Product only considers individuals, firms, and corporations.
  • Gross Domestic Product measures the strength of a country's domestic economy. On the other hand, the Gross National Product measures how the residents contribute to the country's economy.

GDP vs GNP Comparative Table

Basis for ComparisonGDPGNP
DefinitionGross Domestic Product considers the market value of all final goods and services produced by factors of production such as capital and labor located within a country or economy during the given time, generally yearly or quarterly.Gross National Product considers the market value of all final goods and services produced by factors of production such as capital and labor supplied by citizens of a country, regardless of whether this similar production takes place internally within the province or outside of the country.
MeasurementMeasures only domestic production.Measures production by the nationals.
IncludesThe production of goods and services by foreigners within that country.The production of goods and services by its citizens outside of the country.
ExcludesThe production of goods and services by its citizens out of the country.The production of goods and services by foreigners within that country.
Widely usedTo study the outlines of the domestic economy.To learn how the residents are contributing to the economy.

Conclusion

The key to distinguishing between these two is that while calculating GDP, we have to consider all the things produced within the country's borders. Therefore, it also includes the goods and services produced by foreign nationals. On the other hand, while we talk about the GNP, we only consider the production done by the country's residents, whether within or outside the country, and the output of foreign citizens is not included.