May 5 (UPI) — California, known for its Hollywood-based entertainment industry and Silicone Valley’s tech sector, is now the fifth largest economy in the world, according to new federal figures.
The U.S. Department of Commerce released the new data Friday, which show California’s gross domestic product, or GDP, grew by 3.4 percent to $2.7 trillion last year.
California’s GDP has now passed Great Britain’s GDP, which was a $2.6 trillion in 2017, International Monetary Fund data shows.
Only the United States, China, Japan and Germany have GDPs larger than that of California, IMF and U.S. Department of Commerce data show.
The U.S. GDP is the highest at $19.3 trillion, followed by China at $12 trillion, Japan at $4.8 trillion and Germany at $3.6 trillion.
The state’s economic growth is anchored around its big coastal cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose and San Diego, Fortune Magazine reported. The state was also ranked the No. 5 economy in the world in 2002, but it fell to 10th in 2012 after the recession.
Texas and New York also ranked among the top 15 biggest economies in the world.
