Gross Domestic Product

Those who know say the key to an improving economy is GDP growth. GDP growth can be attributed to three factors: a country’s openness to trade, consumer consumption that exceeds 60% of GDP and low and stable inflation.

“GDP is commonly used as an indicator of the economic health of a country, as well as to gauge a country's standard of living. Critics of using GDP as an economic measure say the statistic does not take into account the underground economy—transactions that are not reported to the government.” Some say GDP is not intended to gauge material well-being but rather serves as a measure of a nation's productivity, which is unrelated to well-being. 

GDP can be compared to GNP (Gross National Product) and GNI (Gross National Income). GDP measures production within a country’s borders; GNP measures production owned by the citizens of a country, and GNI equals GDP plus income received from the rest of the world minus payments to the rest of the world. United States switched to GDP measures from GNP in 1991.