The line chart below shows the GDP per capita of the 10 largest economies. The United States, Japan and China are highlighted in red. The United States GDP per capita is a fairly smooth increasing line. Japan by contrast is much more jagged with strong rise from mid 1980's until the mid 1990's followed by strong drop and volatility. Currently China is the second largest economy in the world and yet still has a long way to go to achieve the same GDP per capita as the United States, Japan or Western European countries.