Global MetroMonitor


This interactive feature provides economic growth data (real GDP per capita and employment change) for the largest 300 metropolitan economies worldwide for three periods: 2011 to 2012, the latest year of a still-volatile period for the global economy; the minimum year of growth between 2007 and 2011; and 1993 to 2007, which provides the long-run trend each metropolitan area followed prior to the recession. It further shows how metropolitan areas performed relative to their countries between 2011 and 2012 and identifies the degree to which metro areas have recovered from the downturn. The interactive also provides a series of basic economic data for each metropolitan area, including industry composition of metro output, population, metro area GDP, and metro area GDP per capita.

Click or hover over a metro area dot to bring up its profile. Quickly pull up data for other metro areas using the search box from within the profile. Zoom in on the map to view detailed outlines of the metro areas (to zoom, click on the (+/-) icon, use the mouse scroll wheel, or just double click the map). Finally, view the distribution of metro area performances by clicking the “plot” button.

Source: Brookings analysis of data from Oxford Economics, Moody’s Analytics, and the U.S. Census Bureau