Gross domestic product (GDP) is a broad measure of a nation’s productivity. GDP is defined as the monetary value of all finished goods and services a nation produces within its borders in a specific time period.
GDP is used to measure a country’s economic activity and broadly estimate the size of an economy and the growth rate.
GDP combines the private and public consumption of an economy, in addition to government outlays, investments, additions to private inventories, paid in construction costs and the foreign balance of trade (exports minus imports). GDP is used in conjunction with Gross National Product (GNP), which measures the production of a particular economy’s citizens, which includes the production of that economy’s citizens abroad.