GDP per capita in Europe as a share of global GDP per capita 1900-1950
At the turn of the twentieth century, GDP per capita in Europe was approximately 59 percent higher than the global GDP per capita. This figure dropped over the first half of the century, to 152 percent in 1950. The period between the beginning of the First World War and the end of the Second World War (1914-1945) marked the period in European history with the lowest economic growth in modern history; this was followed by the period with the fastest economic growth from 1946-1973.