GDP full form: Gross Domestic Product

How to say it: letter by letter.

GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product. It is the total money value of all the final goods and services produced inside a country in a given period, usually a year or a quarter. It is the most widely used measure of the size of an economy.

Taking the name apart

• Gross: counted before taking away the wear and tear of machines and buildings.
• Domestic: produced within the borders of the country, whoever owns the business.
• Product: goods and services produced.

"Final" goods

Only final goods are counted, so that nothing is counted twice. The value of wheat sold to a mill, flour sold to a bakery and bread sold to a family is counted once, in the price of the bread.

Terms that go with GDP

• Nominal GDP: measured at current prices.
• Real GDP: adjusted for the change in prices, so that it shows the change in actual output.
• GDP growth rate: the percentage change in real GDP from one period to the next.
• Per capita GDP: GDP divided by the population.
• GNP: Gross National Product, which counts what a country's residents produce, at home or abroad.
• GVA: Gross Value Added.

What GDP does not tell you

GDP measures production, not well-being. It says nothing about how income is shared, about unpaid work at home, or about the state of the environment. A country can have a large GDP and a low income per person because its population is large.

Who measures it in India

India's GDP figures are prepared and released by the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. For any current figure, go to its releases; numbers quoted in older articles are soon out of date.

More banking full forms

• MSME Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
• HUF Hindu Undivided Family
• CASA Current Account Savings Account
• NRI Non-Resident Indian
• MRP Maximum Retail Price
• COD Cash on Delivery
• FDI Foreign Direct Investment
• AEPS Aadhaar Enabled Payment System

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Check what matters. These pages explain names and terms in general. Rules, dates, fees and limits change: take them from the official body. Read on 12 November 2026.