I only recently realised that the very different economic trends I've seen in various graphs is because they're actually showing different variables. e.g.
GDP (current US$) shows the US with a huge lead, the EU sporadically alternating between super fast growth and huge recessions, and China rapidly catching up until sudden recent stagnation.
GDP (constant 2015 US$) shows the US gradually pulling away from a much smoother growing EU, and China still rapidly catching up today.
GDP, PPP (constant 2021 international $) shows China actually overtaking the US and EU in the 2010s, with the EU slightly above the US until recently, and India being a significant part of the way to catching up too.
But which of the common metrics is actually the best for conveying the real-world power of the nations?
1,000Voted "Other" for the World Bank published Human Capital Index (HCI).
It's somewhat similar to the Human Development Index (HDI) published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
In essence, there's no point producing lots of widgets if you're going to die early and illiterate.
Bonus link to 2050 HDI projections https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/research-insights/economy/the-world-in-2050.html