Developing countries will overtake developed countries before 2020. China and six developing countries (Russia, India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey) will overtake the developed economies (US, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada) before 2020, according to a study published by PricewaterhouseCoopers at the beginning of January. This study is backed up by statistics from the HSBC bank. The study measured wealth on a par with purchasing power or if monetary exchange rates accurately reflected living conditions. By simply comparing GDP, developing countries will overtake developed countries by 2032, explains PwC. Bank economists are not specifically looking at the crisis but rather, the huge upheaval that is expected to take place by 2050. HSBC experts arrive at the same conclusions, with a few decades difference: in 2050, 19 of the 30 biggest economies in the world will be developing countries. The two studies agree on one point: the US will lose its top place to China. According to HSBC, India is following closely behind. Overall, the wealth produced in the world will be three times greater than what is currently produced. HSBC said that the reasons for these huge changes over the next 40 years are huge demographic evolution, coupled with better education and democratisation in the main developing countries. Thanks to their better demographic prospects, the US and the United Kingdom will be quite successful in maintaining their respective positions. On the other hand, the small richer European countries, with their ageing populations, such as Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden will experience sharp falls in their respective levels, explains HSBC. (I.L./transl.fl)