BRUSSELS -- The 2011 gross domestic product (GDP) of the European Union, the United States and China together accounted for half of the world GDP, data released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, showed on Wednesday.

In 2011, the GDP of the 28-nations EU represented 18.6 percent of the world's GDP, expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS). It was followed by the United States with a share of 17.1 percent and China with 14.9 percent.

Eurostat said these data were published Wednesday by the Global Office of the International Comparison Program (ICP), hosted by the World Bank, and Eurostat is a partner in the ICP.

GDP is the broadest measure of a country's economic output.

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