Average annual real GDP growth of OECD countries 1960s-1970s
The decades that followed the Second World War were among the most prosperous in modern history, and are referred to as the Golden Age of Capitalism in many countries. This period came to an end, however, with the 1973-1975 recession. Across the OECD member states, there was a significant drop in real GDP growth over the two decades, falling from an average of five percent annual growth in the 1960s to just 3.5 percent annually in most of the 1970s. Of all OECD countries shown here, Japan experienced the highest rate of real GDP growth in both decades, although it dropped from 11 to six percent between these years (Japan's real GDP growth was still higher in the 1970s than the other members' rates in the 1960s). Switzerland saw the largest relative decline over the two periods, with growth in the 1970s below one third of its growth rate in the 1960s.