Economics GDP and Standard of Living CIA World Factbook Stats Project

In this activity, students use the CIA World Factbook, to examine two different countries, the United States and a country of their choice. After teaching about GDP, I have students look at other economic indicators related to standard of living to show that GDP should not be the only measure of how well an economy is functioning. Students use the world factbook site to find the statistics including poverty rate, contraceptive rate, imports and exports, etc. Students also find where the U.S. ranks in each category. At the end students answer ten reflection questions where they compare the economy of the United States to their country of choice to determine standard of living. This document is editable so you can take out any statistics or add any you feel would be relevant for your students.