Throughout much of human history, economic output was firmly yoked to the size of a country’s labor force. Because productivity growth was negligible, the countries with the largest populations, such as China and India, could put the most people to work. They reigned as the world’s largest economies. Things changed suddenly during the late 1700s. A number of economic, institutional, and other factors coalesced in England to unleash the Industrial Revolution, which was transformational — at least in the handful of Western countries that rose to dominance through their economic prowess and resulting military and political power. Everyone else fell behind.

Image: Illustration by Lars Leetaru