GDP tells us how much a country produced in a given year. The growth rate of GDP tells us how rapidly the country’s production is rising or falling over time. To compute the growth rate of GDP from 2012 to 2013, for example, you need only two numbers: GDP at the end of 2012 and at the end of 2013. Compute the percentage change as

Using actual figures (in billions), we determine:

Thus, the growth rate for U.S. GDP for 2013 was 3.4%.