What is the richest country in the world 2009?

The United States has been the richest country in the world since about 1900. It is expected to remain the richest country until about 2050, when China is expected to surpass. However, this is only if things keep going the way they are, which is not likely. See, before this economic slump, the US was experiencing massive growth spurts in its economy for a long period of time. In fact, the economy is still growing despite this slump. However, the economy couldn't handle this and the bubble popped, sending the economy downhill. We are seeing a similar characteristic in China's economy. China has been experiencing massive growth spurts in its economy for about a decade. However, the Chinese economy cannot contain all this growth. Also, the growth in China has been coming to a halt. GDP growth rates are slowing, stocks are dropping, etc. What we are experiencing is a minor shift in economic slump from the Western World to the Eastern World. The growth first remained with the Western World up until about the last decade, then the power switched to the Eastern World. However, the shift is somewhat beginning again as although there is still slumps in the West, there are beginning to be some slumps (although not nearly as close as to the West experienced) in the East. We will just have to wait and see what happens next.