GNP stands for gross national product, a measure of a country’s output and input. Another common measure is GDP, or gross domestic product. Since both count the total goods and services produced by a country, and thus form the basis for economic and governmental policy decisions, understanding the difference between them is essential. While both signify the strength of the economy, their calculation differs. GDP is domestic-oriented, while GNP is national-oriented. An easy way of conceiving the difference is to know that, by definition at least, GNP equals GDP plus total gains from overseas investment less income earned by foreign nationals domestically. In other words, GDP measures production only within national borders by citizens of that country. GNP measures the total value of goods and services produced by all nationals of a country, even if they reside abroad. In other words, GDP measures production only within national borders by citizens of that country. GNP measures the total value of goods and services produced by all nationals of a country, even if they reside abroad. By calculating gross national product figures on a per capita basis, a picture of the economic development of a country begins to appear, as well as a picture of the power of nationals to add value to resources. To compare a country’s export business to its local economy, compare GNP to GDP. An assumption of both is that an increase in a country’s exports will increase GDP and GNP, but an increase in exports might increase GDP without increasing GNP (if, for example, the exporting company is not owned by a national of that country). There are several approaches to calculating GNP. Most of them sum items such as consumption, investment, government expenditure, and the non-incidental net foreign factor income earned. Fortunately for our purposes here, these different approaches do not contradict one another. While some economists argue that GDP alone is a sufficient measure of the economic health of a nation, an increasingly large majority point out that GDP alone cannot provide a complete picture of the productivity of a country, especially if a country is considered as a population of citizens grouped as a nationality. Gross national product provides a more comprehensive picture of the health of an economy by factoring in the productive capabilities of all the nationals of a given country, despite their residence or place of business. GNP 代表「國民生產毛額」，是衡量一國產出和投入的指標。另一種常見的指標是GDP，也就是「國內生產毛額」。由於兩者都是計算一個國家生產的商品和服務總數，以用來做為經濟及政府決策的參考基準，因此了解它們之間的差異相當重要。 雖然兩者皆象徵經濟實力，其計算方式卻不同。國內生產毛額是以國內為主，而國民生產毛額是以國民為主。要了解其中差異的一個簡單方法，即是記得至少在定義上，國民生產毛額等於國內生產毛額加上海外投資收益，減掉國內之外籍人士賺取的收入。 換句話說，國內生產毛額只計算在國內該國公民生產的價值。國民生產毛額衡量一個國家所有國民生產的商品和服務總值，即使他們居住在國外也須納入計算。 以國民生產毛額數字計算每人平均收入，即可描繪出一國所開始展現的經濟發展和其國民對資源增值的能力。 要比較一個國家的出口業務和國內經濟，就要比較國民生產毛額和國內生產毛額。對於兩者的假設是，當一國出口增加，國內生產毛額和國民生產毛額也會隨之增加，但出口增加也可能單只增加國內生產毛額，而國民生產毛額並未增加（例如，也許出口公司不屬於該國國民所擁有）。 有數種方法可計算國民生產毛額。大多數是加總如消費、投資、政府支出，和非偶發國外淨因素賺取的收入等項目。而很幸運地，這些不同的方式對於我們在此的論點並未相互矛盾。 雖然部份經濟學家認為，GDP即足以成為國家經濟健康的指標，但越來越多人指出，光是GDP並不能描繪出國家生產力的完整輪廓，特別是如果將一個國家視為同個國籍的公民群體。 國民生產毛額為一個經濟體的健康提供更全面的概況，反映某個國家所有國民的生產能力，而不管他們住所或企業的所在點或所在位置。 | 
