gdp is really bad, countries don't even use the same counting methods.
I think in the Netherlands they started using criminal activity to pad up gdp growth. Also money printing and inflation is a good way to up gdp.
I like energy production and consumption a lot more, modern economies pretty much come down to using energy to either transfer or modify goods, services or data.
Except for when it doesn't. E.g. lightbulbs are now 20x more efficient than in my childhoos. But I certainly don't use >20x more light(bulbs). In fact, I'm quite sure it's 1x.
This is actually my preferred measure too. I was happy to use GDP PPP figures because they tell a similar story to the energy statistics on ourworldindata.org. Asia miles ahead, China the most dominant, then the US and then EU. India looking to overtake the EU fairly rapidly if they follow China's footsteps.
Of course the per-capita numbers favour the US still. But by absolute figures, the crown goes to Asia. And per capita the Europeans can realistically be said to be behind China for policy making purposes, the trends are clear.
I like energy production and consumption a lot more, modern economies pretty much come down to using energy to either transfer or modify goods, services or data.