The G7 controlled global markets for centuries—dominating through the 1800s and much of the 20th century. But something shifted around 1990. That's when the reversal kicked in.

What happened? Two things collided at once. First, factories shut down across G7 nations. Manufacturing bases that built these economies got hollowed out. Second, their overall share of global economic output started sliding—hard.

This wasn't random. As Western economies deindustrialized, emerging markets captured production and growth. The dominance simply redistributed. Seven charts tell the story of how this two-pronged shift reshaped the world economy in real time.