8. The growth rates of West Germany and particularly Japan have been the most impressive among Western nations in recent decades. In 1 9 50, the per capita GNP of Japan was one-sixth that of the United States. By 1977, it was more than two-thirds that of the United States. If current growth rates are sustained, the per capita GNP of both Japan and West Germany will surpass that of the United States by the mid-1 980s.