Real Gross Domestic Product (real GDP) is a
macroeconomic measure of the value of economic
output adjusted for price changes (i.e.,
inflation or
deflation). This adjustment transforms the money-value measure,
nominal GDP, into an
index for quantity of total output. Although GDP is total output, it is primarily useful because it closely approximates the total spending: the sum of consumer spending, investment made by industry, excess of exports over imports, and government spending. Due to inflation, GDP increases and does not actually reflect the true growth in an economy. That is why the inflation rate must be subtracted from the GDP to get the real growth percentage, called the real GDP.