Indiana's economy has grown in size and diversity over the past eleven years. Indiana's economy ranks as the 16th largest in the country in terms of the value of goods and services produced with an estimated 2001 Gross State Product of approximately $190 billion. Over the last year, Indiana's contribution to the national Gross Domestic Product increased by $141 million, however its share of total output has fallen by .05 percent. Nationally, the state ranks in the top five for producing items as diverse as pharmaceuticals, surgical supplies, aircraft engines and parts, compact discs, musical instruments, truck and bus bodies, electronic resistors and steel.
Indiana has lost 42,300 jobs in the last year, reflecting a 1.47 percent decline in employment, versus a .86 percent decline for the United States. However, Indiana's unemployment rate has remained below the U.S. average, ending the year at 5.1 percent versus 5.8 percent for the United States. Over the past twelve years, Indiana's unemployment rate has remained well below the national average, ranging from 68.9 percent to 94.6 percent.
Indiana benefits from proximity to major markets and population centers, both national and international. Businesses can access markets and population centers in the north through Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway and to the south through the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. With 11,300 miles of state highways and 1,171 miles of interstate highways, Indiana has more highways passing through it than any other state. Indiana is within a day's drive of two-thirds of the population of the United States.