We explain what GDP per capita is, how it is calculated and what it is used for. In addition, the countries with the highest GDP per capita in the world.
What is GDP per capita?
It is known as Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDP or GDP per capita), or also as Income per capita or Income per capita, at a macroeconomic indicator of productivity and economic development totals for a country or region, measured over a given period of time (generally annually or quarterly) and then put in relation to the number of inhabitants of that country or region.
That is, it is about a relationship between the total productive activity, and the total number of individuals who benefit from it. Production is always expressed in monetary units.
GDP per capita is a very common meter in the economic debate, which is often considered as key information regarding the level of development of countries and, consequently, the standard of living of their inhabitants. This is because, in theory, the higher GDP per capita, the higher the income people will have and, therefore, the greater the economic possibilities.
However, the use of this indicator for the study of social and cultural issues is often considered restrictive or insufficient, since it does not consider any other variable that is not merely economic. Today it is known that a country can generate a lot of wealth, but distribute it very unevenly among its population and carry very low human development indexes (HDI).
To calculate the GDP per capita, the GDP of the country or region studied is divided by its total number of inhabitants, that is:
GDP per cap = GDP / Total number of inhabitants
It should be noted that for this calculation the GDP expressed in nominal terms is usually considered, that is, considering the current prices of the goods and services produced during the period in question.
Countries with the highest GDP per capita in the world
The list of countries with the highest levels of GDP per capita, as measured in 2019 by the International Monetary Fund, are the following:
- 1st – Luxembourg, with 113,196 dollars per capita.
- 2nd – Switzerland, with 83,716 dollars per capita.
- 3rd – Macau (Chinese special administrative region), with $ 81,151 per capita.
- 4th – Norway, with 77,975 dollars per capita.
- 5th – Ireland, with 77,771 dollars per capita.
- 6th – Taste, with 69,687 dollars per capita.
- 7th – Iceland, with 67,037 dollars per capita.
- 8th – USA, with 65,111 dollars per capita.
- 9th – Singapore, with 63,987 dollars per capita.
- 10th – Australia, with $ 53,825 per capita.