>$60,000 $50,000–$60,000 $40,000–$50,000 $30,000–$40,000 | $20,000–$30,000 $10,000–$20,000 $5,000–$10,000 $2,500–$5,000 | $1,000–$2,500 $500–$1,000 <$500 No data |
The figures presented here do not take into account differences in the cost of living in different countries, and the results vary greatly from one year to another based on fluctuations in the exchange rates of the country's currency. Such fluctuations change a country's ranking from one year to the next, even though they often make little or no difference to the standard of living of its population.
Contents
GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living; [1] [2] however, this is inaccurate because GDP per capita is not a measure of personal income.
Comparisons of national income are also frequently made on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP), to adjust for differences in the cost of living in different countries (see List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita). PPP largely removes the exchange rate problem but not others; it does not reflect the value of economic output in international trade, and it also requires more estimation than GDP per capita. On the whole, PPP per capita figures are more narrowly spread than nominal GDP per capita figures.
Non-sovereign entities (the world, continents, and some dependent territories) and states with limited international recognition are included in the list in cases in which they appear in the sources. These economies are not ranked in the charts here (except Kosovo and Taiwan), but are listed in sequence by GDP for comparison. In addition, non-sovereign entities are marked in italics.
Four UN members (Cuba, Liechtenstein, Monaco and North Korea) do not belong to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), hence their economies are not ranked below. Kosovo, despite not being a member of the United Nations, is a member of IMF. Taiwan is not a IMF member but it is still listed in the official IMF indices.
Several leading GDP-per-capita (nominal) jurisdictions may be considered tax havens, and their GDP data subject to material distortion by tax-planning activities. Examples include Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Ireland and Luxembourg. [3]
All data are in current United States dollars. Historical data can be found here.
