Finance

Top 100 Richest Countries In The World


What does it mean for a nation to be rich or poor at a time of global pandemic, high inflation and geopolitical tensions? GDP per capita adjusted for relative purchasing power gives us an idea, albeit an imperfect one.

What does it mean for a nation to be rich or poor at a time of global pandemic, high inflation and geopolitical tensions? GDP per capita adjusted for relative purchasing power gives us an idea, albeit an imperfect one.

Would you rather be rich in a poor country or poor in a rich one? Measuring the wealth of nations is not that easy (spoiler: it is not just about gross domestic product, or GDP). Determining the world’s richest countries how rich you are depends to a large degree on how rich and poor countries are defined.

If we simply consider a nation’s gross domestic product—the sum of all goods and services produced by a country during one year—then we would have to conclude that the richest nations are exactly the ones with the largest GDP: United States, China, Japan, Germany. But how could the economies, for example, of Singapore or Luxembourg ever match that of such powerhouses when they are no more than small dots on the world map?

Another problem with GDP is that it does not measure income inequality, that is, how a country’s riches are distributed among the population. That is why a more accurate representation of people’s living conditions begins with dividing a nation’s GDP by the number of people that live there: per capita GDP and its growth rate tell us much more about the social wealth potentially available to each person and whether this wealth is either increasing or decreasing over time.

However, using per capita GDP still poses a problem: the very same income can buy very little in some countries and go much further in others where basic necessities—food, clothing, shelter, or healthcare—cost far less. To gauge how wealthy a country’s citizens are it is necessary to understand how much they can buy. That is why, when comparing per capita GDP across countries, GDP should be adjusted for purchasing power parity, which helps us take into account the inflation rates and the price of goods and services in each given place.

When considering whether it is better to be rich in a poor country or poor in a rich one, the best chance of enjoying a superior standard of living is to reside in a richer nation no matter where a person falls on the income distribution scale. Then again, wealth for some without a good measure of equality for everyone is problematic, to say the least. The coronavirus pandemic proved it most strikingly. Low-income workers, often migrants, living in some very wealthy nations suddenly found themselves unemployed, homeless and stranded without much of a safety net. Many less affluent nations, in the meantime, bent over backwards to take care of all those in need during the crisis.

Because energy and food are essential goods with few substitutes, higher prices are particularly painful for low-income households. It is easier for families to cut down or eliminate spending on electronics, clothing or entertainment when prices surge, but when it comes to food, heating or transportation—crucial to both live and earn a living—this becomes much more difficult. As a result, an inflationary scenario can often pose a threat to economic and social stability.

This is why, in the long run, it is better not only to be rich but to be egalitarian as well. Too much economic inequality stifles growth for all, political instability is more likely, healthcare care costs and mortality rates are higher, and so are crime and corruption rates. Being rich in a poor country also has costs.

Rank Country/Territory GDP-PPP per capita ($)
1 🇱🇺Luxembourg 143,304
2 🇮🇪Ireland 137,638
3 🇸🇬Singapore 133,108
4 🇶🇦Qatar 114,210
5 🇲🇴Macao SAR 98,157
6 🇨🇭Switzerland 89,537
7 🇦🇪United Arab Emirates 88,962
8 🇸🇲San Marino 84,135
9 🇳🇴Norway 82,655
10 🇺🇸United States 80,412
11 🇩🇰Denmark 74,958
12 🇳🇱Netherlands 73,317
13 🇭🇰Hong Kong SAR 72,861
14 🇧🇳Brunei Darussalam 72,610
15 🇹🇼Taiwan 72,485
16 🇮🇸Iceland 69,833
17 🇦🇹Austria 69,069
18 🇸🇦Saudi Arabia 68,453
19 🇦🇩Andorra 68,232
20 🇸🇪Sweden 66,209
21 🇩🇪Germany 66,038
22 🇧🇪Belgium 65,813
23 🇦🇺Australia 64,674
24 🇲🇹Malta 63,481
25 🇬🇾Guyana 61,099
26 🇧🇭Bahrain 60,715
27 🇫🇮Finland 59,869
28 🇨🇦Canada 59,813
29 🇫🇷France 58,765
30 🇬🇧United Kingdom 56,836
31 🇰🇷South Korea 56,709
32 🇮🇱Israel 54,771
33 🇮🇹Italy 54,259
34 🇨🇾Cyprus 53,931
35 🇳🇿New Zealand 53,809
36 🇯🇵Japan 52,120
37 🇰🇼Kuwait 51,765
38 🇸🇮Slovenia 52,641
39 🇦🇼Aruba 51,352
40 🇪🇸Spain 50,472
41 🇱🇹Lithuania 49,245
42 🇨🇿Czech Republic 49,025
43 🇵🇱Poland 45,538
44 🇪🇪Estonia 45,236
45 🇵🇹Portugal 45,227
46 🇧🇸The Bahamas 44,950
47 🇭🇺Hungary 43,601
48 🇵🇭Croatia 42,873
49 🇵🇦Panama 42,738
50 🇸🇰Slovak Republic 42,228
51 🇹🇷Turkey 41,888
52 🇸🇨Seychelles 41,829
53 🇵🇷Puerto Rico 41,682
54 🇷🇴Romania 41,029
55 🇱🇻Latvia 40,892
56 🇬🇷Greece 39,478
57 🇴🇲Oman 39,336
58 🇲🇻Maldives 37,094
59 🇲🇾Malaysia 37,083
60 🇷🇺Russia 35,310
61 🇧🇬Bulgaria 33,780
62 🇰🇿Kazakhstan 32,712
63 🇹🇹Trinidad and Tobago 30,719
64 🇨🇱Chile 29,935
65 🇰🇳St. Kitts and Nevis 29,893
66 🇲🇺Mauritius 29,349
67 🇺🇾Uruguay 28,984
68 🇲🇪Montenegro 28,002
69 🇦🇷Argentina 26,506
70 🇨🇷Costa Rica 26,809
71 🇩🇴Dominican Republic 25,523
72 🇷🇸Serbia 26,074
73 🇦🇬Antigua and Barbuda 25,449
74 🇲🇽Mexico 24,976
75 🇱🇾Libya 24,382
76 🇧🇾Belarus 24,017
77 🇨🇳China 23,309
78 🇹🇭Thailand 22,491
79 🇬🇪Georgia 22,357
80 🇲🇰North Macedonia 21,391
81 🇬🇩Grenada 20,195
82 🇧🇷Brazil 20,079
83 🇮🇷Iran 19,942
84 🇹🇲Turkmenistan 19,939
85 🇦🇲Armenia 19,745
86 🇧🇦Bosnia and Herzegovina 19,634
87 🇦🇱Albania 19,566
88 🇨🇴Colombia 19,482
89 🇧🇼Botswana 19,394
90 🇬🇦Gabon 19,165
91 🇱🇨St. Lucia 18,973
92 🇧🇧Barbados 18,738
93 🇦🇿Azerbaijan 18,694
94 🇬🇶Equatorial Guinea 18,363
95 🇸🇷Suriname 18,311
96 🇻🇨St. Vincent and the Grenadines 17,840
97 🇪🇬Egypt 17,123
98 🇲🇩Moldova 16,916
99 🇫🇯Fiji 15,564
100 🇿🇦South Africa 16,211

Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook October 2023. Values are expressed in current international dollars, reflecting the corresponding exchange rates and PPP adjustments.




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