Weekend Economists: What Goes Up....June 1-3, 2012

[Demeter]

33. The World's Richest Countries And Biggest Economies, In 2 Graphics

Here are all the countries with GDP of over $100 billion:



Notes
GDP at current exchange rate for 2010. Colors correspond to continents/regions.

Source: World Bank

Credit: Lam Thuy Vo / NPR


Having a very large GDP means a country is an important economic player in the world. But it doesn't necessarily mean the country's citizens are rich.

A better measure for looking at the wealth or poverty of a nation's citizens is GDP per capita (adjusted for the fact that $1 buys more in some countries than in others).

Here are all the countries in the world with GDP per capita over $15,000 a year:



Notes
GDP per capita (purchasing power parity), 2010. *Qatar figure is for 2009, the most recent year available.

Source: World Bank

Credit: Lam Thuy Vo / NPR


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http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/05/30/153950742/the-worlds-richest-countries-and-biggest-economies-in-2-graphics