Per capita income is a useful economic indicator to enable comparisons between different countries or areas. It can demonstrate, with figures, the gap between the wealth of a developing country and the wealth of a developed one, showing how far it has to go to catch up. Per capita income is a notional figure indicating how much income an individual would receive if the country's total income was divided equally among the whole population.
It is used as a measure of wealth or standard of living. To calculate a country's per capita income figure, the total of all sources of income are added together and then divided by the population.
The formula for this is PCI = I / P, where PCI = per capita income, I = total personal income and P = total population.
It was recently reported that the Indian economy is expected to grow massively in the next few decades. According to India's chief economic advisor, the per capita income is expected to reach $10,000 USD in 2039 if the country maintains its GDP (gross domestic product) growth at 8 to 8.5 per cent for the next 25 years.
In 2009, an Index Mundi (www.indexmundi.com) table of GDP per capita in US dollars ranked Zimbabwe bottom of 225 countries, with a figure of $200 while at the top were Liechtenstein ($118,000) and Qatar ($85,600). The US was in 10th place at $46,300 and the UK was 28th at $35,500.
The World Bank has an open data initiative and by going to its website, more up to date statistics may be found. The World Development Report 2011 on Conflict, Security and Development has been published with a database on the Internet. This should provide a useful research tool enabling academics to compare economies of developing and developed countries. The World Bank also produces country by country profiles charting development and tables of economic data.
It is used as a measure of wealth or standard of living. To calculate a country's per capita income figure, the total of all sources of income are added together and then divided by the population.
The formula for this is PCI = I / P, where PCI = per capita income, I = total personal income and P = total population.
It was recently reported that the Indian economy is expected to grow massively in the next few decades. According to India's chief economic advisor, the per capita income is expected to reach $10,000 USD in 2039 if the country maintains its GDP (gross domestic product) growth at 8 to 8.5 per cent for the next 25 years.
In 2009, an Index Mundi (www.indexmundi.com) table of GDP per capita in US dollars ranked Zimbabwe bottom of 225 countries, with a figure of $200 while at the top were Liechtenstein ($118,000) and Qatar ($85,600). The US was in 10th place at $46,300 and the UK was 28th at $35,500.
The World Bank has an open data initiative and by going to its website, more up to date statistics may be found. The World Development Report 2011 on Conflict, Security and Development has been published with a database on the Internet. This should provide a useful research tool enabling academics to compare economies of developing and developed countries. The World Bank also produces country by country profiles charting development and tables of economic data.
