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Introduction…………………………….2Charts..…………………………………….3Tables..…………………………………….9Technical Notes..……………………18
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Table of ContentsContact Us
Division of International LaborComparisons (ILC)Inquiries and FeedbackILCHelp@bls.govor (202) 691-5654Web site http://www.bls.gov/ilc
What’s New
Country estimates for:
Czech Republic,
Finland, and Ireland
Indicators:
Real GDP, Population, Employment,and Average annual hours worked
International Comparisons of GDP per Capita and per Hour, 1960–2009
G
DP per hour worked
isa general measure of laborproductivity for the entire eco-nomy.In 2009, Norway and Irelandhad the highest GDP per hourworked followed by the UnitedStates.GDP per hour worked was low-est in the Republic of Koreaand the Czech Republic.While Singapore had one of the highest levels of GDP percapita, it had one of the lowestlevels of GDP per hour worked.For more details, see page 5.
October 21, 2010
Division of International Labor Comparisons
25.227.231.932.432.633.734.736.236.536.536.837.937.938.739.240.841.145.949.355.70102030405060
Czech RepublicRep. of KoreaItalyJapanSpainFranceFinlandBelgiumGermanyUnited KingdomDenmarkSwedenCanadaAustriaAustraliaNetherlandsIrelandUnited StatesSingaporeNorway
Thousands of U.S. dollars
GDP per capita, 2009GDP per hour worked, 2009
23.6126.7934.4737.1043.6244.1445.1846.2746.3247.2747.3947.4548.8353.3254.5056.7556.8457.5461.3073.2601020304050607080
Rep. of KoreaCzech RepublicSingaporeJapanItalyCanadaFinlandAustraliaDenmarkSpainUnited KingdomAustriaSwedenGermanyFranceNetherlandsBelgiumUnited StatesIrelandNorway
U.S. dollars
G
DP per capita
,
whenconverted to U.S. dollars usingpurchasing power parities, isthe most widely used incomemeasure for international com-parisons of living standards.In 2009, Norway had the high-est GDP per capita followed bySingapore then the UnitedStates.GDP per capita was lowest inthe Czech Republic and theRepublic of Korea.For more details, see page 3.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 2|Introduction
Introduction
This report updates the international comparisons report on GDP per capita and related measures pro-duced annually by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Previous versions of the report were titled“International comparisons of GDP per capita and per employed person.” Charts on current levels andrecent trends of GDP and gross national income (GNI) per capita, GDP per hour worked, average annualhours worked, and employment are followed by tables with time series and growth rates of these andrelated indicators. The estimates shown in this report are based on data available as of August 2010.With this year’s edition, the Czech Republic, and Finland have been added to the comparisons, and datafor Ireland are now available for all indicators. In addition, tables on real GDP, population, employment,and average annual hours worked are now included in the report. Data are available for all countriesthrough 2009.
Concepts and Definitions
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is defined as the value of all market and some nonmarket goods and ser-vices produced within a country’s geographic borders. As such, it is the most comprehensive measure of a country's economic output that is estimated by statistical agencies. GDP per capita may therefore beviewed as a rough indicator of a nation's economic well being, while GDP per hour worked can provide ageneral picture of a country's productivity.These indicators, however, are only approximations. The total production of a country consists of manythings that are not included in its GDP, for example leisure, health, safety, and cultural resources. Inaddition, net income flows from abroad are not included in GDP; Gross National Income (GNI), however,is a measure of a country’s production that includes both GDP and net income flows. Due to these typesof data limitations, small differences in rankings should not be considered economically significant.Nevertheless, these measures are commonly used to compare the economic performance of differentcountries.For international comparisons of levels of GDP, GDP per capita, or GDP per hour worked, the output hasto be measured in a common currency unit. BLS converted the output measures from national currencyunits to U.S. dollars through the use of purchasing power parities (PPPs). PPPs are currency conversionrates that allow output in different currency units to be expressed in a common unit of value—in thiscase, U.S. dollars. The PPP for a given country is a ratio, where the numerator is the number of nationalcurrency units needed to purchase a specific basket of goods and services in that country and the de-nominator is the number of U.S. dollars needed to purchase a similar basket of goods in the UnitedStates, the base country.This report now uses 2009 PPPs instead of 2005 PPPs. In addition, since the previous update, the organi-zations that publish the PPPs have revised their earlier data. As a result, GDP for some countries mayhave changed. For example, in the current update, the PPP for Singapore underwent a significantrevision, which raised the value of Singapore’s output expressed in U.S. dollars.For further information on sources and methods, see the technical notes beginning on page 18. Addi-tional historical data on GDP per capita, GDP per hour worked, and related measures are available on theInternet, at http://www.bls.gov/ilc/#gdp.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 3|Charts
•
GDP per capita and GNI per capita
arebasic indicators of a country’s economicwell-being. GDP measures the value of allfinal goods and services produced within acountry. GNI comprises GDP plus netincome flow from abroad (the sum of allincome received abroad by a country minusthe income paid by that country to foreignentities).
•
In 2009, GDP per capita and GNI per capitawere similar in most of the countries, withthe exception of Ireland. The difference inthis country resulted from negative netincome flows from abroad. Small differ-ences in ranking should not be consideredeconomically significant. For information ondata limitations, see Technical notes.
•
In 2009, real GDP per capita fell in all 20countries compared. The steepest declineoccured in Finland followed by Ireland. Thiscontrasts with the average annual changesover the 1995–2009 period, when real GDPper capita increased in all 20 countries com-pared, with the largest increases occurringin the Republic of Korea and Ireland.
•
The charts on page 4 show that as early as2007, countries began experiencing de-clines in real GDP per capita. Of the coun-tries covered, Ireland experienced the fast-est growth in real GDP per capita from 1995to 2007, though proceeded to suffer thesharpest decline.
0102030405060
Czech RepublicRep. of KoreaItalyJapanSpainFranceFinlandBelgiumGermanyUnited KingdomDenmarkSwedenCanadaAustriaAustraliaNetherlandsIrelandUnited StatesSingaporeNorway
Thousands of U.S. dollars
GDP per capita and GNI per capita, 2009
Converted to U.S. dollars using 2009 PPPs
GDP per capitaGNI per capita
-10-8-6-4-2024
ItalyJapanDenmarkGermanyFranceBelgiumUnited StatesCanadaAustriaUnited KingdomNorwayNetherlandsSpainSwedenAustraliaSingaporeFinlandCzech RepublicIrelandRep. of Korea
Percent
Real GDP per capita
Average annual growth rates
1995-20092008-2009
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