International Comparisons of

GDP per Capita and per Hour, 1960–2009

Division of International Labor Comparisons October 21, 2010

Table of Contents GDP per capita, 2009

GDP per capita, when Norway 55.7

Introduction…………………………….2 converted to U.S. dollars using Singapore 49.3

United States 45.9
purchasing power parities, is
Charts..…………………………………….3 the most widely used income
Ireland 41.1
Netherlands 40.8
Tables..…………………………………….9 measure for international com- Australia 39.2
parisons of living standards. Austria 38.7
Technical Notes..……………………18 Canada 37.9
In 2009, Norway had the high-
Sweden 37.9
est GDP per capita followed by Denmark 36.8
Singapore then the United United Kingdom 36.5
States. Germany 36.5
Belgium 36.2
What’s New GDP per capita was lowest in Finland 34.7
the Czech Republic and the France 33.7
Country estimates for: Republic of Korea. Spain 32.6
Czech Republic, Finland, and Ireland Japan 32.4
For more details, see page 3. Italy 31.9
Indicators: Rep. of Korea 27.2
Real GDP, Population, Employment, Czech Republic 25.2
and Average annual hours worked
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Thousands of U.S. dollars

GDP per hour worked, 2009

Contact Us GDP per hour worked is Norway 73.26

Division of International Labor a general measure of labor Ireland 61.30

productivity for the entire eco- United States 57.54

Comparisons (ILC)
Belgium 56.84
nomy.
Inquiries and Feedback Netherlands 56.75
ILCHelp@bls.gov or (202) 691-5654 In 2009, Norway and Ireland France 54.50

had the highest GDP per hour Germany 53.32

Web site http://www.bls.gov/ilc Sweden 48.83
worked followed by the United
Austria 47.45
States. United Kingdom 47.39
Subscribe to the ILC e-newsletter GDP per hour worked was low- Spain 47.27
Denmark 46.32
JustOut! est in the Republic of Korea
Australia 46.27
and the Czech Republic.
Email ILCPR@bls.gov with “subscribe” in the Finland 45.18
subject line. JustOut! provides links to the While Singapore had one of Canada 44.14
latest ILC releases, which usually occur once Italy
the highest levels of GDP per 43.62
or twice per month. Japan 37.10
capita, it had one of the lowest
Singapore 34.47
levels of GDP per hour worked. Czech Republic 26.79

For more details, see page 5. Rep. of Korea 23.61

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
U.S. dollars
 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 and
recent trends of GDP and gross national income (GNI) per capita, GDP per hour worked, average annual
hours worked, and employment are followed by tables with time series and growth rates of these and
related 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 data
for 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 countries
through 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 be
viewed as a rough indicator of a nation's economic well being, while GDP per hour worked can provide a
general picture of a country's productivity.

These indicators, however, are only approximations. The total production of a country consists of many
things that are not included in its GDP, for example leisure, health, safety, and cultural resources. In
addition, 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 types
of data limitations, small differences in rankings should not be considered economically significant.
Nevertheless, these measures are commonly used to compare the economic performance of different
countries.

For international comparisons of levels of GDP, GDP per capita, or GDP per hour worked, the output has
to be measured in a common currency unit. BLS converted the output measures from national currency
units to U.S. dollars through the use of purchasing power parities (PPPs). PPPs are currency conversion
rates that allow output in different currency units to be expressed in a common unit of value—in this
case, U.S. dollars. The PPP for a given country is a ratio, where the numerator is the number of national
currency 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 United
States, 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 may
have changed. For example, in the current update, the PPP for Singapore underwent a significant
revision, 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 the
Internet, at http://www.bls.gov/ilc/#gdp.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 2|Introduction

 GDP per capita and GNI per capita, 2009
Converted to U.S. dollars using 2009 PPPs
• GDP per capita and GNI per capita are
basic indicators of a country’s economic Norway
well-being. GDP measures the value of all Singapore
United States
final goods and services produced within a
Ireland
country. GNI comprises GDP plus net
Netherlands
income flow from abroad (the sum of all Australia
income received abroad by a country minus Austria
the income paid by that country to foreign Canada
entities). Sweden
Denmark
• In 2009, GDP per capita and GNI per capita United Kingdom
Germany
were similar in most of the countries, with
Belgium
the exception of Ireland. The difference in
Finland
this country resulted from negative net France
income flows from abroad. Small differ- Spain
ences in ranking should not be considered Japan GDP per capita
economically significant. For information on Italy GNI per capita
data limitations, see Technical notes. Rep. of Korea
Czech Republic
• In 2009, real GDP per capita fell in all 20
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
countries compared. The steepest decline Thousands of U.S. dollars
occured in Finland followed by Ireland. This
contrasts with the average annual changes
over the 1995–2009 period, when real GDP
per capita increased in all 20 countries com- Real GDP per capita
pared, with the largest increases occurring Average annual growth rates
in the Republic of Korea and Ireland.
Rep. of Korea
• The charts on page 4 show that as early as Ireland
Czech Republic
2007, countries began experiencing de-
Finland
clines in real GDP per capita. Of the coun- Singapore
tries covered, Ireland experienced the fast- Australia
est growth in real GDP per capita from 1995 Sweden
to 2007, though proceeded to suffer the Spain
sharpest decline. Netherlands
Norway
United Kingdom
Austria
Canada
United States
Belgium
France
1995-2009
Germany
Denmark 2008-2009
Japan
Italy

-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4
Percent

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 3|Charts

 Real GDP per capita, by country, 1995–2009
Converted to U.S. dollars using 2009 PPPs
Index: 1995 = 100

200 Rep. of Korea Ireland Czech Republic Finland 200

180 180
160 160
140 140
120 120
100 100
80 80
95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09

200 200
Singapore Australia Sweden Spain
180 180
160 160
140 140
120 120
100 100
80 80
95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09

200 200
Netherlands Norway United Kingdom Austria
180 180
160 160
140 140
120 120
100 100
80 80
95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09

200 Canada United States Belgium France 200

180 180
160 160
140 140
120 120
100 100
80 80
95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09
200 200
Germany Denmark Japan Italy
180 180
160 160
140 140
120 120
100 100
80 80
95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 4|Charts

 • GDP per hour worked may be viewed as a GDP per hour worked, 2009
rough indicator of a country’s productivity. Converted to U.S. dollars using 2009 PPPs
Norway
• In 2009, Norway had the highest level of Ireland
GDP per hour among the countries covered; United States
approximately 20 percent higher than the Belgium
next highest ranked country, Ireland, and Netherlands
roughly three times the level of the France
Republic of Korea. Germany
Sweden
Austria
• While Singapore had one of the highest United Kingdom
levels of GDP per capita, it had one of the Spain
lowest levels of GDP per hour worked. The Denmark
difference is related to Singapore having Australia
the highest average annual hours worked Finland
per employed person (see Table 7a on page Canada
15) and the highest employment to Italy
population ratio (see Table 8) of all coun- Japan
tries covered. Singapore
Czech Republic
Rep. of Korea
• The five countries with the lowest GDP per
hour are also the five countries with the 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
highest number of annual average hours U.S. dollars
worked per employed person. For more
details, see page 8.

• When real GDP increases faster than hours Real GDP per hour worked
worked, real GDP per hour worked rises. Average annual growth rates
Conversely when hours worked rise faster Rep. of Korea
than real GDP, real GDP per hour worked Ireland
declines. Czech Republic
United States
Finland
• Over the 1995–2009 period, all countries
Australia
compared experienced increases in real
Sweden
GDP per hour worked. In contrast, most Japan
countries in 2009 experienced a decline in United Kingdom
real GDP per hour worked, with the largest Singapore
declines in Singapore and Finland, respec- Norway
tively. Only four countries (Ireland, Austra- Netherlands
lia, Spain, and the United States) had faster France
GDP per hour worked growth in 2009 than Germany
over the 1995–2009 time period. Austria
Canada 1995-2009
Belgium
2008-2009
Spain
Denmark
Italy

-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6
Percent

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 5|Charts

 Real GDP per hour worked, by country, 1995–2009
Converted to U.S. dollars using 2009 PPPs
Index: 1995 = 100

200 Rep. of Korea Ireland Czech Republic United States 200

180 180
160 160
140 140
120 120
100 100
80 80
95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09
200 200
Finland Australia Sweden United Kingdom
180 180
160 160
140 140
120 120
100 100
80 80
95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09
200 200
Japan Singapore Norway Netherlands
180 180
160 160
140 140
120 120
100 100
80 80
95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09
200 200
France Germany Austria Canada
180 180
160 160
140 140
120 120
100 100
80 80
95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09
200 200
Belgium Spain Denmark Italy
180 180
160 160
140 140
120 120
100 100
80 80
95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09 95 97 99 01 03 05 07 09

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 6|Charts

 • Average annual hours worked is total Average annual hours worked, 2009
number of hours worked in an economy
Singapore
divided by the number of persons employ-
Rep. of Korea
ed.
Czech Republic
Italy
• Of the countries covered, average annual Japan
hours worked were highest in Singapore United States
and the Republic of Korea, well over 2000 Canada
hours. Australia
Austria
Finland
• In general, European countries had a lower
United Kingdom
number of average annual hours worked Sweden
than the non-European countries. Average Spain
annual hours were lowest in the Nether- Denmark
lands and Germany. The European country France
with the highest level of average annual Ireland
hours worked was the Czech Republic. Belgium
Norway
• With the exception of Denmark, average Germany
Netherlands
annual hours declined in all countries cover-
ed since 1995. The rate of decline in aver- 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
age annual hours accelerated in 2009, with Hours
hours declining by more than 1 percent in
more than half the countries. Only one
country, Spain, saw average annual hours
increase in 2009. Average annual hours worked
Average annual growth rates
Denmark
Spain
Austria
Sweden
Singapore
Belgium
Italy
United Kingdom
Canada
Australia
Norway
France
Finland
United States
Czech Republic
Japan
Netherlands
1995-2009
Germany
Rep. of Korea 2008-2009
Ireland

-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1
Percent

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 7|Charts

 • Employment and average hours work- Employment and average hours worked, 2008–09
Annual growth rates
ed combine to yield total hours worked,
which is typically used as the labor input in Singapore
productivity measures. Australia
Netherlands
• In general, both employment and average Germany
hours worked declined in most countries Rep. of Korea
Norway
from 2008 to 2009. The main exception was
Belgium
Singapore, where the employment level in-
Austria
creased by more than 4 percent. Relatively
Czech Republic
small increases in employment and hours France
worked were observed in Australia and United Kingdom
Spain, respectively. Canada
Japan
• The composition of the decline in total Italy
hours worked varied across countries in Sweden
2009. In some countries, such as Ireland, Finland
Spain, and Denmark, the decline in total Denmark Employment
hours was mainly due to declines in em- United States Hours worked
Spain
ployment. In other countries, notably Aus-
Ireland
tralia, the Netherlands, and Germany, em-
ployment did not fall, but average hours -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6
worked did. Percent

• The 1995–2009 period saw growth in em-

ployment coupled with small declines in av-
erage annual hours worked for most of the Employment and hours worked, 1995–2009
countries covered. The only exceptions to Average annual growth rates
this trend occurred in Denmark, where both Singapore
employment and average annual hours Ireland
increased slightly, and in Japan, where both Spain
declined. Australia
Canada
Netherlands
Norway
Finland
Rep. of Korea
Belgium
Italy
Austria
France
United Kingdom
United States
Denmark
Sweden Employment
Germany
Hours worked
Czech Republic
Japan

-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6
Percent

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 8|Charts

 Real GDP per capita, by country, 1960–2009

Table 1a. Converted to U.S. dollars using 2009 PPPs (2009 U.S. dollars)
Country 1960 1979 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008 2009
United States 17,167 28,511 35,200 37,391 43,571 46,766 47,570 45,918
Canada 14,281 25,228 29,718 30,593 35,766 38,537 39,385 37,946
Australia 15,132 22,747 27,345 29,609 34,270 37,840 39,497 39,178
Japan 5,879 18,814 28,560 30,141 31,270 33,123 34,198 32,445
Republic of Korea 1,491 5,352 11,627 16,159 19,961 24,280 27,194 27,169
Singapore 4,140 14,854 26,943 35,107 40,746 48,606 51,421 49,252
Austria 11,215 23,261 28,834 30,851 35,458 37,374 40,314 38,701
Belgium 11,212 22,230 27,957 29,719 33,832 35,803 37,504 36,161
Czech Republic NA NA NA 17,794 19,262 23,231 26,476 25,235
Denmark 13,449 23,808 29,003 31,996 36,086 37,841 38,913 36,813
Finland NA 19,173 26,095 24,693 30,813 34,607 37,924 34,717
France 10,845 22,779 27,681 28,700 32,252 33,786 34,779 33,679
Germany 12,982 23,740 29,397 31,568 34,643 35,566 38,229 36,452
Ireland NA 15,357 20,140 24,501 36,771 43,901 44,622 41,110
Italy 10,048 21,910 28,544 30,338 33,276 33,789 33,820 31,887
Netherlands 13,830 24,826 29,449 31,890 37,756 39,338 42,726 40,839
Norway 14,583 29,153 37,504 43,819 50,962 55,240 57,300 55,653
Spain NA 18,283 23,763 25,258 30,215 32,918 34,044 32,565
Sweden 13,872 23,520 28,803 28,919 34,198 38,358 40,310 37,919
United Kingdom 14,031 21,390 26,908 28,793 33,595 37,152 38,669 36,528

Table 1b. Average annual rates of change

Country 1979–2009 1979–90 1990–95 1995–2000 2000–09 2007–08 2008–09
United States 1.6 1.9 1.2 3.1 0.6 -0.9 -3.5
Canada 1.4 1.5 0.6 3.2 0.7 -0.7 -3.7
Australia 1.8 1.7 1.6 3.0 1.5 0.3 -0.8
Japan 1.8 3.9 1.1 0.7 0.4 -1.2 -5.1
Republic of Korea 5.6 7.3 6.8 4.3 3.5 2.0 -0.1
Singapore 4.1 5.6 5.4 3.0 2.1 -3.5 -4.2
Austria 1.7 2.0 1.4 2.8 1.0 1.6 -4.0
Belgium 1.6 2.1 1.2 2.6 0.7 0.4 -3.6
Czech Republic NA NA NA 1.6 3.0 1.4 -4.7
Denmark 1.5 1.8 2.0 2.4 0.2 -1.4 -5.4
Finland 2.0 2.8 -1.1 4.5 1.3 0.5 -8.5
France 1.3 1.8 0.7 2.4 0.5 -0.3 -3.2
Germany NA 2.0 NA 1.9 0.6 1.4 -4.6
Ireland 3.3 2.5 4.0 8.5 1.2 -4.6 -7.9
Italy 1.3 2.4 1.2 1.9 -0.5 -2.1 -5.7
Netherlands 1.7 1.6 1.6 3.4 0.9 1.5 -4.4
Norway 2.2 2.3 3.2 3.1 1.0 0.6 -2.9
Spain 1.9 2.4 1.2 3.6 0.8 -0.7 -4.3
Sweden 1.6 1.9 0.1 3.4 1.2 -1.2 -5.9
United Kingdom 1.8 2.1 1.4 3.1 0.9 -0.1 -5.5
Note: Data for Germany for years before 1991 pertain to the former West Germany.
NA = Not available.
PPPs = purchasing power parities.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 9|Tables

 Real GDP per employed person, by country, 1960–2009
Table 2a. Converted to U.S. dollars using 2009 PPPs (2009 U.S. dollars)
Country 1960 1979 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008 2009
United States 45,438 63,599 72,804 78,786 88,961 96,626 98,671 99,763
Canada 40,949 56,756 62,435 66,977 73,938 76,554 76,349 75,676
Australia 37,411 53,424 58,736 64,367 72,613 76,800 78,401 79,188
Japan 11,669 37,431 54,884 56,576 60,792 66,214 68,017 65,507
Republic of Korea NA 14,769 27,561 35,695 44,353 51,138 56,063 56,342
Singapore NA 30,891 51,402 69,958 77,530 91,613 87,572 82,678
Austria 22,976 50,539 61,905 67,753 74,987 78,432 81,623 79,381
Belgium 29,361 57,924 72,472 77,906 84,403 88,109 89,894 87,515
Czech Republic NA NA NA 35,706 40,052 47,629 52,216 50,658
Denmark 28,885 48,003 57,145 65,557 71,021 75,192 73,652 72,551
Finland NA 39,927 52,458 61,445 69,545 75,988 79,795 75,529
France 25,315 56,398 70,431 75,144 80,491 84,693 86,185 84,978
Germany 27,581 54,014 61,149 68,558 72,737 75,522 77,940 74,120
Ireland NA 43,845 60,155 68,800 82,502 93,069 94,260 95,348
Italy 24,106 58,569 71,606 78,958 82,635 81,173 80,107 77,363
Netherlands 37,583 70,714 69,252 71,586 76,383 79,138 81,776 78,542
Norway 34,145 62,397 77,264 90,112 98,671 108,598 104,489 103,156
Spain NA 49,414 61,467 67,357 70,812 71,022 72,247 74,616
Sweden 28,407 46,085 53,601 61,824 70,549 79,643 81,228 78,646
United Kingdom 30,785 47,747 57,315 64,709 71,981 77,776 80,620 77,878

Table 2b. Average annual rates of change

Country 1979–2009 1979–90 1990–95 1995–2000 2000–09 2007–08 2008–09
United States 1.5 1.2 1.6 2.5 1.3 0.4 1.1
Canada 1.0 0.9 1.4 2.0 0.3 -1.0 -0.9
Australia 1.3 0.9 1.8 2.4 1.0 0.1 1.0
Japan 1.9 3.5 0.6 1.4 0.8 -0.9 -3.7
Republic of Korea 4.6 5.8 5.3 4.4 2.7 1.7 0.5
Singapore 3.3 4.7 6.4 2.1 0.7 -6.4 -5.6
Austria 1.5 1.9 1.8 2.0 0.6 0.3 -2.7
Belgium 1.4 2.1 1.5 1.6 0.4 -0.8 -2.6
Czech Republic NA NA NA 2.3 2.6 1.2 -3.0
Denmark 1.4 1.6 2.8 1.6 0.2 -2.1 -1.5
Finland 2.1 2.5 3.2 2.5 0.9 -0.6 -5.3
France 1.4 2.0 1.3 1.4 0.6 -0.4 -1.4
Germany NA 1.1 NA 1.2 0.2 -0.1 -4.9
Ireland 2.6 2.9 2.7 3.7 1.6 -1.9 1.2
Italy 0.9 1.8 2.0 0.9 -0.7 -1.6 -3.4
Netherlands 0.4 -0.2 0.7 1.3 0.3 0.4 -4.0
Norway 1.7 2.0 3.1 1.8 0.5 -1.2 -1.3
Spain 1.4 2.0 1.8 1.0 0.6 1.3 3.3
Sweden 1.8 1.4 2.9 2.7 1.2 -1.4 -3.2
United Kingdom 1.6 1.7 2.5 2.2 0.9 -0.2 -3.4
Note: Data for Germany for years before 1991 pertain to the former West Germany.
NA = Not available.
PPPs = purchasing power parities.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 10| Tables

 Real GDP per hour worked, by country, 1960–2009

Table 3a. Converted to U.S. dollars using 2009 PPPs (2009 U.S. dollars)
Country 1960 1979 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008 2009
United States NA 34.78 40.24 42.68 47.91 54.16 55.90 57.54
Canada NA 31.11 34.75 37.12 41.19 43.44 43.75 44.14
Australia NA 28.73 32.77 35.66 40.36 43.79 44.81 46.27
Japan NA 17.56 26.62 29.61 32.73 36.51 37.90 37.10
Republic of Korea NA NA 9.85 13.08 16.86 20.45 23.44 23.61
Singapore NA 12.94 21.20 28.49 31.64 37.78 36.27 34.47
Austria NA NA NA 39.88 43.58 46.17 48.56 47.45
Belgium NA 33.68 43.77 49.31 54.63 56.30 57.33 56.84
Czech Republic NA NA NA 17.70 19.48 24.24 26.62 26.79
Denmark NA 29.35 37.14 42.56 44.91 47.63 46.93 46.32
Finland NA 21.36 29.65 34.60 39.73 44.29 46.82 45.18
France NA 30.20 41.32 45.53 50.58 54.40 55.25 54.50
Germany NA 30.51 38.76 44.70 49.38 52.66 54.52 53.32
Ireland NA NA 30.26 36.69 47.99 56.27 58.88 61.30
Italy NA NA 38.36 42.48 44.40 44.63 44.27 43.62
Netherlands NA NA NA 47.33 51.62 55.84 58.38 56.75
Norway NA 39.49 51.42 60.57 67.81 76.47 73.45 73.26
Spain NA 27.98 38.22 42.31 42.84 44.46 45.96 47.27
Sweden NA NA 34.02 37.69 42.96 49.62 49.99 48.83
United Kingdom NA 26.23 32.74 37.46 42.40 46.46 48.42 47.39

Table 3b. Average annual rates of change

Country 1979–2009 1979–90 1990–95 1995–2000 2000–09 2007–08 2008–09
United States 1.8 1.3 1.2 2.3 2.1 1.1 2.9
Canada 1.2 1.0 1.3 2.1 0.8 -0.5 0.9
Australia 1.7 1.2 1.7 2.5 1.5 -2.8 3.3
Japan 2.6 3.9 2.1 2.0 1.4 0.3 -2.1
Republic of Korea NA NA 5.8 5.2 3.8 4.1 0.7
Singapore 3.4 4.6 6.1 2.1 1.0 -6.4 -5.0
Austria NA NA NA 1.8 1.0 0.3 -2.3
Belgium 1.8 2.4 2.4 2.1 0.4 -1.3 -0.8
Czech Republic NA NA NA 1.9 3.6 0.5 0.7
Denmark 1.6 2.2 2.8 1.1 0.3 -2.0 -1.3
Finland 2.6 3.0 3.1 2.8 1.4 -0.5 -3.5
France 2.1 2.9 2.0 2.1 0.8 -0.6 -1.4
Germany NA 2.2 NA 2.0 0.9 -0.0 -2.2
Ireland NA NA 3.9 5.5 2.8 -0.1 4.1
Italy NA NA 2.1 0.9 -0.2 -1.2 -1.5
Netherlands NA NA NA 1.8 1.1 1.1 -2.8
Norway 2.2 2.4 3.3 2.3 0.9 -1.5 -0.3
Spain 1.8 2.9 2.1 0.2 1.1 0.8 2.8
Sweden NA NA 2.1 2.7 1.4 -2.0 -2.3
United Kingdom 2.1 2.0 2.7 2.5 1.2 0.1 -2.1
Note: Data for Germany for years before 1991 pertain to the former West Germany.
NA = Not available.
PPPs = purchasing power parities.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 11| Tables

 Real GDP, by country, 1960–2009

Table 4a. Converted to U.S. dollars using 2009 PPPs (In millions of 2009 U.S. dollars)
Country 1960 1979 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008 2009
United States 3,103,076 6,417,927 8,806,316 9,968,010 12,305,319 13,853,514 14,500,678 14,119,000
Canada 255,373 609,639 821,900 895,091 1,095,957 1,242,639 1,312,595 1,280,279
Australia 155,481 330,191 466,642 535,078 656,383 771,732 849,118 860,157
Japan 553,194 2,180,799 3,527,431 3,782,477 3,967,009 4,232,273 4,367,502 4,138,481
Republic of Korea 37,286 200,891 498,441 728,676 938,332 1,168,803 1,321,797 1,324,383
Singapore 6,816 35,405 82,097 123,734 164,120 207,343 248,845 245,651
Austria 79,036 175,606 221,382 245,214 284,079 307,411 336,074 323,881
Belgium 102,630 218,928 278,657 301,262 346,812 375,166 401,015 388,917
Czech Republic NA NA NA 183,821 197,873 237,743 276,136 264,748
Denmark 61,377 121,845 149,086 167,349 192,645 205,042 213,716 203,265
Finland NA 91,352 130,121 126,128 159,495 181,551 201,506 185,348
France 505,622 1,248,933 1,610,246 1,705,311 1,958,507 2,127,122 2,230,734 2,172,097
Germany 719,624 1,456,659 1,859,473 2,577,860 2,847,205 2,932,906 3,139,328 2,984,440
Ireland NA 51,851 70,706 88,387 139,873 182,565 197,739 183,707
Italy 504,415 1,233,947 1,618,978 1,724,542 1,894,821 1,980,290 2,023,524 1,921,576
Netherlands 158,811 348,408 440,167 493,013 601,148 641,883 702,667 675,156
Norway 52,245 118,727 159,074 191,013 228,869 255,389 273,218 268,731
Spain NA 681,771 923,198 994,863 1,216,569 1,428,598 1,552,161 1,495,683
Sweden 103,830 195,072 246,524 255,266 303,410 346,359 371,643 352,593
United Kingdom 734,839 1,202,986 1,540,105 1,670,713 1,978,247 2,237,935 2,373,615 2,256,830

Table 4b. Average annual rates of change

Country 1979–2009 1979–90 1990–95 1995–2000 2000–09 2007–08 2008–09
United States 2.7 2.9 2.5 4.3 1.5 -0.0 -2.6
Canada 2.5 2.8 1.7 4.1 1.7 0.5 -2.5
Australia 3.2 3.2 2.8 4.2 3.0 2.3 1.3
Japan 2.2 4.5 1.4 1.0 0.5 -1.2 -5.2
Republic of Korea 6.5 8.6 7.9 5.2 3.9 2.3 0.2
Singapore 6.7 7.9 8.6 5.8 4.6 1.8 -1.3
Austria 2.1 2.1 2.1 3.0 1.5 2.0 -3.6
Belgium 1.9 2.2 1.6 2.9 1.3 1.0 -3.0
Czech Republic NA NA NA 1.5 3.3 2.5 -4.1
Denmark 1.7 1.9 2.3 2.9 0.6 -0.9 -4.9
Finland 2.4 3.3 -0.6 4.8 1.7 0.9 -8.0
France 1.9 2.3 1.2 2.8 1.2 0.2 -2.6
Germany NA 2.2 NA 2.0 0.5 1.3 -4.9
Ireland 4.3 2.9 4.6 9.6 3.1 -3.0 -7.1
Italy 1.5 2.5 1.3 1.9 0.2 -1.3 -5.0
Netherlands 2.2 2.1 2.3 4.0 1.3 1.9 -3.9
Norway 2.8 2.7 3.7 3.7 1.8 1.8 -1.6
Spain 2.7 2.8 1.5 4.1 2.3 0.9 -3.6
Sweden 2.0 2.2 0.7 3.5 1.7 -0.5 -5.1
United Kingdom 2.1 2.3 1.6 3.4 1.5 0.5 -4.9
Note: Data for Germany for years before 1991 pertain to the former West Germany.
NA = Not available.
PPPs = purchasing power parities.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 12| Tables

 Population, by country, 1960–2009

Table 5a. Millions of persons

Country 1960 1979 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008 2009
United States 180.76 225.11 250.18 266.59 282.42 296.23 304.83 307.48
Canada 17.88 24.17 27.66 29.26 30.64 32.25 33.33 33.74
Australia 10.28 14.52 17.07 18.07 19.15 20.39 21.50 21.96
Japan 94.10 115.91 123.51 125.49 126.86 127.77 127.71 127.56
Republic of Korea 25.01 37.53 42.87 45.09 47.01 48.14 48.61 48.75
Singapore 1.65 2.38 3.05 3.52 4.03 4.27 4.84 4.99
Austria 7.05 7.55 7.68 7.95 8.01 8.23 8.34 8.37
Belgium 9.15 9.85 9.97 10.14 10.25 10.48 10.69 10.76
Czech Republic NA NA NA 10.33 10.27 10.23 10.43 10.49
Denmark 4.56 5.12 5.14 5.23 5.34 5.42 5.49 5.52
Finland 4.43 4.76 4.99 5.11 5.18 5.25 5.31 5.34
France 46.62 54.83 58.17 59.42 60.72 62.96 64.14 64.49
Germany 55.43 61.36 63.25 81.66 82.19 82.46 82.12 81.87
Ireland 2.83 3.38 3.51 3.61 3.80 4.16 4.43 4.47
Italy 50.20 56.32 56.72 56.84 56.94 58.61 59.83 60.26
Netherlands 11.48 14.03 14.95 15.46 15.92 16.32 16.45 16.53
Norway 3.58 4.07 4.24 4.36 4.49 4.62 4.77 4.83
Spain 30.26 37.29 38.85 39.39 40.26 43.40 45.59 45.93
Sweden 7.49 8.29 8.56 8.83 8.87 9.03 9.22 9.30
United Kingdom 52.37 56.24 57.24 58.03 58.89 60.24 61.38 61.78

Table 5b. Average annual rates of change

Country 1979–2009 1979–90 1990–95 1995–2000 2000–09 2007–08 2008–09
United States 1.0 1.0 1.3 1.2 0.9 0.9 0.9
Canada 1.1 1.2 1.1 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.2
Australia 1.4 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.5 2.0 2.1
Japan 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.2 0.1 -0.0 -0.1
Republic of Korea 0.9 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.4 0.3 0.3
Singapore 2.5 2.3 3.0 2.7 2.4 5.5 3.1
Austria 0.3 0.2 0.7 0.2 0.5 0.4 0.4
Belgium 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.7 0.6
Czech Republic NA NA NA -0.1 0.2 1.0 0.6
Denmark 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.5
Finland 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.5
France 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.6 0.6
Germany NA 0.3 NA 0.1 -0.0 -0.2 -0.3
Ireland 0.9 0.4 0.5 1.1 1.8 1.6 0.8
Italy 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.8 0.7
Netherlands 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.5
Norway 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.8 1.3 1.3
Spain 0.7 0.4 0.3 0.4 1.5 1.6 0.7
Sweden 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.1 0.5 0.8 0.9
United Kingdom 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.7
Note: Data for Germany for years before 1991 pertain to the former West Germany.
NA = Not available.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 13| Tables

 Employment, by country, 1960–2009

Table 6a. Millions of persons

Country 1960 1979 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008 2009
United States 68.29 100.91 120.96 126.52 138.32 143.37 146.96 141.52
Canada 6.24 10.74 13.16 13.36 14.82 16.23 17.19 16.92
Australia 4.16 6.18 7.94 8.31 9.04 10.05 10.83 10.86
Japan 47.41 58.26 64.27 66.86 65.26 63.92 64.21 63.18
Republic of Korea NA 13.60 18.09 20.41 21.16 22.86 23.58 23.51
Singapore NA 1.15 1.60 1.77 2.12 2.26 2.84 2.97
Austria 3.44 3.47 3.58 3.62 3.79 3.92 4.12 4.08
Belgium 3.50 3.78 3.85 3.87 4.11 4.26 4.46 4.44
Czech Republic NA NA NA 5.15 4.94 4.99 5.29 5.23
Denmark 2.12 2.54 2.61 2.55 2.71 2.73 2.90 2.80
Finland NA 2.29 2.48 2.05 2.29 2.39 2.53 2.45
France 19.97 22.14 22.86 22.69 24.33 25.12 25.88 25.56
Germany 26.09 26.97 30.41 37.60 39.14 38.84 40.28 40.27
Ireland 1.07 1.18 1.18 1.28 1.70 1.96 2.10 1.93
Italy 20.92 21.07 22.61 21.84 22.93 24.40 25.26 24.84
Netherlands 4.23 4.93 6.36 6.89 7.87 8.11 8.59 8.60
Norway 1.53 1.90 2.06 2.12 2.32 2.35 2.61 2.61
Spain NA 13.80 15.02 14.77 17.18 20.12 21.48 20.05
Sweden 3.66 4.23 4.60 4.13 4.30 4.35 4.58 4.48
United Kingdom 23.87 25.20 26.87 25.82 27.48 28.77 29.44 28.98

Table 6b. Average annual rates of change

Country 1979–2009 1979–90 1990–95 1995–2000 2000–09 2007–08 2008–09
United States 1.1 1.7 0.9 1.8 0.3 -0.4 -3.7
Canada 1.5 1.9 0.3 2.1 1.5 1.5 -1.6
Australia 1.9 2.3 0.9 1.7 2.1 2.3 0.3
Japan 0.3 0.9 0.8 -0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -1.6
Republic of Korea 1.8 2.6 2.5 0.7 1.2 0.6 -0.3
Singapore 3.2 3.1 2.1 3.7 3.8 8.7 4.6
Austria 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.9 0.8 1.8 -0.9
Belgium 0.5 0.2 0.1 1.2 0.9 1.9 -0.4
Czech Republic NA NA NA -0.8 0.6 1.2 -1.2
Denmark 0.3 0.2 -0.4 1.2 0.4 1.2 -3.4
Finland 0.2 0.7 -3.7 2.2 0.8 1.6 -2.8
France 0.5 0.3 -0.1 1.4 0.5 0.6 -1.2
Germany NA 1.1 NA 0.8 0.3 1.4 -0.0
Ireland 1.6 -0.1 1.8 5.7 1.4 -1.1 -8.2
Italy 0.6 0.6 -0.7 1.0 0.9 0.3 -1.7
Netherlands 1.9 2.3 1.6 2.7 1.0 1.5 0.0
Norway 1.1 0.7 0.6 1.8 1.3 3.1 -0.4
Spain 1.3 0.8 -0.3 3.1 1.7 -0.5 -6.7
Sweden 0.2 0.8 -2.1 0.8 0.5 0.9 -2.0
United Kingdom 0.5 0.6 -0.8 1.3 0.6 0.7 -1.6
Note: Data for Germany for years before 1991 pertain to the former West Germany.
NA = Not available.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 14| Tables

 Average annual hours worked per employed person,
by country, 1960–2009
Table 7a. Hours
Country 1960 1979 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008 2009
United States NA 1,829 1,809 1,846 1,857 1,784 1,765 1,734
Canada NA 1,824 1,797 1,804 1,795 1,762 1,745 1,714
Australia NA 1,859 1,792 1,805 1,799 1,754 1,750 1,712
Japan NA 2,132 2,062 1,911 1,857 1,814 1,795 1,765
Republic of Korea NA NA 2,798 2,730 2,631 2,501 2,392 2,387
Singapore NA 2,388 2,425 2,456 2,451 2,425 2,414 2,399
Austria NA NA NA 1,699 1,721 1,699 1,681 1,673
Belgium NA 1,720 1,656 1,580 1,545 1,565 1,568 1,540
Czech Republic NA NA NA 2,017 2,056 1,965 1,962 1,891
Denmark NA 1,636 1,539 1,540 1,581 1,579 1,570 1,566
Finland NA 1,869 1,769 1,776 1,751 1,716 1,704 1,672
France NA 1,868 1,705 1,651 1,591 1,557 1,560 1,559
Germany NA 1,770 1,578 1,534 1,473 1,434 1,430 1,390
Ireland NA NA 1,988 1,875 1,719 1,654 1,601 1,555
Italy NA NA 1,867 1,859 1,861 1,819 1,809 1,773
Netherlands NA NA NA 1,512 1,480 1,417 1,401 1,384
Norway NA 1,580 1,503 1,488 1,455 1,420 1,423 1,408
Spain NA 1,766 1,608 1,592 1,653 1,597 1,572 1,579
Sweden NA NA 1,575 1,640 1,642 1,605 1,625 1,611
United Kingdom NA 1,820 1,751 1,728 1,698 1,674 1,665 1,643

Table 7b. Average annual rates of change

Country 1979–2009 1979–90 1990–95 1995–2000 2000–09 2007–08 2008–09
United States -0.2 -0.1 0.4 0.1 -0.8 -0.6 -1.8
Canada -0.2 -0.1 0.1 -0.1 -0.5 -0.5 -1.8
Australia -0.3 -0.3 0.1 -0.1 -0.6 3.0 -2.2
Japan -0.6 -0.3 -1.5 -0.6 -0.6 -1.2 -1.6
Republic of Korea NA NA -0.5 -0.7 -1.1 -2.3 -0.2
Singapore 0.0 0.1 0.3 -0.0 -0.2 0.0 -0.6
Austria NA NA NA 0.3 -0.3 -0.0 -0.5
Belgium -0.4 -0.3 -0.9 -0.4 -0.0 0.5 -1.8
Czech Republic NA NA NA 0.4 -0.9 0.7 -3.6
Denmark -0.1 -0.6 0.0 0.5 -0.1 -0.1 -0.2
Finland -0.4 -0.5 0.1 -0.3 -0.5 -0.1 -1.9
France -0.6 -0.8 -0.6 -0.7 -0.2 0.3 -0.0
Germany NA -1.0 NA -0.8 -0.6 -0.1 -2.8
Ireland NA NA -1.2 -1.7 -1.1 -1.8 -2.8
Italy NA NA -0.1 0.0 -0.5 -0.4 -2.0
Netherlands NA NA NA -0.4 -0.7 -0.8 -1.2
Norway -0.4 -0.5 -0.2 -0.4 -0.4 0.2 -1.0
Spain -0.4 -0.8 -0.2 0.8 -0.5 0.5 0.4
Sweden NA NA 0.8 0.0 -0.2 0.6 -0.9
United Kingdom -0.3 -0.4 -0.3 -0.3 -0.4 -0.3 -1.3
Note: Data for Germany for years before 1991 pertain to the former West Germany.
NA = Not available.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 15| Tables

 Employment as percentage of population,
by country, 1960–2009
Table 8.
Country 1960 1979 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008 2009
United States 37.78 44.83 48.35 47.46 48.98 48.40 48.21 46.03
Canada 34.88 44.45 47.60 45.68 48.37 50.34 51.59 50.14
Australia 40.45 42.58 46.56 46.00 47.20 49.27 50.38 49.47
Japan 50.38 50.26 52.04 53.28 51.44 50.02 50.28 49.53
Republic of Korea NA 36.24 42.19 45.27 45.00 47.48 48.51 48.22
Singapore NA 48.09 52.42 50.18 52.55 53.06 58.72 59.57
Austria 48.81 46.03 46.58 45.53 47.29 47.65 49.39 48.75
Belgium 38.19 38.38 38.58 38.15 40.08 40.64 41.72 41.32
Czech Republic NA NA NA 49.83 48.09 48.77 50.70 49.81
Denmark 46.56 49.60 50.75 48.81 50.81 50.33 52.83 50.74
Finland NA 48.02 49.75 40.19 44.31 45.54 47.53 45.96
France 42.84 40.39 39.30 38.19 40.07 39.89 40.35 39.63
Germany 47.07 43.95 48.07 46.05 47.63 47.09 49.05 49.18
Ireland 37.81 35.03 33.48 35.61 44.57 47.17 47.34 43.12
Italy 41.68 37.41 39.86 38.42 40.27 41.63 42.22 41.22
Netherlands 36.80 35.11 42.52 44.55 49.43 49.71 52.25 52.00
Norway 42.71 46.72 48.54 48.63 51.65 50.87 54.84 53.95
Spain NA 37.00 38.66 37.50 42.67 46.35 47.12 43.64
Sweden 48.83 51.04 53.74 46.78 48.47 48.16 49.63 48.22
United Kingdom 45.58 44.80 46.95 44.50 46.67 47.77 47.96 46.90
Note: Data for Germany for years before 1991 pertain to the former West Germany.
NA = Not available.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 16| Tables

 Purchasing power parities (PPPs), exchange rates,
and relative prices, by country, 2009
Table 9. (U.S.=1.00)
Country PPPs for GDP Exchange rates Relative prices1
United States 1.00 1.00 1.00
Canada 1.19 1.14 1.05
Australia 1.46 1.26 1.16
Japan 114.58 93.68 1.22
Republic of Korea 802.68 1274.63 0.63
Singapore 1.08 1.45 0.74
Austria 0.85 0.72 1.19
Belgium 0.87 0.72 1.21
Czech Republic 13.70 19.37 0.71
Denmark 8.17 5.36 1.52
Finland 0.92 0.72 1.29
France 0.88 0.72 1.22
Germany 0.81 0.72 1.12
Ireland 0.89 0.72 1.24
Italy 0.79 0.72 1.10
Netherlands 0.85 0.72 1.18
Norway 8.93 6.29 1.42
Spain 0.70 0.72 0.98
Sweden 8.81 7.65 1.15
United Kingdom 0.62 0.64 0.97
1
Relative prices are the ratio of PPPs to exchange rates. They are a measure of how expensive goods and services are in a country relative to the United
States. A number greater than 1 indicates relatively higher prices while a number less than 1 indicates relatively lower prices. See technical notes.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 17| Tables

 Technical notes
This report updates the international comparisons report on GDP per capita and related measures
produced 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.” 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 data for 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 countries through 2009.

These technical notes provide definitions, sources, and methods for the basic time series and indicators
included in this report.

Gross domestic product

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the market value of goods and services produced by labor and capital in
a country, regardless of nationality (see table 4). As such, it is the most comprehensive measure of a
country's economic output that is generally estimated by statistical agencies.

The GDP measures in this report were obtained from the national accounts programs of their respective
national statistical agencies. For all countries in this comparison, data for more recent years have been
produced using chain linked real output measures as recommended in the 1993 United Nations System
of National Accounts (SNA93). For several countries, however, older data were produced on a 1968
United Nations System of National Accounts (SNA68). Data produced on an SNA68 basis used fixed base-
year deflators that were typically updated only every 5 years. In order to construct one continuous GDP
series, BLS links several time series, each of which has its own set of base-year price weights.

The U.S. GDP series are produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and are based on the system
of national income and product accounts (NIPAs), which are also prepared in accordance with SNA93.

Gross national income

Gross National Income (GNI) is equivalent to GDP except that it includes net income flows from abroad,
which are the sum of all income received by one country from investments in other countries, minus in-
come from investments that flow to other countries. The GNI measures in this report have been pre-
pared in accordance with SNA93.

Most GNI measures in this report were obtained from the national accounts programs of their respective
national statistical agencies. However, for some countries the data were obtained from Eurostat and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF). The U.S. GNI series is based on the system of national income and
product accounts (NIPAs) estimated by BEA.

GDP per capita

GDP per capita is calculated as GDP divided by population and is a rough measure of a population’s eco-
nomic well being. (See table 1.) However, this measure may have the following limitations: The total
production of a country consists of many things that are not included in its GDP, and some items
included may not contribute to a country's well-being. In addition, some countries experience significant
in- and out-flows of income because of foreign investment, which may affect a country’s prosperity.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 18| Technical notes

 GDP per hour worked and GDP per employed person
GDP per hour worked is one measure of labor productivity. (See table 3.) Although it relates output to
labor hours involved in its production by all persons in a country, it does not measure the specific contri-
bution of labor or any other factor of production. Rather, it reflects the joint effects of many influences,
including changes in technology; capital investment; utilization of capacity, energy, and materials; the
use of purchased services inputs, including contract employment services; the organization of pro-
duction; and managerial skill; in addition to the characteristics and effort of the workforce.

In addition to GDP per hour worked, this report also provides GDP per employed person. (See table 2.)
GDP per employed person is a less precise measure of labor productivity in that it does not take into
account the often substantial differences in working hours among countries; however, data on GDP per
employed person are available for longer time periods and are thus useful as a rough indicator of labor
productivity for years in which GDP per hour data are not available.

Comparative levels of time series with real output using purchasing power parities (PPPs)
In order to make international comparisons of levels of GDP, GDP per capita, GDP per hour worked, and
GDP per employed persons, it is necessary to express output in a common currency unit. In this report,
BLS converted the output measures from national currency units to U.S. dollars through the use of
purchasing power parities (PPPs). PPPs are currency conversion rates that allow output in different
currency units to be expressed in a common unit of value — in this case, U.S. dollars.

There are two primary reasons for using PPPs rather than market exchange rates to convert GDP into a
common currency. First, PPPs reflect the relative purchasing powers of different currencies. By contrast,
market exchange rates represent at best relative prices of goods and services that are traded interna-
tionally, not the relative value of total domestic output, which also consists of goods, and particularly
services, that are not traded internationally. Second, PPPs are more stable than market exchange rates,
which can vary frequently and abruptly. Often these changes in market exchange rates are due to cur-
rency speculation or interest rates changes. Thus if GDP is converted into a common currency using ex-
change rates, the output of a country's economy could appear to vary for reasons that are unrelated to
the country’s economic activity.

The levels of GDP in this report were derived as follows. First, real GDP series from each country was
expressed in constant prices of the national currency in 2009. Next, each country's constant GDP series
was divided by the country’s PPP for 2009 as calculated by the OECD-Eurostat PPP Program 1 or the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), thereby converting the series into constant 2009 U.S. dollars. Finally,
the time series of GDP per capita, per employed person, and per hour were estimated by dividing each
country's GDP in 2009 dollars by its population, employment, and hours, respectively.

PPPs are an effective tool for international comparisons of output levels, but they should be used and
interpreted with caution, as the accuracy of PPPs may be limited by several factors; for example, goods
and services included in the calculation of PPPs may not be representative of the entire economy or
comparable across countries, countries may use different price aggregation methods, and the statistical
capabilities among countries may differ. Although comparative estimates like GDP per capita are useful

1
OECD and Eurostat, Purchasing Power Parities and Real Expenditures. 2005 Benchmark Year, 2007 Edition.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 19| Technical notes

 for grouping countries, changes in country rankings can occur as a result of relatively minor adjustments
to PPP estimates. Thus, small differences between countries are not, in general, economically signifi-
cant, and a strict ranking order interpretation should be avoided.

Currency exchange rates and relative prices

The currency exchange rate is the rate at which one currency may be converted into the currency of
another country for commercial purposes, such as international trade. The market exchange rates in this
report are based on reports by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board. (See table 9.)

The relationship between PPPs and market exchange rates can be used to estimate comparative prices in
different countries. This report calculates relative prices in 2009 by dividing a country’s PPP by its market
exchange rate. (See table 9.) The resulting values indicate the domestic price, expressed in U.S. dollars,
of a basket of goods that would cost exactly one dollar in the United States. Consequently, values less
than 1.00 indicate that prices in that country are relatively low compared with the United States. Values
greater than 1.00 indicate that prices in a particular country are relatively high compared with the
United States.

Population and employment

The population data in this report represent the total average resident population, which refers to the
civilian population and the armed forces residing within a country. (See table 5.) The data are derived
from national statistical agencies and international organizations.

The employment data in this report represent the number of persons employed, which consists of the
sum of civilian employment and armed forces. (See table 6.) Most of the data are obtained from the
countries' national accounts, where the data series have been developed from various surveys and other
sources, including labor force (household) and establishment surveys. In some cases, the data have been
supplemented with data obtained from other series published by national statistical or international
organizations.

The employment-population ratio measures the participation of the population in the production
process. (See table 8.) In this report, the population and employment figures include the Armed Forces.
This inclusion is a conceptual difference to the population and employment figures published in the BLS
report International comparisons of annual labor force statistics, 10 countries, 2 which exclude the Armed
Forces.

Hours worked
The hours worked data in this report represent hours actually worked, including regular work
time, overtime, preparing the work place, waiting for supplies, and short rests. Hours worked exclude
vacation, sick leave, lunch breaks, and commuting to and from work.

Hours worked may not be fully comparable across countries because national statistical offices may use
different concepts, data sources, and estimation techniques to calculate total hours worked; for exam-

2
This report is available on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ilc/home.htm.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 20| Technical notes

 ple, the employment series may refer to the number of persons or the number of jobs, hours worked
may be estimated from hours paid, and different establishment and household surveys may be used to
cover all employees, self-employed, and Armed Forces. These differences may affect the comparability
of hours worked data among different countries.3

For most countries, the hours data used in this report are obtained from the countries' national ac-
counts, where the data series have been developed from various surveys and other sources. For some
countries, the data are based on other series published by national statistical or international organiza-
tions.

Data limitations
BLS prepares the data in this report with the utmost attention to comparability across countries. How-
ever, there are several issues that limit the comparability, including the following:

• Different national methodologies: The measures in this report were calculated from data
that were obtained from national statistical agencies and international organizations.
While these data are generally comparable, some differences remain in the statistical
methodologies used by these organizations.
• Missing data for recent years: In some cases, when data for the most recent year(s) are
not available, BLS may estimate the missing data using alternative data series.
• Different historical methodologies: National statistical agencies change their method-
ology periodically. As a result, continuous time series from 1960 forward are generally
not available. In order to construct longer time series, BLS often links several shorter se-
ries that may have used different methodologies.

3
Some of these differences are addressed by Susan Fleck in "International comparisons of hours worked: an
assessment of the statistics," Monthly Labor Review, May 2009, pp. 3–31.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/ilc 21| Technical notes