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Monday, April 03, 2023

The World's Richest and

Poorest Countries 2022

What does it mean for a nation to be

rich or poor at a time of global
pandemic? GDP per capita adjusted for
relative purchasing power gives us an
idea, albeit an imperfect one.
AUGUST 01, 2022
Author: LUCA VENTURA

One of the world's poorest countries—Yemen—is being bombed by its far

richer neighbor, Saudi Arabia.

Would you rather be rich in a poor country or poor in

a rich one? Measuring how rich a country is not that
easy (spoiler: it is not just about GDP). Measuring
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 wealth distribution. 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.

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countries.

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, the IMF writes in World
Economic Outlook July 2022 update: “When the price
of other items, such as electronics, furniture, or
entertainment, increases, families can simply reduce
or even eliminate spending on them. For food,
heating, and transportation—often essential to earn a
living—this is much harder.” As a result, IMF
economists say the current situation poses a threat to
both 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.

GDP-
Rank Country/Territory PPP ($)

1 Luxembourg 140,694

2 Singapore 131,580

3 Ireland 124,596

4 Qatar 112,789

5 Macao SAR 85,611

6 Switzerland 84,658

7 United Arab Emirates  78,255

8 Norway 77,808

9 United States 76,027

10 Brunei Darussalam 74,953

11 Hong Kong SAR 70,448

12 San Marino 70,139

13 Denmark 69,273

14 Taiwan 68,730

15 Netherlands 68,572

16 Austria 64,571

17 Iceland 64,621

18 Andorra 63,600

19 Germany 63,271

20 Sweden 62926

21 Australia 61,941

22 Belgium 61,587

23 Finland 58,010

24 Canada 57,812

25 Bahrain 57,424

26 France 56,036

27 Saudi Arabia 55,368

28 United Kingdom 55,301

29 Malta 54,647

30 South Korea 53,051

31 Kuwait 50,919

32 New Zealand 50,411

33 Italy 50,216

34 Israel 50,204

35 Japan 48,814

36 Slovenia 48,534

37 Cyprus 48,443

38 Czech Republic 47527

39 Lithuania 46,479

40 Spain 46,413

41 Estonia 44,778

42 Puerto Rico 42,759

43 Poland 41,685

44 Hungary 40,944

45 Portugal 40,805

46 The Bahamas 40,274

47 Aruba 39,508

48 Slovak Republic 38,620

49 Guyana 38,258

50 Turkey 37,488

51 Latvia 37,330

52 Romania 36,622

53 Croatia 36,201

54 Panama 36,085

55 Greece 35,596

56 Oman 35,286

57 Seychelles 35,272

58 Malaysia 32,901

59 Kazakhstan 30,502

60 Russia 30,013

61 Trinidad and Tobago 29,884

62 Maldives 29,133

63 Bulgaria 29,593

64 Chile 28,526

65 St. Kitts and Nevis 27,608

66 Uruguay 26,663

67 Argentina 25,882

68 Mauritius 25,043

69 Montenegro 24,878

70 Costa Rica 24,490

71 Dominican Republic 23,983

72 Serbia 23,904

73 Mexico 22,216

74 Antigua and Barbuda 21,890

75 Belarus 21,686

76 China 21,364

77 Thailand 21,057

78 North Macedonia 19,726

79 Botswana 19,287

80 Equatorial Guinea 19,036

81 Turkmenistan 18,857

82 Georgia 18,594

83 Libya 18,345

84 Iran 18,332

85 Grenada 18,293

86 Colombia 18,225

87 Gabon 17,848

Bosnia and
88 17,471
Herzegovina

89 Barbados 17,408

90 Albania 17,383

91 Suriname 17,300

92 Brazil 17,208

93 Azerbaijan 17,153

94 Moldova 16,719

95 St. Lucia 16,509

96 Armenia 15,818

St. Vincent and the

97 15,505
Grenadines

98 Sri Lanka 15,387

99 South Africa 15,361

100 Peru 15,035

101 Egypt 14,928

102 Indonesia 14,535

103 Dominica 14,491

104 Paraguay 14,430

105 Kosovo 13,964

106 Palau 13,652

107 Fiji 13,598

108 Mongolia 13,350

109 Algeria 13,002

110 Bhutan 12,967

111 Vietnam 12,881

112 Ecuador 12,664

113 Tunisia 12,300

114 Iraq 12,141

115 Jordan 11,861

116 Jamaica 11,802

117 Nauru 10,750

118 El Salvador 10,581

119 Namibia 10,448

120 Eswatini 10,411

121 Philippines 10,237

122 Guatemala 9,911

123 Bolivia 9,856

124 Uzbekstian 9,243

125 Lao P.D.R. 9,184

126 Morocco 9,041

127 India 8,358

128 Cabo Verde 7,740

129 Angola 7,360

130 Belize 7,147

131 Nicaragua 7,071

132 Mauritania 6,920

133 Tonga 6,783

134 Ghana 6,754

135 Honduras 6,740

136 Djibouti 6,667

137 Bangladesh 6,633

138 Pakistan 6,470

139 Côte d'Ivoire 6,345

140 West Bank and Gaza 6,243

141 Kenya 6,061

142 Venezuela 5,949

143 Samoa 5,935

144 Nigeria 5,853

145 Tuvalu 5,798

146 Kyrgyz Republic 5,562

147 Cambodia 5,493

148 Myanmar 4,776

149 São Tomé and Príncipe 4,681

150 Tajikistan 4,630

151 Nepal 4,578

152 Republic of Congo 4,578

153 Sudan 4,442

154 Cameroon 4,398

155 Papau New Guinea 4,299

156 Marshall Islands 4,192

157 Benin 4,137

158 Senegal 4,093

159 Zambia 3,776

160 Micronesia 3,650

161 Ethiopia 3,407

162 Tanzania 3,358

163 Comoros 3,555

164 Timor-Leste 3,339

165 Haiti 3,189

166 Lesotho 3,034

167 Guinea 3,029

168 Uganada 2,961

169 Vanuatu 2,851

170 Rwanda 2,808

171 Guinea-Bissau 2,784

172 Burkina Faso 2,663

173 The Gambia 2,646

174 Togo 2,599

175 Mali 2,575

176 Zimbabwe 2,523

177 Solomon Islands 2,385

178 Kiribati 2,148

179 Eritrea 2,101

180 Yemen 2,078

181 Sierra Leone 1,958

182 Liberia 1,779

183 Madagascar 1,778

184 Chad 1,705

185 Malawi 1,603

186 Mozambique 1,439

187 Niger 1,435

188 Somalia 1,322

Democratic Republic of
189 1,316
the Congo

Central African
190 1,102
Republic

191 South Sudan 928

192 Burundi 856

Afghanistan, Lebanon,
— N.A.
Syria, Ukraine

Source: International Monetary Fund, World

Economic Outlook April 2022. Values are expressed
in current international dollars, reflecting the
corresponding exchange rates and PPP
adjustments. 

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