The richest and poorest countries in the world
Global Finance Magazine has listed the richest and poorest countries in the world based on GDP per capita, adjusted for purchasing power parity.
The data is based off of the latest global GDP data from the IMF from 2009 to 2013.
While total gross domestic product is used as a measure for country wealth, it is a better indication to see how wealthy each individual in the country is (GDP per capita).
Global Finance used a PPP measure to make a more useful comparison between countries.
While the USA is by far the world’s GDP leader, on a per capita basis, it is only the 7th wealthiest nation, with $51,248.21 per person.
The world’s richest nation is actually Qatar, where GDP per capita sits at $105,091.42 per person.
The Middle-Eastern nation is the only country in the world to have over $100,000 per person, though, controversially, this is unlikely to include the country’s thousands of indentured migrant workers.
Other nations that climb above the USA in the ranking include Luxembourg (2nd), Singapore (3rd), Norway (4th), Darussalam (5th) and Hong Kong (6th).
Other top nations include most of the Scandinavian countries, as well as leading, high-income nations such as Australia (10th) and Canada (11th).
All amounts in the table below are in international (PPP) dollars.
The 15 richest countries in the world
| # | Country | GDP per capita (2013) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qatar | $105 091.42 |
| 2 | Luxembourg | $79 593.91 |
| 3 | Singapore | $61 567.28 |
| 4 | Norway | $56 663.47 |
| 5 | Brunei Darussalam | $55 111.20 |
| 6 | Hong Kong | $53 432.23 |
| 7 | United States | $51 248.21 |
| 8 | United Arab Emirates | $49 883.58 |
| 9 | Switzerland | $46 474.95 |
| 10 | Australia | $44 073.81 |
| 11 | Canada | $43 593.74 |
| 12 | Austria | $43 344.79 |
| 13 | Ireland | $42 806.38 |
| 14 | Netherlands | $42 493.49 |
| 15 | Sweden | $42 037.48 |
South Africa ranks 80th out of all countries, with a GDP per capita of $11,750.37. The GDP measure has increased % since 2009, when it sat at $10,218.95.
South Africa is ranked as the 4th richest nation in Africa, below Mauritius (61st), Gabon (57th) and Botswana (56th).
Nigeria, despite being the total GDP leader on the continent, trails behind at 140th position, with a GDP per capita of $2,883.44, the magazine reported.
The 10 richest countries in Africa
| # | Country | GDP per capita (2013) |
|---|---|---|
| 38 | Seychelles | $26 168.91 |
| 56 | Botswana | $17 595.63 |
| 57 | Gabon | $17 586.34 |
| 61 | Mauritius | $16 350.47 |
| 69 | Libya | $14 474.75 |
| 80 | South Africa | $11 750.37 |
| 89 | Tunisia | $10 200.29 |
| 100 | Namibia | $8 159.88 |
| 101 | Tonga | $7 753.90 |
| 102 | Algeria | $7 736.90 |
Unsurprisingly, African countries make up most of the poorest countries in the world, with the Congo falling to the bottom of the list at just $394.25 per person in the country.
The 15 poorest countries in the world
| # | Country | GDP per capita (2013) |
|---|---|---|
| 184 | Congo | $394.25 |
| 183 | Zimbabwe | $589.46 |
| 182 | Burundi | $648.58 |
| 181 | Liberia | $716.04 |
| 180 | Eritrea | $792.13 |
| 179 | Central African Republic | $827.93 |
| 178 | Niger | $853.43 |
| 177 | Malawi | $893.84 |
| 176 | Madagascar | $972.07 |
| 175 | Afghanistan | $1 072.19 |
| 174 | Mali | $1 136.77 |
| 173 | Togo | $1 145.94 |
| 172 | Guinea | $1 162.18 |
| 171 | Ethiopia | $1 258.60 |
| 170 | Mozambique | $1 262.96 |
More on wealth
Where South Africa’s richest people are moving to
A million new millionaires enter the world of the super-rich
Loading ...
