To determine which country is the richest in the world, one must look at the GDP per capita index. This indicator can be expressed in nominal values, i.e.in terms of national currencies to the US dollar at market exchange rates. But in the different countries for the same amount of money it is impossible to purchase the same quantity of goods and services. Therefore, there is one more, more accurate indicator of the country's economic development - GDP per capita, calculated at purchasing power parity.
Countries by GDP per capita, calculated by purchasing power parity( IMF data for 2010). The most rich countries are denominated in burgundy color, the lightest yellow is the poorest .
The top-20 richest countries in the world , based on GDP per capita, calculated at purchasing power parity( IMF data for 2010):
20th place: Great Britain - 35 053 $
19th place: Germany - 35 930 $
18th place: Belgium - 36 274 $
17th place: Iceland - 36 681 $
16th place:Denmark - 36,764 $
15th place: United Arab Emirates - 36,973 $
14th place: Sweden - 37,775 $
13th place: Kuwait - 38,293 $
12th place: Ireland - 38,685$
11th place: Canada - 39 033 $
10th place: Austria - 39 454 $
9th place: Australia - 39 692 $
8th place: Netherlands - 40 777 $
7th place: Switzerland - 41,765 $
6th place: USA - 47,123 $
5th place: Brunei - 47,200 $
4th place: Norway - 52 238 $
3rd place: Singapore - $ 57,238
2nd place: Luxembourg - $ 80,304
1st place: Qatar - 88,232 $
As we see, 12 of the world's 20 richest countriesare located in Western Europe. However the richest country in the world is still in Asia - this is Qatar , the lion's share of the economy belongs to the oil sector. A worthy competition to the Western countries on the level of life is and other Asian countries - Singapore( not an oil-producing country), as well as the oil-producing countries of Brunei, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. To the most developed economies of the world, you can also add Hong Kong, China's special administrative region. GDP per capita in Hong Kong is higher than, for example, in Switzerland.
Japan is one of the top twenty countries based on nominal GDP per capita, but because of the very high level of prices in terms of purchasing power parity, it takes only 24th place.
Among the world's 20 richest countries there are no representatives of Latin America and Africa. However, you can create separate ratings on them.
The richest countries in Latin America for GDP per capita, calculated at purchasing power parity( IMF data for 2010):
12th place: Brazil - 11,289 $
11th place: Venezuela - 11,889 $
10place: Panama - $ 12,397
9th place: Saint Kitts and Nevis - $ 12,976
8th place: Mexico - $ 14,266
7th place: Uruguay - 14,342 $
6th placeplace: Chile - 14,982 $
5th place: Argentina - 15,603 $
4th place: Antigua and Barbuda - 16,566 $
3rd place: Trinidad and Tobago - $ 20,137
2nd place:Barbados - $ 22,296
1st place: Bahamas - $ 25,884
The richest countries in Africa for GDP per capita, calculated at purchasing power parity( IMF data for 2010):
10th place: Namibia - 6,945 $
9th place: Algeria - 7,103 $
8-6th place: Mauritius - 13,214 $
5th place: Gabon - 14,865 $
4th place: Libya - 14th place: Tunisia - 9 488 $878 $
3rd place: Botswana - $ 15,449
2nd place: Equatorial Guinea - $ 18,387
1st place: Seychelles - $ 24,837
The above-mentioned top ten richest countries in Africa GDP per capitaThe ratio is higher than, for example, in Ukraine ( $ 6,665 per capita).
The richest countries of the former USSR( IMF data as of October 8, 2014)
1st place: Estonia - 26 052 $( 40th place in the world)
2nd place: Lithuania - 25 374 $( 42nd placein the world)
3rd place: Russia - 24 298 $( 45th place in the world)
4th place: Kazakhstan - $ 23,038( 50th place in the world)
5th place: Latvia - 22832 $( 51st place in the world)
6th place: Belarus - 17,623 $( 63rd place in the world)
7th place: Azerbaijan - $ 17,028( 68th place in the world)
8place: Turkmenistan - 12 863 $( 81st place in the world)
Other countries of the former USSR have a figure of less than 10 thousand dollars per year per capitavillage.
see also The world's poorest countries