what is gdp per capita 
gross domestic product gdp per capita is an economic metric that breaks down a country s economic output to a per person allocation economists use gdp per capita to determine the prosperity of countries based on their economic growth gdp per capita is calculated by dividing the gdp of a nation by its population countries with a higher gdp per capita tend to be those that are industrial and developed and have smaller populations compared to others understanding gdp per capitagross domestic product per capita is a global measurement used by economists to gauge the prosperity of nations based on economic growth there are a few ways to analyze a country s wealth and prosperity gdp per capita is the most universal because its components are regularly tracked on a global scale providing ease of calculation and usage income per capita is another measure for global prosperity analysis but it s less broadly used 12the most basic interpretation of gdp per capita shows how much economic production value can be attributed to each individual citizen alternatively gdp per capita translates to a measure of national wealth because gdp market value per person also readily serves as a prosperity measure 1gdp per capita vs gdpgdp itself is the primary measure of a country s economic productivity a country s gdp shows the market value of the goods and services it produces the bureau of economic analysis bea reports gdp every quarter in the united states economists watch this quarterly report closely for the quarter over quarter and annual growth figures that can assist them in analyzing the overall health of the economy economists also use gdp for insight into how their domestic productivity compares to the productivity of other countries legislators use gdp figures when making fiscal policy decisions gdp can also influence central bankers when they re deciding the course of future monetary policy gdp per capita is often analyzed along with gdp it relates to both a country s gdp and its population so it can be important to understand how each factor affects gdp per capita growth 3real gdp per capita in the u s for q1 2024 4implications of gdp per capitagovernments can use gdp per capita to understand how their economies are growing along with their populations gdp per capita analysis on a national level can provide insights into a country s domestic population influence look at each variable s contribution to the per capita figure to understand how an economy is growing or contracting relative to its population there can be several numerical relationships that affect gdp per capita growth can potentially be the result of technological advances that increase productivity with no change in population if a country s gdp per capita is growing while the population level remains stable technology can be a revolutionary factor that helps countries increase their per capita rankings even as population figures are unchanged or decline some countries may have high gdp per capita but a small population this usually means that they ve built a self sufficient economy based on an abundance of special resources a nation may have consistent economic growth but gdp per capita growth will be negative if its population is growing faster than its gdp this isn t a problem for most established economies because even a tepid pace of economic growth can still outpace their population growth rates however countries with existing low levels of gdp per capita such as nations in africa and rapidly increasing populations combined with little gdp growth can experience a steady erosion of living standards 5both gdp and population are factors in the per capita equation so countries with the highest gdp may or may not have the highest gdp per capita global gdp per capita increased by an average of 2 3 in 2022 according to the latest world bank data 6economies such as those of china and india have achieved gdp per capita growth rates well above the global average in the 21st century despite their populations of over a billion people each this is thanks to the financial reforms initiated by china in the late 1970s and by india in the mid 1990s 7countries with the highest gdp per capitathese are the 10 countries with the highest gdp per capita as of april 2024 according to the international monetary fund imf 8many of the countries on this list have relatively small populations luxembourg has one of the smallest with about 674 000 people in 2024 most of these small population countries are energy exporters regional financial centers and export business powerhouses 9countries with the lowest gdp per capitahere are the 10 countries with the lowest gdp per capita as of april 2024 according to the imf 8global growth projectionsthe imf provides a regular outlook on the global growth of gdp this growth can affect the outlook for the growth of gdp per capita the imf expects global gdp growth of 3 2 in 2024 and 2025 due to the resilience of the global economy despite the high interest rate hikes by central banks 10advanced economies are expected to see a slight acceleration in growth from 1 6 in 2023 to 1 7 in 2024 to 1 8 in 2025 while growth rates in advanced economies will be lower than those in developing economies developing economies will see a modest slowdown from 4 3 in 2023 to 4 2 in 2024 and 2025 the estimate of 3 1 global growth in five years is the lowest in decades 10