In 2025, Luxembourg was the country with the highest gross domestic product per capita in the world. Of the 20 listed countries, 13 are in Europe and five are in Asia, alongside the U.S. and Australia. There are no African or Latin American countries among the top 20. Correlation with high living standards While GDP is a useful indicator for measuring the size or strength of an economy, GDP per capita is much more reflective of living standards. For example, when compared to life expectancy or indices such as the Human Development Index or the World Happiness Report, there is a strong overlap - 14 of the 20 countries on this list are also ranked among the 20 happiest countries in 2024, and all 20 have "very high" HDIs. Misleading metrics? GDP per capita figures, however, can be misleading, and to paint a fuller picture of a country's living standards then one must look at multiple metrics. GDP per capita figures can be skewed by inequalities in wealth distribution, and in countries such as those in the Middle East, a relatively large share of the population lives in poverty while a smaller number live affluent lifestyles.

The Gross Domestic Product per capita in China was last recorded at 12175.20 US dollars in 2023. The GDP per Capita in China is equivalent to 96 percent of the world's average. This dataset provides - China GDP per capita - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Russia was last recorded at 10420.57 US dollars in 2023. The GDP per Capita in Russia is equivalent to 83 percent of the world's average. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Russia GDP per capita - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

In 2025, the United States had the largest economy in the world, with a gross domestic product of over 30 trillion U.S. dollars. China had the second largest economy, at around 19.23 trillion U.S. dollars. Recent adjustments in the list have seen Germany's economy overtake Japan's to become the third-largest in the world in 2023, while Brazil's economy moved ahead of Russia's in 2024. Global gross domestic product Global gross domestic product amounts to almost 110 trillion U.S. dollars, with the United States making up more than one-quarter of this figure alone. The 12 largest economies in the world include all Group of Seven (G7) economies, as well as the four largest BRICS economies. The U.S. has consistently had the world's largest economy since the interwar period, and while previous reports estimated it would be overtaken by China in the 2020s, more recent projections estimate the U.S. economy will remain the largest by a considerable margin going into the 2030s.The gross domestic product of a country is calculated by taking spending and trade into account, to show how much the country can produce in a certain amount of time, usually per year. It represents the value of all goods and services produced during that year. Those countries considered to have emerging or developing economies account for almost 60 percent of global gross domestic product, while advanced economies make up over 40 percent.

View economic output, reported as the nominal value of all new goods and services produced by labor and property located in the U.S.

The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Thailand was last recorded at 6393.89 US dollars in 2023. The GDP per Capita in Thailand is equivalent to 51 percent of the world's average. This dataset provides - Thailand GDP per capita - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Japan was last recorded at 36990.33 US dollars in 2023. The GDP per Capita in Japan is equivalent to 293 percent of the world's average. This dataset provides - Japan GDP per capita - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Switzerland was last recorded at 89555.56 US dollars in 2023. The GDP per Capita in Switzerland is equivalent to 709 percent of the world's average. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Switzerland GDP per capita - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

South Africa's GDP was estimated at just over 403 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, the highest in Africa. Egypt followed, with a GDP worth around 380 billion U.S. dollars, and ranked as the second-highest on the continent. Algeria ranked third, with about 260 billion U.S. dollars. These African economies are among some of the fastest-growing economies worldwide. Dependency on oil For some African countries, the oil industry represents an enormous source of income. In Nigeria, oil generates over five percent of the country’s GDP in the third quarter of 2023. However, economies such as the Libyan, Algerian, or Angolan are even much more dependent on the oil sector. In Libya, for instance, oil rents account for over 40 percent of the GDP. Indeed, Libya is one of the economies most dependent on oil worldwide. Similarly, oil represents for some of Africa’s largest economies a substantial source of export value. The giants do not make the ranking Most of Africa’s largest economies do not appear in the leading ten African countries for GDP per capita. The GDP per capita is calculated by dividing a country’s GDP by its population. Therefore, a populated country with a low total GDP will have a low GDP per capita, while a small rich nation has a high GDP per capita. For instance, South Africa has Africa’s highest GDP, but also counts the sixth-largest population, so wealth has to be divided into its big population. The GDP per capita also indicates how a country’s wealth reaches each of its citizens. In Africa, Seychelles has the greatest GDP per capita.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the BRICS countries have been considered the five foremost developing economies in the world. Originally, the term BRIC was used by economists when talking about the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, however these countries have held annual summits since 2009, and the group has expanded to include South Africa since 2010. China has the largest GDP of the BRICS country, at 16.86 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021, while the others are all below three trillion. Combined, the BRICS bloc has a GDP over 25.85 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022, which is slightly more than the United States. BRICS economic development China has consistently been the largest economy of this bloc, and its rapid growth has seen it become the second largest economy in the world, behind the U.S.. China's growth has also been much faster than the other BRICS countries; for example, when compared with the second largest BRICS economy, its GDP was less than double the size of Brazil's in 2000, but is almost six times larger than India's in 2021. Since 2000, the country with the second largest GDP has fluctuated between Brazil, Russia, and India, due to a variety of factors, although India has held this position since 2015 (when the other two experienced recession), and it's growth rate is on track to surpass China's in the coming decade. South Africa has consistently had the smallest economy of the BRICS bloc, and it has just the third largest economy in Africa; its inclusion in this group is due to the fact that it is the most advanced and stable major economy in Africa, and it holds strategic importance due to the financial potential of the continent in the coming decades. Future developments It is predicted that China's GDP will overtake that of the U.S. by the end of the 2020s, to become the largest economy in the world, while some also estimate that India will also overtake the U.S. around the middle of the century. Additionally, the BRICS group is more than just an economic or trading bloc, and its New Development Bank was established in 2014 to invest in sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy across the globe. While relations between its members were often strained or of less significance in the 20th century, their current initiatives have given them a much greater international influence. The traditional great powers represented in the Group of Seven (G7) have seen their international power wane in recent decades, while BRICS countries have seen theirs grow, especially on a regional level. Today, the original BRIC countries combine with the Group of Seven (G7), to make up 11 of the world's 12 largest economies, but it is predicted that they will move further up on this list in the coming decades.

GNI per Capita: PPP: 2021 Price data was reported at 46,411.492 Intl $ in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 46,433.898 Intl $ for 2021. GNI per Capita: PPP: 2021 Price data is updated yearly, averaging 42,911.127 Intl $ from Dec 1994 (Median) to 2022, with 29 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 46,683.827 Intl $ in 2018 and a record low of 39,244.949 Intl $ in 1994. GNI per Capita: PPP: 2021 Price data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.World Bank.WDI: Gross Domestic Product: Purchasing Power Parity. GNI per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP). PPP GNI is gross national income (GNI) converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates. An international dollar has the same purchasing power over GNI as a U.S. dollar has in the United States. GNI is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad. Data are in constant 2021 international dollars.;International Comparison Program, World Bank | World Development Indicators database, World Bank | Eurostat-OECD PPP Programme.;Weighted average;

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in China was worth 17794.78 billion US dollars in 2023, according to official data from the World Bank. The GDP value of China represents 16.88 percent of the world economy. This dataset provides - China GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

United States US: BOP: Financial Account: Foreign Direct Investment: Net Outflows: % of GDP data was reported at 1.956 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.680 % for 2016. United States US: BOP: Financial Account: Foreign Direct Investment: Net Outflows: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 1.103 % from Dec 1970 (Median) to 2017, with 48 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.619 % in 2007 and a record low of 0.085 % in 1985. United States US: BOP: Financial Account: Foreign Direct Investment: Net Outflows: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Balance of Payments: Capital and Financial Account. Foreign direct investment refers to direct investment equity flows in an economy. It is the sum of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, and other capital. Direct investment is a category of cross-border investment associated with a resident in one economy having control or a significant degree of influence on the management of an enterprise that is resident in another economy. Ownership of 10 percent or more of the ordinary shares of voting stock is the criterion for determining the existence of a direct investment relationship. This series shows net outflows of investment from the reporting economy to the rest of the world, and is divided by GDP.; ; International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments database, supplemented by data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and official national sources.; Weighted average; Note: Data starting from 2005 are based on the sixth edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6).

DJ: GDP per Person Employed: 2017 PPP data was reported at 30,508.239 Intl $ in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 31,304.301 Intl $ for 2021. DJ: GDP per Person Employed: 2017 PPP data is updated yearly, averaging 28,151.210 Intl $ from Dec 2013 (Median) to 2022, with 10 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 31,304.301 Intl $ in 2021 and a record low of 23,325.866 Intl $ in 2013. DJ: GDP per Person Employed: 2017 PPP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Djibouti – Table DJ.World Bank.WDI: Employment and Unemployment. GDP per person employed is gross domestic product (GDP) divided by total employment in the economy. Purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP is GDP converted to 2017 constant international dollars using PPP rates. An international dollar has the same purchasing power over GDP that a U.S. dollar has in the United States.;World Bank, World Development Indicators database. Estimates are based on employment, population, GDP, and PPP data obtained from International Labour Organization, United Nations Population Division, Eurostat, OECD, and World Bank.;Weighted average;

The statistic shows the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Brazil from 1987 to 2023, with projections up until 2030. GDP is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country in a year. It is considered to be a very important indicator of the economic strength of a country and a positive change is an indicator of economic growth. In 2023, the estimated GDP per capita in Brazil amounted to around 10,350.44 U.S. dollars. For further information see GDP of Brazil. Economical future of Brazil GDP per capita is worked out by taking the country’s total gross domestic product and dividing it by the total population, which essentially helps determine growth of an economy as well as changes in productivity for every person living in the country. As a member of economic organizations such as the G20 as well as the BRIC countries, Brazil has certainly made its mark as one of the strongest economies in the world. Despite experiencing economic fluctuations often, the general direction of the Brazilian economy is mainly positive. With recent improvements within the government, bank and education systems, Brazil has become a slightly more significant option for international investments. Additionally, a profusion of natural resources, a strong agricultural and industrial sector, and a growing service sector has made investors more intrigued in the future of the country. Additionally, at the end of 2014, consumer confidence saw a slight, however noticeable improvement, implying that individual financial situations and hope for the future of the country are very present within the country. Shortly after, consumer confidence plummeted, showing little faith in Brazil's economic future. However, the economic benchmarks point in a different direction.

Introduction

This study reproduces the results of the article Relationship of gender differences in preferences to economic development and gender equality (DOI: 10.1126/science.aas9899) and partially its supplementary material.

The code for the analysis can be found at the following GitHub page: https://github.com/scerioli/Global-Preferences-Survey

Preparation of the data

Data Collection, Cleaning, and Standardization

The data used in the Falk & Hermle 2018 is not fully available because of two reasons:

1. Data paywall: Some part of the data is not available for free. It requires to pay a fee to the Gallup to access them. This is the case for the additional data set that is used in the article, for instance, the one that contains the education level and the household income quintile. Check the website of the briq - Institute on Behavior & Inequality for more information on it.

2. Data used in study is not available online: This is what happened for the LogGDP p/c calculated in 2005 US dollars (which is not directly available online). We decided to calculate the LogGDP p/c in 2010 US dollars because it was easily available, which should not change the main findings of the article.

Global Preferences Survey

This data is protected by copyright and cannot be given to third parties.

To download the GPS data set, go to the website of the Global Preferences Survey in the section "downloads". There, choose the "Dataset" form and after filling it, we can download the data set.

Hint: The organisation can be also "private".

The following two relevant papers have to be also cited in all publications that make use of or refer in any kind to GPS dataset:

• Falk, A., Becker, A., Dohmen, T., Enke, B., Huffman, D., & Sunde, U. (2018). Global evidence on economic preferences. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 133 (4), 1645–1692.

• Falk, A., Becker, A., Dohmen, T. J., Huffman, D., & Sunde, U. (2016). The preference survey module: A validated instrument for measuring risk, time, and social preferences. IZA Discussion Paper No. 9674.

GDP per capita

From the website of the World Bank, one can access the data about the GDP per capita on a certain set of years. We took the GDP per capita (constant 2010 US$), made an average of the data from 2003 until 2012 for all the available countries, and matched the names of the countries with the ones from the GPS data set.

Gender Equality Index

The Gender Equality Index is composed of four main data sets.

• Time since women’s suffrage: Taken from the Inter-Parliamentary Union Website. We prepared the data in the following way. For several countries more than one date where provided (for example, the right to be elected and the right to vote). We use the last date when both vote and stand for election right were granted, with no other restrictions commented. Some counties were a colony or within union of the countries (for instance, Kazakhstan in Soviet Union). For these countries, the rights to vote and be elected might be technically granted two times within union and as independent state. In this case we kept the first date. It was difficult to decide on South Africa because its history shows the racism part very entangled with women's rights. We kept the latest date when also Black women could vote. For Nigeria, considered the distinctions between North and South, we decided to keep only the North data because, again, it was showing the completeness of the country and it was the last date. Note: USA data doesn't take into account that also up to 1964 black women couldn't vote (in general, Blacks couldn't vote up to that year). We didn’t keep this date, because it was not explicitly mentioned in the original data set. This is in contrast with other choices made, but it is important to reproduce exactly the results of the publication, and the USA is often easy to spot on the plots.

• UN Gender Inequality Index: Taken from the Human Development Report 2015. We kept only the table called "Gender Inequality Index".

• WEF Global Gender Gap: WEF Global Gender Gap Index Taken from the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2015. For countries where data were missing, data was added from the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2006. We modified some of the country names directly in the csv file, that is why we provide it as an input file.

• Ratio of female and male labour force participation: Average International Labour Organization estimates from 2003 to 2012 taken from the World Bank database (http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.FM.ZS). Values were inverted to create an index of equality. We took the average for the period between 2004 and 2013.

In our extended analysis, we also involved the following index:

• United Nations Development Programme Gender Development Index taken from Human Development Reports 2020. Note that we have downloaded the two tables of the Human Development Index for males and females, and used the ratio of the two as a GDI index, as described in the report.

The data collected aim to test whether English proficiency levels in a country are positively associated with higher democratic values in that country. English proficiency is sourced from statistics by Education First’s "EF English Proficiency Index" which covers countries' scores for the calendar year 2022 and 2021. The EF English Proficiency Index ranks 111 countries in five different categories based on their English proficiency scores that were calculated from the test results of 2.1 million adults. While democratic values are operationalized through the liberal democracy index from the V-Dem Institute annual report for 2022 and 2021. Additionally, the data is utilized to test whether English language media consumption acts as a mediating variable between English proficiency and democracy levels in a country, while also looking at other possible regression variables. In order to conduct the linear regression analyses for the dats, the software that was utilized for this research was Microsoft Excel.The raw data set consists of 90 nation states in two years from 2022 and 2021. The raw data is utilized for two separate data sets the first of which is democracy indicators which has the regression variables of EPI, HDI, and GDP. For this table set there is a total of 360 data entries. HDI scores are a statistical summary measure that is developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which measures the levels of human development in 190 countries. The data for nominal gross domestic product scores (GDP) are sourced from the World Bank. Having strong regression variables that have been proven to have a positive link with democracy in the data analysis such as GDP and HDI, would allow the regression analysis to identify whether there is a true relationship between English proficiency and democracy levels in a country. While the second data set has a total of 720 data entries and aims to identify English proficiency indicators the data set has 7 various regression variables which include, LDI scores, Years of Mandatory English Education, Heads of States Publicly speaking English, GDP PPP (2021USD), Common Wealth, BBC web traffic and CNN web traffic. The data for years of mandatory English education is sourced from research at the University of Winnipeg and is coded in the data set based on the number of years a country has English as a mandatory subject. The range of this data is from 0 to 13 years of English being mandatory. It is important to note that this data only concerns public schools and does not extend to the private school systems in each country. The data for heads of state publicly speaking English was done through a video data analysis of all heads of state. The data was only used for heads of state who had been in their position for at least a year to ensure the accuracy of the data collected; with a year in power, for heads of state that had not been in their position for a year, data was taken from the previous head of state. This data only takes into account speeches and interviews that were conducted during their incumbency. The data for each country’s GDP PPP scores are sourced from the World Bank, which was last updated for a majority of the countries in 2021 and is tied to the US dollar. Data for the commonwealth will only include members of the commonwealth that have been historically colonized by the United Kingdom. Any country that falls under that category will be coded as 1 and any country that does not will be coded as 0. For BBC and CNN web traffic that data is sourced by using tools in Semrush which provide a rough estimate of how much web traffic each news site generates in each country. Which will be utilized to identify the average number of web traffic for BBC News and CNN World News for both the 2021 and 2022 calendar. The traffic for each country will also be measured per capita, per 10 thousand people to ensure that the population density of a country does not influence the results. The population of each country for both 2021 and 2022 is sourced from the United Nations revision of World Population Prospects of both 2021 and 2022 respectively.

JP: GNI: PPP: 2011 Price: GNI per Capita data was reported at 38,266.732 Intl $ in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 39,322.060 Intl $ for 2015. JP: GNI: PPP: 2011 Price: GNI per Capita data is updated yearly, averaging 34,906.333 Intl $ from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2016, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 39,322.060 Intl $ in 2015 and a record low of 30,827.506 Intl $ in 1990. JP: GNI: PPP: 2011 Price: GNI per Capita data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.World Bank.WDI: Gross Domestic Product: Purchasing Power Parity. GNI per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP). PPP GNI is gross national income (GNI) converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates. An international dollar has the same purchasing power over GNI as a U.S. dollar has in the United States. GNI is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad. Data are in constant 2011 international dollars.; ; World Bank, International Comparison Program database.; Weighted average;

The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Kenya was last recorded at 1808.40 US dollars in 2023. The GDP per Capita in Kenya is equivalent to 14 percent of the world's average. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Kenya GDP per capita - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

GNI per Capita: PPP: 2021 Price data was reported at 19,819.634 Intl $ in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 18,876.686 Intl $ for 2022. GNI per Capita: PPP: 2021 Price data is updated yearly, averaging 17,675.680 Intl $ from Dec 2014 (Median) to 2023, with 10 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 19,819.634 Intl $ in 2023 and a record low of 12,905.897 Intl $ in 2020. GNI per Capita: PPP: 2021 Price data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Maldives – Table MV.World Bank.WDI: Gross Domestic Product: Purchasing Power Parity. GNI per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP). PPP GNI is gross national income (GNI) converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates. An international dollar has the same purchasing power over GNI as a U.S. dollar has in the United States. GNI is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad. Data are in constant 2021 international dollars.;International Comparison Program, World Bank | World Development Indicators database, World Bank | Eurostat-OECD PPP Programme.;Weighted average;