Net national incomes have grown globally, growing from 694 U.S. dollars in 1970 to 9,750 in 2021. Much of this growth can be attributed to improvements in overall global development, as economies in developing countries have grown rapidly. Net national incomes grew steadily from the 1970s to the 2000s, and then experienced a sharper increase during the 2000s until the Great Recession, falling slightly in 2008.

The adjusted net national income per capita worldwide stood at 9,707.19 U.S. dollars in 2021. Between 1970 and 2021, the net national income per capita rose by 9,011.28 U.S. dollars, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

Key information about Russia Household Income per Capita

• Russia Annual Household Income per Capita reached 8,179.123 USD in Dec 2024, compared with the previous value of 7,549.747 USD in Dec 2023.
• Russia Annual Household Income per Capita data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1992 to Dec 2024, with an averaged value of 5,882.623 USD.
• The data reached an all-time high of 9,660.697 USD in Dec 2013 and a record low of 183.584 USD in Dec 1992.
• In the latest reports, Retail Sales of Russia grew 5.200 % YoY in Dec 2024.

CEIC calculates Annual Household Income per Capita from Monthly Average Household Income per Capita multiplied by 12 and converts it into USD. Federal State Statistics Service provides Average Household Income per Capita in local currency. The Bank of Russia average market exchange rate is used for currency conversions.

Key information about US Household Income per Capita

• United States Annual Household Income per Capita reached 40,722.000 USD in Dec 2023, compared with the previous value of 39,167.917 USD in Dec 2022.
• US Annual Household Income per Capita data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1984 to Dec 2023, with an averaged value of 21,116.200 USD.
• The data reached an all-time high of 40,722.000 USD in Dec 2023 and a record low of 9,024.615 USD in Dec 1984.
• In the latest reports, Retail Sales of US grew 0.967 % YoY in May 2023.

CEIC calculates Annual Household Income per Capita from annual Household Income and Average Household Size. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides Household Income and Average Household Size.

The average for 2021 based on 71 countries was 27.53 percent. The highest value was in Colombia: 43.7 percent and the lowest value was in Slovakia: 19.1 percent. The indicator is available from 1963 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Key information about United States Monthly Earnings

• United States Monthly Earnings stood at 4,901 USD in Feb 2025, compared with the previous figure of 4,887 USD in Jan 2025
• US Monthly Earnings data is updated monthly, available from Mar 2006 to Feb 2025, with an average number of 3,469 USD
• The data reached the an all-time high of 4,901 USD in Feb 2025 and a record low of 2,743 USD in Mar 2006

CEIC calculates Monthly Earnings from Average Weekly Earnings multiplied by 4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides Average Weekly Earnings in USD. Monthly Earnings include Private Non Agricultural sector only.


Further information about United States Monthly Earnings

• In the latest reports, US Population reached 341 million people in Dec 2024
• Unemployment Rate of US increased to 4 % in Feb 2025
• The country's Labour Force Participation Rate remained the same rate at 62 % in Feb 2025

Since 1970, net national incomes per capita have grown in each region of the world. North America has experienced the largest increase, growing from nearly 4,500 U.S. dollars per capita in 1970 to $57,300 per capita in 2021. Europe and Central Asia follow behind North America, growing from 1,200 dollars per capita in 1970 to 22,000 in 2021. Other regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia have not grown as high, but their growth is still significant, with net national incomes per capita in 2021 growing to between 10 and 20 times their 1970 levels.

Key information about Vietnam Household Income per Capita

• Vietnam Annual Household Income per Capita reached 2,502.524 USD in Dec 2023, compared with the previous value of 2,409.689 USD in Dec 2022.
• Vietnam Annual Household Income per Capita data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1994 to Dec 2023, with an averaged value of 1,023.278 USD.
• The data reached an all-time high of 2,502.524 USD in Dec 2023 and a record low of 183.956 USD in Dec 1994.
• In the latest reports, Retail Sales of Vietnam grew 8.086 % YoY in Nov 2024.

CEIC converts Annual Household Income per Capita into USD. Annual Household Income per Capita is calculated from Monthly Average Household Income per Capita multiplied by 12. General Statistical Office provides Average Household Income per Capita in local currency. State Bank of Vietnam average market exchange rate is used for currency conversions.

Dataset consisting of inequality measures for 46 nation states and a global bibliography of all known household expenditure surveys covering the period roughly 1880-1960. Each entry notes when and where the survey was carried out and salient characteristics of the survey such as number of households, whether income and/or expenditure data are collected etc. These bibliographies are organised by six world regions and then by 118 nation states. For a sub-set of the most useful surveys we have estimated various inequality measures from the published data for 46 nation states, organised by world region.This project will calculate new estimates of world inequality in the period from the end of the nineteenth century until the 1960s, based on the results of household expenditure surveys. Our investigations have located a vast cache of household expenditure surveys for the period. Thus far, we have identified around 800 household surveys from around the world, carried out between the 1880s and 1960s, of which around half are of sufficient scope as to be potentially useful for the investigation of inequality. We will extract the reported demographic and expenditure data by income group from these reports and use them to estimate parameters of the income distribution. Using these estimates, we will investigate the changing nature of inequality within a number of key nation states, and also investigate the time path and geography of global inequality 1880-1960. In addition, we would use these data to estimate other indicators of living conditions, such as nutritional attainment, which may provide further insights into the impact of industrialisation on inequality. This project utilised the published reports of household expenditure surveys. These published reports are held at copyright libraries or national statistical offices and were typically part of the output of government departments (for example, the UK Board of Trade). We compiled our bibliographies through library searches and requests to various national statistical offices. Many of these reports are published in English, but a substantial number are only published in the language of the relevant nation state. The published household expenditure survey reports typically include summary tables of grouped data of income, expenditures, and household structure. All of these reports, and the data therein, are already in the public domain, and our bibliography provides details of when and where they were published. From these data we estimated a suite of inequality measures, using three different techniques. The inequality measures are: Gini coefficient, 90/10 percentile ratio, 90/50 percentile ratio, and the 50/10 percentile ratio. These inequality measures were estimated three ways: linear interpolation, the Beta-Lorenz method and a log normal density estimation. Not all published household expenditure survey reports contain sufficient data to estimate inequality measures. Our selection was based simply on whether the reports published the appropriate data. All that we required to estimate inequality were total household income or expenditure grouped by class (and the group average incomes/expenditures) and the total number of households and average household size.

With only ***** euros after accounting for purchasing power parity (PPP), Yemen had the lowest average income per adult worldwide in 2022. However, most of the countries on the list are located in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Key information about Taiwan Household Income per Capita

• Taiwan Annual Household Income per Capita reached 16,605.530 USD in Dec 2023, compared with the previous value of 16,714.808 USD in Dec 2022.
• Taiwan Annual Household Income per Capita data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1984 to Dec 2023, with an averaged value of 9,995.654 USD.
• The data reached an all-time high of 17,102.731 USD in Dec 2021 and a record low of 1,969.348 USD in Dec 1984.
• In the latest reports, Retail Sales of Taiwan grew 1.668 % YoY in Feb 2022.

CEIC calculates Annual Household Income per Capita from annual Average Household Income and Average Household Size and converts it into USD. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan provides Average Household Income in local currency and Average Household Size. Federal Reserve Board average market exchange rate is used for currency conversions.

Since 2000, the share of the world's total labor income before tax earned by women fluctuated between ***** percent to ***** percent. This is significantly less than their male counterparts. There are also differences between the world regions.

Worldwide, Luxembourg has the highest net national income per capita, reaching nearly ****** U.S. dollars in 2021. Norway and Switzerland followed behind. When adjusting for purchasing power parity (PPP), Bermuda has the highest average income or wealth per adult worldwide.

United States US: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data was reported at 30.600 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 30.100 % for 2013. United States US: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data is updated yearly, averaging 30.100 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2016, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 30.600 % in 2016 and a record low of 25.300 % in 1979. United States US: Income Share Held by Highest 10% 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: Poverty. Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

As of 2023, Rwanda had the lowest average monthly salary of employees in the world in terms of purchasing power parities (PPP), which takes the average cost of living in a country into account. Gambia had the second lowest average wages, with Ethiopia in third. Of the 20 countries with the lowest average salaries in the world, 17 were located in Africa. On the other hand, Luxembourg had the highest average monthly salaries of employees.

Colombia CO: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: Annualized Average Growth Rate data was reported at -2.590 % in 2021. Colombia CO: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: Annualized Average Growth Rate data is updated yearly, averaging -2.590 % from Dec 2021 (Median) to 2021, with 1 observations. The data reached an all-time high of -2.590 % in 2021 and a record low of -2.590 % in 2021. Colombia CO: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: Annualized Average Growth Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Colombia – Table CO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The growth rate in the welfare aggregate of the bottom 40% is computed as the annualized average growth rate in per capita real consumption or income of the bottom 40% of the population in the income distribution in a country from household surveys over a roughly 5-year period. Mean per capita real consumption or income is measured at 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries means are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The annualized growth rate is computed as (Mean in final year/Mean in initial year)^(1/(Final year - Initial year)) - 1. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported. The initial year refers to the nearest survey collected 5 years before the most recent survey available, only surveys collected between 3 and 7 years before the most recent survey are considered. The coverage and quality of the 2017 PPP price data for Iraq and most other North African and Middle Eastern countries were hindered by the exceptional period of instability they faced at the time of the 2017 exercise of the International Comparison Program. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform for detailed explanations.;World Bank, Global Database of Shared Prosperity (GDSP) (http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/brief/global-database-of-shared-prosperity).;;The comparability of welfare aggregates (consumption or income) for the chosen years T0 and T1 is assessed for every country. If comparability across the two surveys is a major concern for a country, the selection criteria are re-applied to select the next best survey year(s). Annualized growth rates are calculated between the survey years, using a compound growth formula. The survey years defining the period for which growth rates are calculated and the type of welfare aggregate used to calculate the growth rates are noted in the footnotes.

Key information about China Household Income per Capita

• China Annual Household Income per Capita reached 4,805.935 USD in Dec 2013, compared with the previous value of 4,273.467 USD in Dec 2012.
• China Annual Household Income per Capita data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1985 to Dec 2013, with an averaged value of 711.353 USD.
• The data reached an all-time high of 4,805.935 USD in Dec 2013 and a record low of 262.918 USD in Dec 1986.
• In the latest reports, Retail Sales of China grew 12.700 % YoY in May 2023.

CEIC converts Annual Household Income per Capita into USD. The National Bureau of Statistics provides Average Household Income per Capita in local currency. Federal Reserve Board average market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. Household Income covers urban area only.

In 2024, Switzerland led the ranking of countries with the highest average wealth per adult, with approximately ******* U.S. dollars per person. The United States was ranked second with an average wealth of around ******* U.S. dollars per adult, followed by Hong Kong SAR. However, the figures do not show the actual distribution of wealth. The Gini index shows wealth disparities in countries worldwide. Does wealth guarantee a longer life? As the adage goes, “money can’t buy you happiness,” yet wealth and income are continuously correlated to the quality of life of individuals in different countries around the world. While greater levels of wealth may not guarantee a higher quality of life, it certainly increases an individual’s chances of having a longer one. Although they do not show the whole picture, life expectancy at birth is higher in the wealthier world regions. Does money bring happiness? A number of the world’s happiest nations also feature in the list of those countries for which average income was highest. Finland, however, which was the happiest country worldwide in 2022, is missing from the list of the top twenty countries with the highest wealth per adult. As such, the explanation for this may be the fact that a larger proportion of the population has access to a high-income relative to global levels. Measures of quality of life Criticism of the use of income or wealth as a proxy for quality of life led to the creation of the United Nations’ Human Development Index. Although income is included within the index, it also has other factors taken into account, such as health and education. As such, the countries with the highest human development index can be correlated to those with the highest income levels. That said, none of the above measures seek to assess the physical and mental environmental impact of a high quality of life sourced through high incomes. The happy planet index demonstrates that the inclusion of experienced well-being and ecological footprint in place of income and other proxies for quality of life results in many of the world’s materially poorer nations being included in the happiest.

The average real wages worldwide saw *********** every year since 2006. However, in 2022, the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising inflation rates in led to a decrease in real average wages worldwide. In 2023, real global wage growth was positive again.

The massive wealth inequality in the world is underpinned by this chart: while *** percent of the world's population had fortunes of more than one million U.S. dollars in 2025, over ** percent of the global population had a total wealth of less than 10,000 U.S. dollars.