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 average for 2023 based on 183 countries was 26826 U.S. dollars. The highest value was in Luxembourg: 130491 U.S. dollars and the lowest value was in Burundi: 829 U.S. dollars. The indicator is available from 1990 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Historical chart and dataset showing World GDP per capita by year from 1960 to 2023.

Worldwide, Luxembourg has the highest net national income per capita, reaching nearly 78,000 U.S. dollars in 2021. Norway and Switzerland followed behind. When adjusting for pruchasing power parity (PPP), Bermuda has the highest average income or wealth per adult worldwide.

Graph and download economic data for Constant GDP per capita for High Income Countries (NYGDPPCAPKDHIC) from 1960 to 2023 about per capita, income, and GDP.

19 of the 20 countries with the lowest estimated GDP per capita in the world in 2024 are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. South Sudan is believed to have a GDP per capita of just 351.02 U.S. dollars - for reference, Luxembourg has the highest GDP per capita in the world, at almost 130,000 U.S. dollars, which is around 400 times larger than that of Burundi (U.S. GDP per capita is over 250 times higher than Burundi's). Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa Many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa have been among the most impoverished in the world for over a century, due to lacking nutritional and sanitation infrastructures, persistent conflict, and political instability. These issues are also being exacerbated by climate change, where African nations are some of the most vulnerable in the world, as well as the population boom that will place over the 21st century. Of course, the entire population of Sub-Saharan Africa does not live in poverty, and countries in the southern part of the continent, as well as oil-producing states around the Gulf of Guinea, do have some pockets of significant wealth (especially in urban areas). However, while GDP per capita may be higher in these countries, wealth distribution is often very skewed, and GDP per capita figures are not representative of average living standards across the population. Outside of Africa Yemen is the only country outside of Africa to feature on the list, due to decades of civil war and instability. Yemen lags very far behind some of its neighboring Arab states, some of whom rank among the richest in the world due to their much larger energy sectors. Additionally, the IMF does not make estimates for Afghanistan, which would also likely feature on this list.

Graph and download economic data for Constant GDP per capita for Low Income Countries (NYGDPPCAPKDLIC) from 1980 to 2024 about per capita, income, and GDP.

The GDP per capita for countries is shown in this dataset for the different years. This economic metric shows the economic output per person and determines the country’s situation based on its economic growth. This dataset can be used to analyze the prosperity of a country based on its economic growth. Countries with higher GDP per countries are determined to be developed whereas countries with low GDP per capita are determined to be developing countries. This dataset can be used to analyze a country’s wealth and prosperity.

Graph and download economic data for Gross Domestic Product Per Capita for Low Income Countries (NYGDPPCAPCDLIC) from 1967 to 2024 about per capita, income, and GDP.

In the build up to the Second World War, the United States was the major power with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the world. In 1938, the United States also had the highest overall GDP in the world, and by a significant margin, however differences in GDP per person were much smaller. Switzerland In terms of countries that played a notable economic role in the war, the neutral country of Switzerland had the highest GDP per capita in the world. A large part of this was due to the strength of Switzerland's financial system. Most major currencies abandoned the gold standard early in the Great Depression, however the Swiss Franc remained tied to it until late 1936. This meant that it was the most stable, freely convertible currency available as the world recovered from the Depression, and other major powers of the time sold large amounts of gold to Swiss banks in order to trade internationally. Switzerland was eventually surrounded on all sides by Axis territories and lived under the constant threat of invasion in the war's early years, however Swiss strategic military planning and economic leverage made an invasion potentially more expensive than it was worth. Switzerland maintained its neutrality throughout the war, trading with both sides, although its financial involvement in the Holocaust remains a point of controversy. Why look at GDP per capita? While overall GDP is a stronger indicator of a state's ability to fund its war effort, GDP per capita is more useful in giving context to a country's economic power in relation to its size and providing an insight into living standards and wealth distribution across societies. For example, Germany and the USSR had fairly similar GDPs in 1938, whereas Germany's per capita GDP was more than double that of the Soviet Union. Germany was much more industrialized and technologically advanced than the USSR, and its citizens generally had a greater quality of life. However these factors did not guarantee victory - the fact that the Soviet Union could better withstand the war of attrition and call upon its larger population to replenish its forces greatly contributed to its eventual victory over Germany in 1945.

This statistic shows the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the main industrialized and emerging countries in current prices in 2024. All figures are estimates. This year, the gross domestic product per capita in China amounted to approximately 13,312.7 U.S. dollars.

The average for 2023 based on 62 countries was 56418 U.S. dollars. The highest value was in Luxembourg: 130491 U.S. dollars and the lowest value was in Palau: 15797 U.S. dollars. The indicator is available from 1990 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This dataset provides values for GDP PER CAPITA reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

This dataset provides values for GDP PER CAPITA reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

The statistic shows gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the countries of the Arab world in 2023. 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, GDP per capita in Algeria amounted to around 5,389.84 U.S. dollars.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the monetary value of all finished goods and services made within a country during a specific period. GDP provides an economic snapshot of a country, used to estimate the size of an economy and growth rate. This dataset contains the GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).

GDP comparisons using PPP are arguably more useful than those using nominal GDP when assessing a nation's domestic market because PPP takes into account the relative cost of local goods, services and inflation rates of the country, rather than using international market exchange rates which may distort the real differences in per capita income

Acknowledgement

Thanks to World Databank

The statistic above provides the ranking of countries by median self-reported household income. Between 2006 and 2012, the median household income in Norway was about 51,489 U.S. dollars.

This layer contains Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Per Capita - the total value of goods produced and services provided, divided by the total population in each country, from 1960 to 2016, expressed in 2016 US Dollars. Expressing the GDP in "per capita" terms allows for better comparisons across countries. Total GDP is available in an accompanying layer. GDP as a measure has been largely criticized as an incomplete measure of productivity and wealth, as it does not take into account production in the informal economy, quality of life, degradation to the environment, or income distribution. However, GDP is an internationally comparable measure, used in everything from banks setting interest rates to political campaign speeches.Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators.

Graph and download economic data for Gross Domestic Product Per Capita for High Income Countries (NYGDPPCAPCDHIC) from 1960 to 2023 about per capita, income, and GDP.

This dataset provides values for GDP PER CAPITA PPP reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.