Countries by GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$)

Ranking 2024

Values shown in per capita.

Analysis

GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) measures the total value of goods and services produced in a country divided by its population, expressed in inflation-adjusted 2015 dollars. Per the source definition: 'Gross domestic product is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. It can be measured in three different ways: using either the expenditure approach, the income approach, or the production approach. The core indicator has been divided by the general population to achieve a per capita estimate.' The constant 2015 US$ unit removes the effect of price changes over time, allowing cross-country and cross-year comparisons. This ranking covers 211 countries, surpassing the 80-country coverage threshold. Of those, 207 out of 211 (98.1%) have data from the last seven years, and 100% of datapoints are classified as official-quality. The 2024 data year has full values for 192 of 211 countries (91.0%). Viability checks identified 39 extreme outliers beyond the 3-standard-deviation threshold, reflecting the wide dispersion in the dataset.

The top of the ranking is heavily concentrated among small, high-income territories and Western European nations. Monaco ranks 1st at $247,170, followed by Liechtenstein at $167,187 (rank 2) and Bermuda at $122,118 (rank 3). Luxembourg ranks 4th at $104,147, and Ireland ranks 5th at $94,475. Among larger economies, the United States ranks 11th at $66,356, Australia 14th at $61,481, and Denmark 15th at $60,773. Singapore ranks 10th at $67,707, the highest-ranked Asian economy. The top 10 is dominated by territories and nations with small or concentrated populations paired with high-output financial or service sectors, as visible in the ranking values.

The middle of the ranking shows considerable variation. China ranks 80th at $13,122, placing it between Palau (rank 79, $13,128) and Argentina (rank 81, $12,774). India ranks 156th at $2,397, between Papua New Guinea (rank 155, $2,565) and Cote d'Ivoire (rank 157, $2,396). A notable counterintuitive placement is Guyana at rank 44 with $33,035, positioning it above Cyprus (rank 45, $32,617) and just below Aruba (rank 43, $33,374). At the lower end, several Sub-Saharan African countries cluster below $1,000: Burkina Faso ranks 198th at $764, Gambia 199th at $759, and Burundi last at $269. The range from $269 to $247,170 represents a spread of 91,887%, consistent with the variance flagged in viability checks.

Several limitations apply to this metric. GDP per capita is an average and does not reflect income distribution within a country; two countries with identical values may have very different levels of inequality. Constant 2015 US$ values depend on accurate GDP deflators, which can vary in quality across countries. Territories and special administrative regions such as Bermuda (rank 3), Isle of Man (rank 7), Cayman Islands (rank 8), and Macao SAR (rank 12) appear alongside sovereign states, which affects comparability. Some countries have data gaps: 4 of 211 lack recent data within the 7-year window, and 19 countries lack a 2024 value, relying on earlier years. GDP also excludes informal economic activity, which is significant in lower-ranked economies, meaning output in those countries may be understated.

Methodology

Data source: World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code NY.GDP.PCAP.KD. The metric is GDP per capita in constant 2015 US dollars. Per the source definition: 'Gross domestic product is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. It can be measured in three different ways: using either the expenditure approach, the income approach, or the production approach. The core indicator has been divided by the general population to achieve a per capita estimate.' The ranking covers 211 countries. Coverage exceeds the 80-country threshold. Of 211 countries, 207 (98.1%) have data from within the last 7 years, and 100% of datapoints are official quality (threshold: 70%). The reference data year is 2024, with 192 of 211 countries (91.0%) providing a value for that year. Viability checks identified 39 extreme outliers at the 3-standard-deviation threshold. Average year-over-year change is 4.2%, well below the 50% volatility threshold. The value range spans $268.70 (Burundi) to $247,170.22 (Monaco), a spread of 91,887%. Higher values indicate higher GDP per capita and are ranked as better.

Sources

• World Bank