1) China
China – 2 trillion people, 1.4 billion (per capita) income. No surprise here. As we have said before, China is one of the biggest economies in the world, with a very large supply of cheap labor, which means high productivity and overall growth. Not only can this help create new jobs, but it can be used to strengthen other sectors of the country. 2)Germany
Germany – 3.3 billion people, 4.7 trillion (per capita) gross domestic product (GDP). If not for Germany’s geographic location, it would have been possible to find something close in line with Asia-Europe trade. But as we know, Germany has always struggled against financial repression and a highly centralized government, so its GDP does need to compete with those of Russia or Brazil. However, while the rest of Europe struggles even under similar conditions, Germany is able to maintain its success because of its geographical location.
3) US
US– 51 million people, $22 trillion GDP. Our number two largest nation, the US has more than half of the global population but generates far less than any other country. With a GDP of almost four trillion, the USA is an exceptionally wealthy nation. When the United States became independent, it was the richest country in the entire world. Unfortunately for the US, however, there is much work still to do when it comes to wealth creation. While it had great success attracting money from foreign investors, it remains a big issue for the American public in making its own money. Another major problem the country faces is healthcare, which must remain affordable to each of its citizens. 4) France
France – 37 million people, 7.4 trillion (per capita) GDP. French people will laugh at our list and say “oh yes!” but the truth of the matter is that France is much stronger economically than it appears and its per capita GDP of only €10,000 is one of the highest on earth. After all, if you count the cost of everything in French restaurants – such as steak, wine and bread, that would equal $1,000 per person. That is the equivalent of three meals, so the total amount spent by a French person will be closer to seven times your average meal size. At $1,000 per meal, food in French restaurants could be divided up between ten people, meaning that we would save over $40 million by cutting out what is served in our favorite French restaurant. Furthermore, France is extremely proud of its military, which has made the country the sixth largest in terms of defense budget, after Japan, America, Britain and China.
5) Canada
Canada – 32 million people, 8 trillion ($10.5 billion) GDP. If we go back to Canada, it wasn’t until the 1970s that the country really started growing. Today Canada is considered one of the five largest countries, not just by quantity of people but also by number of people living in poverty. Poverty is a growing problem for Canadians, especially now due to COVID19. It is estimated that over 80% of people in Canada live below the minimum wage, as well as many other taxes that governments collect. These factors make the Canadian dollar the world’s third most expensive currency. This may explain why it ranks so low in terms of purchasing power. To put things into perspective, the United States is worth around twice the price of the same amount of money. Yet, the US is able to produce more goods due to fewer production costs and higher efficiency levels, so it is able to charge prices way above others. For example, a home built by Bill Gates would cost him around $160 million, whereas a similar home built the same way would cost him less than $6.6 million. Overall, Canada does seem to have a lot of room to grow given its unique geography and diversity of cultures, including Chinese, French and Spanish.
6) Switzerland
Switzerland– 21.8 million people, 9 trillion ($20 billion) GDP. If we stop looking at the raw number of people per head, Swiss people are actually the ninth wealthiest people on Earth. Although you wouldn’t believe just how rich Switzerland really is in comparison with other countries. A country where roughly 20% of the population lives in extreme poverty, Swiss people are living comfortably by the virtue of having no national debt and a fairly small tax base. In fact, Switzerland’s GDP is so tiny, that for every thousand dollars in that country’s wealth, one Swiss pays only 0.05% or $0.0034. Not only is Switzerland one of the few countries in the world with a relatively peaceful economy, but some economists believe that Switzerland is the best place to raise children.
7) South Korea
South Korea – 17.4 million people, 6.3 trillion ($13 billion) GDP. Like Singapore, South Korea doesn’t hold nearly as many billionaires as some western countries, but the true wealth of this nation is concentrated among just 5 millionaires, which makes sense considering that the average Korean lives under $1.20 a day. Even though South Korea has some incredibly expensive real estate, people don’t typically move there by choice, rather because it is much harder for them to find someone willing to build anything in a good condition or pay rent in a decent area. Considering the fact that a single human life can cost as little as 100 million won, it would be truly insane to invest in South Korea without a reason.
8) Portugal
Portugal – 13.1 million people, 7.5 trillion ($12.2 billion) GDP. Unlike Switzerland, Peru and Chile, Portugal does not spend nearly as much money on building homes as many European countries do because it has a low construction cost. What makes Portuguese luxury real estate one of the priciest is its long coastline that stretches almost 200 miles. So, when Portuguese people want to buy property, they often end up choosing coastal areas over inland ones. However, even within coastal areas, prices can vary wildly, since both rural and urban areas are surrounded by mountains and water, unlike anywhere else on the planet. Just look at the prices of houses in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo or Sao Paulo, which can easily reach 15 to 30 million rials (~$170-$240) for a home. Of course, once again, it is important to remember that not everyone is poor in Portugal, so it is difficult to compare prices with those of neighboring countries. Still, if you consider the fact that it takes six months to finish an apartment in New York City, then imagine how much longer it takes to finish one in Portugal?
9) Luxembourg
Luxembourg – 11.2 million people, 8.5 trillion ($9 billion) GDP. Perhaps surprisingly, Luxembourg does not offer a significant advantage to anyone in the West when it comes to living standards: The official measure of prosperity in the EU. According to OECD data, Luxembourg has a GDP per capita ranking #9 in the international scene. There are certainly exceptions to this rule, but for the majority of countries around the globe, Luxembourg has one of the lowest GDPs per capita in the world. Therefore, a nation with such small incomes can only provide basic services for about 25% of its citizenry and can only rely on fishing to get by, compared to many Western counties, which is generally regarded as one of the main sources of income for almost 60% of its population. Despite being part of multiple Eurozone countries, Luxembourg does not receive state funding like Greece or Italy, so the difference in wages is largely due to personal factors rather than governmental policies.
10) Australia
Australia – 14.3 million people, 3.4 trillion ($3.1 billion) GDP. Compared to Switzerland, Australia lacks a central bank, which means the country can regulate monetary policy by its own internal forces. Because of this, Australia is the only known country to not face a recession year after year, which allows us to say that the government does respond to the needs of the people when it comes to providing social support more efficiently than a traditional Central Bank would. Thus, if we are talking about inflation or unemployment rates, Australia should rank #10 in terms of the least problematic country in the world. On the plus side of keeping stable the country gets to enjoy a pretty healthy lifestyle.
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