5
Countries With the Most
Money Per Capita
Money
per capita can be a vague term referring to income per capita, money supply per
capita, GDP per capita or net worth per capita. Moreover, even these terms can
be vague and describe different forms of income, money supply or wealth. Income
per capita can refer to discretionary income per capita or disposable
income per capita, for example. Countries
often use these various measures to different degrees in order to explain their
wealth. This article focuses on disposable income per capita to identify the
countries with the most
money per capita.
Disposable
Income Per Capita Defined
Disposable
income is measured by income left over after accounting only for effective
taxes; it is the money left over for spending and savings after subtracting
taxes on gross income. You can think of disposable income as the money you take
in without taking out your necessary expenses, such as mortgage payments,
groceries and health insurance, but less the taxes paid. Income minus these
expenses and taxes leads to discretionary income — that income which is
available for entertainment and other expenses not necessary for survival. Per
capita simply means per person and is often used in economic circles; thus,
disposable income per capita for a country is calculated by adding all the
gross income for the country less taxes and dividing the sum by the country's
population.
The
following disposable income per capita figures for the top five countries are
from the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
as of 2016. Disposable income per capita is specifically the household net
adjusted disposable income per capita according to the OECD. The average
household net adjusted disposable income per capita for OECD countries in 2016
is $29,016, which should help you put the following amounts in perspective.
1.
United States
The
United States has the most money per capita, with $41,071 in household net
adjusted disposable income per capita. That puts the United States 41.5% above
the OECD average. With 319 million people residing in the United States, its
economy is the largest in the world, with a gross domestic product (GDP)
of $17.4 trillion. The U.S. economy has benefited from a boom in energy
production in the last few years and has made the United States number one in
oil and natural gas production in the world.
2.
Luxembourg
The
small country of Luxembourg has $40,914 in money per capita, putting it not far
behind the United States. Luxembourg's money per capita is 41% above the
average. This European country, nestled between Germany, France and Belgium, is
home to only 600,000 people and has a GDP of $51.4 billion. The United States,
in comparison, has 532 times the population and 339 times the GDP.
3.
Switzerland
Switzerland
commands $35,952 in money per capita, 23.9% above the average. Switzerland is
known for its banking system and is home to 8.1 million people. The country has
a GDP of $473 billion.
4.
Norway
Norway
has $33,393 in money per capita, putting the country 15.1% above the average.
With a population of 5.2 million people and a GDP of $345 billion, Norway makes
its way with a natural resource-driven economy focused on oil, fisheries and
metals. Norway's sovereign
wealth fund is worth $900 billion and is
funded largely by the country's oil industry.
5.
Australia
Australia's
household net adjusted disposable income per capita is $33,138, which is 14.2%
above the average. Australia has a GDP of $1.1 trillion and a population of
almost 24 million people. The country is rich with natural resources, which is
reflected in one of the primary engines of its economy: mining.
