We all know that Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the World. What if I told you that the richest man in the world isn’t from the richest country in the world? When it comes to being the richest country, the size doesn’t matter. Every year, The International Monetary Fund releases the list of the richest countries in the world. When it comes to being the richest, the GDP is not the only deciding factor. We also need to consider the purchasing power parity (PPP)/capita.
Why include PPP?
The PPP gives a fair comparison of the living standards in the nation by considering the cost of living with respect to one another as well as considering the amount of inflation. This makes a huge difference in the statistics because countries like the USA have a lot of immigrants who help in increasing the GDP but don’t account for the PPP.
So, without further ado let’s find the five richest countries in the World on the basis of PPP.
Ireland
Yes, it might come as a shock but when it comes to being the 5th richest country in the world the spot goes to the neighbour of the British, Ireland which has a PPP of $72,630. This small country also has one of the highest GDP growth rates in Europe.
Brunei
I believe that most of you wouldn’t have heard of this country but thanks to the huge oil reserves and an extremely small population of just 400,000, this neighbour of Malaysia is the 4th richest country in the world with the PPP of $76,740.
Singapore
Being the most important country when it comes to the economy of South East Asia, Singapore gets the 3rd spot on the list. This former colony of the British has a population of 5 million with a PPP of $90,530.
Luxemberg
Another lesser known country from Europe is the second richest country in the world on the basis of PPP. With a small population of about 600,000. In this country each individual has a whooping $109,190 in their name if the wealth is distributed equally. This country is also home to some huge companies such as the steel industry giant, ArcelorMittal and has a large native workforce.
Quatar
A part of the UAE, Quatar is known for its oil and natural gas reserves which makes it one of the wealthiest countries. This along with a small native population of 2.3 million and huge workforce of immigrants from places like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the country has the highest PPP in the world. Each citizen of Quatar will get approximately 125,000 USD if the wealth is distributed equally among them.
As you can see, having a huge GDP doesn’t mean that the country is the richest. When Purchasing Power Per Capita is factored in the USA, China, Britain and India, which are the largest economy fail to make it to the top ten richest country. Thus, the countries like Quatar and Luxemberg are not only the richest but also have the happiest population as well.