The 25 richest countries in the world

[Lafayette]

The 25 richest countries in the world - Business Insider

France is one of the richest countries in the world, with a GDP per capita of $41,396 (£28,749).

Yes, France is an immensely rich country in terms of history, the arts, fashion, etc. I've lived here for a donkey's age and I never get tired of visiting its historical fascinations. French cuisine ... well, what more can I say that you've never heard? (And the women! Ou - la, la! ;^)

Which is the reason perhaps why France has more international visitors per year than even the US? (France: 85M, US: 70M*)

However, if you were living in a country that has not known less than 7% unemployment since the 1990s, and its present rate is more than 10%, would you think it is the "richest country in the world"? I wouldn't, and yet I live in France -- but neither would I move here to pursue a career unless sent by an international corporation (that is, with a work-visa in my hands).

My point? Reducing numbers to just dollars/cents and arriving at a Value Judgement must be done carefully in terms of the conclusions one might reach from the exercise ...

*Numbers from here.

 

[RDS]

Yes, France is an immensely rich country in terms of history, the arts, fashion, etc. I've lived here for a donkey's age and I never get tired of visiting its historical fascinations. French cuisine ... well, what more can I say that you've never heard? (And the women! Ou - la, la! ;^)

Which is the reason perhaps why France has more international visitors per year than even the US? (France: 85M, US: 70M*)

However, if you were living in a country that has not known less than 7% unemployment since the 1990s, and its present rate is close to 12%, would you think it is the "richest country in the world"? I wouldn't, and yet I live in France, but neither would I move here to pursue a career unless sent by an international corporation (that is, with a work-visa in my hands).

My point? Reducing numbers to just dollars/cents and arriving at a Value Judgement is dangerous in terms of the conclusions one might reach from the exercise ...

*Numbers from here.

Exactly! It is dangerous to vote for Donald Trump cuz he is reduced to dollars/cents.

 

[Lafayette]

Trump trumpery ...

 

[Lafayette]

Exactly! It is dangerous to vote for Donald Trump cuz he is reduced to dollars/cents.

Not only.

The man is erratic and uninformed, playing to the masses like a demagogue.

There is no way that any Rational Person should want that idiot with his finger on the nuclear-war button.

 

[dimensionallava]

Have you ever been to Australia? Nice country but i can tell you the quality of life is not as high as the USA. Tiny cars, houses not as high quality (many without heat or AC), internet sucks and is very expensive, much higher cost of living, etc, etc.

quality of life is based on personal opinion and really impossible to measure, for example, cost of living is much higher in san francisco than in melbourne, and the internet is probably much better in sydney than in fairbanks alaska. and while im fairly sure aussies have figured out how to use an a/c by now lol, theyre poor neighborhoods are nothing compared to ours in america, while life may be wonderful in the cul-de sacs, the country of america has some of the worst ghettos in the world, with millions of homeless and starving people including millions of children and dozens of other problems that no other industrialized oecd nations face

this is what most of america looks like

 

[Lafayette]

And comparatively the tiniest countries/city-states don't have this overhead.

Typically true, but not uniformly. That is, countries like Norway, Luxembourg and Switzerland comes to mind.

Of course, that is only Europe and its smaller population countries. But the point is nonetheless made - they all have decent infrastructures comparable and often better than their larger nation counterparts ...

 

[Cisero]

Most have vast natural resources except for Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Human capital stupid!
The 25 richest countries in the world - Business Insider

Call BS on Switzerland, our GDP per capita is 84'815,41 USD (2013) not 56'815 USD
Source : GDP per capita (current US$) | Data | Table

By the way, here is the list according to the worldbank :

1. Luxembourg 116,664.3$
2. Norway 97,307.4$
3. Qatar 96,732.4$
4. Macao SAR, China 96,038.1$
5. Switzerland 85,594.3$
6. Australia 61,925.5$
7. Denmark 60,707.2$
8. Sweden 58,938.8$
9. Singapore 56,284.6$
10. United States 54,629.5$

This list seems more coherent.

 

[RDS]

Call BS on Switzerland, our GDP per capita is 84'815,41 USD (2013) not 56'815 USD
Source : GDP per capita (current US$) | Data | Table

By the way, here is the list according to the worldbank :

1. Luxembourg 116,664.3$
2. Norway 97,307.4$
3. Qatar 96,732.4$
4. Macao SAR, China 96,038.1$
5. Switzerland 85,594.3$
6. Australia 61,925.5$
7. Denmark 60,707.2$
8. Sweden 58,938.8$
9. Singapore 56,284.6$
10. United States 54,629.5$

This list seems more coherent.

2013 figures is fit for the museum.

 

[Ellis_G]

quality of life is based on personal opinion and really impossible to measure, for example, cost of living is much higher in san francisco than in melbourne, and the internet is probably much better in sydney than in fairbanks alaska. and while im fairly sure aussies have figured out how to use an a/c by now lol, theyre poor neighborhoods are nothing compared to ours in america, while life may be wonderful in the cul-de sacs, the country of america has some of the worst ghettos in the world, with millions of homeless and starving people including millions of children and dozens of other problems that no other industrialized oecd nations face

this is what most of america looks like

That doesn't look a great deal different from the ****holes in the UK either. Most 'rich' countries have vast areas of poverty and poor run down areas, I don't understand your point? America's poor are no worse than any other big 'rich' countries poor. Here's what a lot of the UK looks like:

 

[Cisero]

2013 figures is fit for the museum.

2014 actually

GDP per capita (current US$) | Data | Table

These numbers are still more reliable than your businessinsider article. Seriously, do you think the Swiss GDP per capita dropped by 30'000$ in 2 years ?
Please.

 

[Lafayette]

... quality of life is based on personal opinion and really impossible to measure ...

I beg to differ. The quality-of-life (QOL) is ascertainable if one develops the right metrics; and, yes, the metrics may be debatable.

The OECD has created an index called "Life Satisfaction", which can be seen here - where the US does pretty well indeed.

But the notion of quality-of-life is indeed very personal as well. (So, yes, you are right in a sense - and that sense is highly personal. So, nonetheless important to each of us individually.) So, the OECD has gone one step further with a personalized Better-Life measurement - that each of us can access and employ here: Better Life Index.

Of course, part of that analysis, since we are "only human" is to measure Our Metric in relation to others. Which, I feat, is not possible since the OECD is not sharing the data collected. (Which makes one wonder why!?!)

Nonetheless, by clicking further down on the Better Life page linked above, you can get an idea - regarding some carterie - what others are thinking.

Enjoy ... !

 

[dimensionallava]

That doesn't look a great deal different from the ****holes in the UK either. Most 'rich' countries have vast areas of poverty and poor run down areas, I don't understand your point? America's poor are no worse than any other big 'rich' countries poor. Here's what a lot of the UK looks like:

Americas poor are some of the worst in the developed world, aside from a near quadruple murder rate nationwide, there is also rampant homelessness in america compared to england, its hard to compare the two countries on a national level, but citywide, new york and los angeles have the worlds 2nd and 3rd worst homeless rate only Manila, Philippines is worse. No western european city comes close to those levels, NYC alone has about half as many homeless as the entire UK

this is why the statistics from the top 1% should be left out

 

[Lafayette]

Call BS on Switzerland, our GDP per capita is 84'815,41 USD (2013) not 56'815 USD.

No, sorry.

Current US Real GDP Per Capita (2016): 51,171.88, from here.

GDP per capita is not the best index to understand a nation's "well-being". GDP includes "investment", and though important to generating employment-income, it has little direct bearing on personal well-being.

What is important is not just the "gross" numbers (as in "GDP"), which do not always indicate the quality-of-life (QOL).

Which is perhaps better determined by the OECD Quality-of-Life assessments ...

 

[Ellis_G]

Americas poor are some of the worst in the developed world, aside from a near quadruple murder rate nationwide, there is also rampant homelessness in america compared to england, its hard to compare the two countries on a national level, but citywide, new york and los angeles have the worlds 2nd and 3rd worst homeless rate only Manila, Philippines is worse. No western european city comes close to those levels, NYC alone has about half as many homeless as the entire UK

this is why the statistics from the top 1% should be left out

Can I have links for this please? As that seems unfathomable.

 

[HonestJoe]

Call BS on Switzerland, our GDP per capita is 84'815,41 USD (2013) not 56'815 USD

The Business Insider article is based on a report using a different measure of GDP. Both are equally relevant but both are unsuited to alone determining the true wealth/success of the nations in question.

 

[drz-400]

quality of life is based on personal opinion and really impossible to measure, for example, cost of living is much higher in san francisco than in melbourne, and the internet is probably much better in sydney than in fairbanks alaska. and while im fairly sure aussies have figured out how to use an a/c by now lol, theyre poor neighborhoods are nothing compared to ours in america, while life may be wonderful in the cul-de sacs, the country of america has some of the worst ghettos in the world, with millions of homeless and starving people including millions of children and dozens of other problems that no other industrialized oecd nations face

this is what most of america looks like

I live in the US so I have a pretty good idea what it is like here. I would call myself a pretty average american. I've been to Australia twice. Half the places i stayed had no AC despite the fact it was hot as hell there. None had heat or central air, was always a tiny AC unit if they had one. Every place i stayed in was well over 20 years old, frankly not all that nice, but they all told me the house was worth over 400k. Their full size cars are our mid sized cars and they still cost more. Most people drive extremely tiny cars however, probably cause gas is 3-4 times more. Hardly any free wifi, cause its the most expensive in the world, and i'm telling you its very slow, Telstra has a monopoly there i guess. Everything costs at least 30% more, no joke, and often times what you get is lower quality. Heck, just go to mcdonalds, even if it was the same price you get a coke and their large is about the size of our small. That's a general rule for most things over there i found.

 

[dimensionallava]

Of course, part of that analysis, since we are "only human" is to measure Our Metric in relation to others. Which, I feat, is not possible since the OECD is not sharing the data collected. (Which makes one wonder why!?!)

that reminds of the happiness index where they tried to measure people by how happy they claimed to be and of course small poor tropical islands all came out on top, so they scrapped it and added a bunch of things like life expectancy and social safety nets which put white european countries back on top lol

 

[joG]

"Taiwan, Province of China"

Some people are not going to like that.

Hong Kong even more so.

 

[dimensionallava]

Can I have links for this please? As that seems unfathomable.

sure? heres a few... im not sure which part was unfathomable
Where Is The Homeless Capital of America?
Homelessness In The World's Largest City Just Hit A Record Low | ThinkProgress
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_the_United_States
The 15 Most Homeless Cities In The World - TheRichest

 

[dimensionallava]

I live in the US so I have a pretty good idea what it is like here. I would call myself a pretty average american. I've been to Australia twice. Half the places i stayed had no AC despite the fact it was hot as hell there. None had heat or central air, was always a tiny AC unit if they had one. Every place i stayed in was well over 20 years old, frankly not all that nice, but they all told me the house was worth over 400k. Their full size cars are our mid sized cars and they still cost more. Most people drive extremely tiny cars however, probably cause gas is 3-4 times more. Hardly any free wifi, cause its the most expensive in the world, and i'm telling you its very slow, Telstra has a monopoly there i guess. Everything costs at least 30% more, no joke, and often times what you get is lower quality. Heck, just go to mcdonalds, even if it was the same price you get a coke and their large is about the size of our small. That's a general rule for most things over there i found.

im sure sydney is nice

Australia?s most expensive suburbs of 2015 unveiled | Daily Mail Online

 

[Ellis_G]

sure? heres a few... im not sure which part was unfathomable
Where Is The Homeless Capital of America?
Homelessness In The World's Largest City Just Hit A Record Low | ThinkProgress
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_the_United_States
The 15 Most Homeless Cities In The World - TheRichest

It's unfathomable to think that you have individual cities with the number of homeless people near ours for the whole country (there's only about 60k people living homeless in the UK) I knew you had issues with it, but not to that extent.

 

[RDS]

I see all kinds of excuses about USA not being on the top of the list. The fact is 45 million are on food stamps, that is one in seven Americans.

 

[PeteEU]

1: Qatar = dictatorship that employs slave labour.. oh and has lots of oil and gas.
2: Luxembourg = artificially boosted due to tax haven status.
3: Singapore = dictatorship
4: Brunei = dictatorship with oil
5: Kuwait = dictatorship with oil
6: Noway = A normal democracy, but with oil wealth
7: UAE = dictatorship with oil/gas
8: Hong Kong = not a country and a dictatorship
9: US = A semi-normal democracy...
10: Swizterland = Democracy.

I see several patterns here... oil and dictatorships.

 

[PeteEU]

I see all kinds of excuses about USA not being on the top of the list. The fact is 45 million are on food stamps, that is one in seven Americans.

The problem with this stat is, that it does not account of special issues with countries. Take Luxenbourg. The reason it is so high, is because of its banking and tax haven status. It does not make the people rich in Luxenbourg. Or Hong Kong.. high on the list, but we all know that a huge portion of the population does not get anywhere near that income a year.

Placing income inequality stats with these, plus compensating for special issues like tax havens and such.. would be a far more fair and reasonable view of "wealth".

 

[American]

quality of life is based on personal opinion and really impossible to measure, for example, cost of living is much higher in san francisco than in melbourne, and the internet is probably much better in sydney than in fairbanks alaska. and while im fairly sure aussies have figured out how to use an a/c by now lol, theyre poor neighborhoods are nothing compared to ours in america, while life may be wonderful in the cul-de sacs, the country of america has some of the worst ghettos in the world, with millions of homeless and starving people including millions of children and dozens of other problems that no other industrialized oecd nations face

this is what most of america looks like

Hyperbole much?