The richest countries in the world have thriving economies and infrastructure that make them desirable places to live or visit.
Knowing which countries are the richest can help you determine where you should live, or simply satisfy your curiosity.
Country | GDP | GDP Per Capita |
---|---|---|
United States | 20893.75 | 54778.4213924539 |
China | 14862.564 | 7868.7707468909 |
Japan | 5040.108 | 40035.94083602893 |
Germany | 3843.335 | 41752.94552887939 |
United Kingdom | 2758.87 | 39090.99007412544 |
India | 2667.686 | 1581.6874063091693 |
France | 2621.961 | 38072.637915582454 |
Italy | 1891.057 | 31576.169575110987 |
Canada | 1645.423 | 39445.83722602221 |
South Korea | 1638.258 | 27252.510081857432 |
Russia | 1483.379 | 8626.263189184148 |
Brazil | 1448.55 | 8298.241306338437 |
Australia | 1357.317 | 49338.38754884761 |
Spain | 1280.459 | 26036.71517912556 |
Mexico | 1087.117 | 8383.556194781344 |
Indonesia | 1059.903 | 3359.079492290321 |
Iran | 938.052 | 4770.544083385907 |
Netherlands | 913.134 | 44114.78892377749 |
Switzerland | 751.743 | 76034.60994656045 |
Turkey | 719.919 | 10064.66984796192 |
Saudi Arabia | 703.368 | 17311.733514268064 |
Poland | 596.633 | 11490.310942747692 |
Sweden | 541.487 | 48480.18164958331 |
Belgium | 521.445 | 40043.612977167824 |
Thailand | 500.293 | 5668.789263558941 |
Austria | 432.912 | 43621.133607807154 |
Nigeria | 429.423 | 1808.046249011504 |
Ireland | 425.549 | 60277.42492972522 |
Israel | 407.101 | 34633.700700418114 |
Argentina | 389.064 | 11925.275217610986 |
Egypt | 364.023 | 2396.664006945987 |
Norway | 362.198 | 67783.07111260494 |
Philippines | 361.489 | 2598.538249784161 |
United Arab Emirates | 358.869 | 36644.77827008478 |
Denmark | 356.085 | 51920.85442807228 |
Singapore | 345.286 | 49369.90089019894 |
Hong Kong | 344.879 | 42836.22323308651 |
Vietnam | 342.941 | 2076.4551043987417 |
Malaysia | 337.28 | 8643.084174356081 |
South Africa | 335.344 | 4890.217319833593 |
Bangladesh | 323.057 | 1276.8500617379784 |
Pakistan | 299.296 | 1174.7312093721614 |
Finland | 271.619 | 43008.56109025827 |
Colombia | 270.415 | 5423.089954648894 |
Chile | 252.501 | 12585.373941941732 |
Romania | 249.512 | 9384.845978487103 |
Czech Republic | 245.339 | 18608.82280288453 |
Portugal | 228.356 | 19988.728869721268 |
New Zealand | 210.698 | 35867.159877202044 |
Peru | 205.233 | 5595.176602643884 |
Greece | 188.684 | 18633.173942347737 |
Kazakhstan | 171.082 | 6885.690368050445 |
Iraq | 169.488 | 3516.592655197633 |
Hungary | 155.808 | 12388.113397193587 |
Ukraine | 155.3 | 2538.33947160829 |
Algeria | 147.6 | 3487.4242692485805 |
Qatar | 144.411 | 56122.96723004899 |
Morocco | 114.724 | 2738.0141232393917 |
Kuwait | 105.949 | 25601.708632591108 |
Slovakia | 105.088 | 15490.166605667899 |
Puerto Rico | 103.138 | 32216.06875902137 |
Kenya | 101.279 | 1279.9497095366644 |
Ecuador | 99.291 | 5387.993668447744 |
Ethiopia | 96.611 | 555.7274536529973 |
Myanmar | 81.257 | 1203.738130367811 |
Sri Lanka | 80.677 | 3714.4210622667038 |
Dominican Republic | 78.923 | 6316.4000731670385 |
Guatemala | 77.603 | 3800.7308064890026 |
Luxembourg | 73.294 | 89545.18937852797 |
Oman | 72.056 | 13601.579757832254 |
Bulgaria | 69.995 | 7960.809867552709 |
Ghana | 68.498 | 1254.1436104904215 |
Costa Rica | 62.144 | 11019.494300745582 |
Ivory Coast | 61.437 | 1273.430087222562 |
Belarus | 61.312 | 4991.253238653317 |
Uzbekistan | 59.893 | 1927.511385952611 |
Angola | 58.254 | 2914.538955760848 |
Croatia | 57.204 | 12780.218866257364 |
Lithuania | 56.502 | 15734.912121388254 |
Panama | 53.977 | 12351.550003390714 |
Uruguay | 53.561 | 15313.486591425102 |
Slovenia | 53.547 | 21092.195100192246 |
Serbia | 53.335 | 5357.3170210643975 |
Turkmenistan | 53.187 | 5552.383437025214 |
DR Congo | 48.707 | 394.44929586717393 |
Venezuela | 47.255 | 10103.731034683879 |
Jordan | 43.759 | 3409.585480158334 |
Azerbaijan | 42.693 | 3634.732794655271 |
Tunisia | 42.502 | 3347.4727011227847 |
Cameroon | 40.863 | 1124.6114533753678 |
Uganda | 37.444 | 520.9268551609728 |
Bolivia | 36.897 | 2728.8373667148535 |
Paraguay | 35.432 | 3959.0478600672386 |
Bahrain | 34.723 | 21661.984946573866 |
Nepal | 33.982 | 676.9033397213091 |
Latvia | 33.619 | 15065.311312192965 |
Estonia | 30.626 | 17643.28551178781 |
Lebanon | 27.32 | 9424.414078069754 |
Macau | 25.586 | 64348.711027069556 |
Cambodia | 25.192 | 1181.2896667100624 |
Cyprus | 24.672 | 15907.967469435887 |
Papua New Guinea | 24.665 | 1906.5099012762041 |
El Salvador | 24.639 | 4210.166478474355 |
Senegal | 24.534 | 822.180178777845 |
Honduras | 23.828 | 2031.086051763494 |
Zimbabwe | 23.146 | 967.4988263414357 |
Iceland | 21.625 | 54006.628970632904 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 21.393 | 15691.96427214928 |
Afghanistan | 20.136 | 479.0514505566236 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 19.951 | 5266.493280122037 |
Libya | 19.21 | 6236.514927149864 |
Yemen | 18.84 | 736.5519690738632 |
Laos | 18.524 | 2070.495764941584 |
Zambia | 18.111 | 1023.9831446070507 |
Mali | 17.491 | 601.0937699973615 |
Burkina Faso | 17.378 | 502.9836635810573 |
Georgia | 15.846 | 3844.3252701914716 |
Benin | 15.674 | 648.5633745278509 |
Gabon | 15.339 | 5689.640061463551 |
Guinea | 15.294 | 597.305937968003 |
Albania | 15.161 | 4188.5692122584105 |
Botswana | 14.93 | 5818.321213059066 |
Malta | 14.905 | 20555.628930370945 |
Haiti | 14.508 | 652.2389668771983 |
Mozambique | 14.029 | 322.44792817752085 |
Jamaica | 13.967 | 4974.936180431096 |
Niger | 13.758 | 276.7462878420465 |
Mongolia | 13.313 | 3237.5539277729445 |
Madagascar | 13.056 | 370.05747610643 |
Armenia | 12.641 | 3805.76443410116 |
Nicaragua | 12.62 | 1877.608971929989 |
North Macedonia | 12.138 | 5152.174704736443 |
Brunei | 12.003 | 25192.623768021145 |
Malawi | 11.847 | 254.07323343374378 |
Moldova | 11.53 | 1971.124553432534 |
Mauritius | 10.921 | 9393.079291411295 |
Chad | 10.728 | 616.4211425643409 |
Namibia | 10.619 | 4203.745853192493 |
Rwanda | 10.332 | 601.2043567776586 |
Republic of the Congo | 10.329 | 1273.6611646655595 |
Equatorial Guinea | 10.022 | 6227.399056728667 |
Bahamas | 9.908 | 27293.194998824594 |
Tajikistan | 8.134 | 685.3304942858723 |
Mauritania | 8.11 | 959.7223682800845 |
Kyrgyzstan | 7.792 | 972.6731436405578 |
Togo | 7.586 | 491.4249084831682 |
Somalia | 6.965 | 72.64675403885649 |
South Sudan | 6.71 | 589.2841590737173 |
Guyana | 5.471 | 4222.761193314607 |
Montenegro | 4.777 | 6981.744740895632 |
Barbados | 4.677 | 16144.943307505453 |
Fiji | 4.574 | 4988.51246989721 |
Sierra Leone | 4.059 | 418.00913754514227 |
Eswatini | 3.974 | 3309.323788302492 |
Maldives | 3.736 | 8107.557061999421 |
Djibouti | 3.41 | 1664.4041066298269 |
Burundi | 3.086 | 217.0704232990917 |
Liberia | 3.037 | 508.7903305731587 |
Andorra | 2.885 | 35690.82291978823 |
Suriname | 2.884 | 5260.358889730375 |
Aruba | 2.497 | 25095.167402166036 |
Bhutan | 2.416 | 2809.976057371886 |
Central African Republic | 2.388 | 315.27158297655217 |
Eritrea | 2.083 | 1444.1043663196228 |
Lesotho | 2.061 | 961.6786532996784 |
Timor-Leste | 1.902 | 1986.8394086121082 |
Gambia | 1.828 | 355.4892945540984 |
Cape Verde | 1.707 | 2737.560339211802 |
Saint Lucia | 1.617 | 7750.674925520524 |
Belize | 1.586 | 4238.05756709061 |
Solomon Islands | 1.546 | 1531.510614188627 |
San Marino | 1.543 | 47284.97904405208 |
Guinea-Bissau | 1.475 | 521.9552324159562 |
Antigua and Barbuda | 1.37 | 15484.505599270398 |
Comoros | 1.218 | 1349.4147498753043 |
Seychelles | 1.202 | 13318.096944083225 |
Grenada | 1.043 | 8053.447358201976 |
Vanuatu | 0.994 | 2503.751173372077 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 0.981 | 19052.551984085436 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0.872 | 7380.26524137399 |
Samoa | 0.807 | 3643.3429531063757 |
Dominica | 0.544 | 7961.172398685651 |
Tonga | 0.494 | 3725.054633349726 |
Sao Tome and Principe | 0.477 | 1478.424949106342 |
Micronesia | 0.412 | 2863.0809813927654 |
Palau | 0.258 | 17180.6401594861 |
Marshall Islands | 0.244 | 4357.557862653586 |
Kiribati | 0.182 | 1300.6414709957683 |
Nauru | 0.114 | 8096.230359937402 |
Tuvalu | 0.055 | 3220.181203931204 |
Cuba | 0 | 8011.8905361041 |
Sudan | 0 | 1722.908095315875 |
Syria | 0 | 954.1939020228773 |
North Korea | 0 | 641.7459846156969 |
Palestine | 0 | 2494.233164470708 |
New Caledonia | 0 | 32238.92491919547 |
Monaco | 0 | 178196.5693307987 |
Liechtenstein | 0 | 156469.2184468472 |
Bermuda | 0 | 95636.5949211007 |
French Polynesia | 0 | 17541.03367090575 |
Cayman Islands | 0 | 55462.13570913288 |
Curacao | 0 | 16251.034564263291 |
Greenland | 0 | 40303.79538513144 |
Sint Maarten | 0 | 24242.84381077292 |
British Virgin Islands | 0 | 30795.773669858583 |
Turks and Caicos Islands | 0 | 19919.901263514395 |
Anguilla | 0 | 21229.037675325493 |
Cook Islands | 0 | 17026.17900727529 |
Montserrat | 0 | 14147.600319197447 |
Contents
GDP vs. GDP Per Capita
Before we take a look at the richest countries in the world, you should know how it’s determined.
There are two main measures of wealth.
These are Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, and GDP per Capita.
What is GDP?
Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, calculates the value of all products and services within a country.
Essentially, the monetary value of all the products produced within the country and services offered are added together.
This is GDP.
It’s important to note that services and goods only count towards GDP when they have a monetary value.
For example, if someone is paid for housekeeping, this contributes to GDP.
However, household chores they do at home do not.
What is GDP per Capita?
GDP per Capita is essentially GDP broken down into a percentage for each individual person.
This shows how productive an economy is.
It’s determined by dividing the GDP by the population.
Of course, GDP per capita is impacted by the population, as well as the GDP.
If the population increases drastically but the GDP remains the same, the GDP per capita will fall.
On the other hand, if the population stays the same and the GDP goes up, the GDP per capita will increase significantly.
GDP per capita can also give you a general idea of how much someone earns in the country.
Of course, wages will vary.
Every country has very rich and very poor residents which affects the GDP per capita as well.
However, if GDP per capita is rising, you can expect wages to rise as well.
Richest Countries in the World
Which country is the richest in the world depends on which measurement you choose to use.
Let’s take a closer look at a few of the richest countries by different measures.
By GDP
The richest country by GDP is the United States.
America has a GDP of 20,893.75.
China is next, with a GDP of 14,862.564.
Japan is the last in the top 3, with a GDP of 5,040.108.
By GDP per Capita
The richest countries change drastically when you look at the GDP per capita, rather than the GDP.
The U.S., which has the highest GDP, ranks 11th in GDP per capita, at 54778.42.
The countries with the highest GDP per capita are Luxembourg, Ireland, and Norway.
The countries with the highest GDP per capita typically have smaller populations.
Because the small population means that the wealth in the country is more concentrated, which raises the per capita GDP.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Living in a Rich Country
When you live in a rich country, it’s easy to overlook the advantages and benefits.
Rich countries have a strong infrastructure, which includes transportation, education, and healthcare.
They typically have higher wages, which also results in a higher standard of living for residents.
Benefits also include a longer life expectancy, lower birth rates, and a better quality of life.
However, there are disadvantages to living in a rich country.
Opportunities can sometimes be harder to find.
If you aren’t wealthy, you may find it difficult to climb the ladder and move up to a different financial class.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GDP or GDP per capita more important?
Both GDP and GDP per capita are considered important.
GDP is the main measure, but GDP per capita is often considered along with GDP. GDP per capita can give an indication of the average income in a country.
What is real GDP?
Real GDP is the GDP after inflation is considered.
For example, if GDP grew by 2%, but inflation grew by 1%, this means the real GDP would be 1%.
The other 1% increase would not be attributed to an actual increase in production, but to inflation.
What makes a country rich?
There are a few factors that contribute to a country’s economic success.
Developed nations have the infrastructure and resources to bring in money through producing goods and services, while poor or undeveloped countries do not.
Lots of natural resources or technical knowledge also boost a country’s GDP.