What this calculator does
GDP per capita spreads a country’s total economic output evenly across its population, giving a rough figure for output per person rather than the country as a whole. It is one of the most widely quoted ways to compare living standards or economic scale between countries of very different sizes, since raw GDP alone favours large populations regardless of how well off any individual person actually is.
The figure is an average, not a typical income. It says nothing about how output is actually distributed between rich and poor within a country, and a small number of very high earners can lift GDP per capita well above what most residents actually experience. It is a useful headline comparison between economies, not a measure of individual prosperity.
The formula
Divide total GDP by the total population over the same period. Both figures should cover the same country and the same year for the result to mean anything, since mixing a current population with an older GDP figure, or the reverse, produces a misleading number.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| GDP | Gross domestic product: the total value of goods and services produced in a country over a period, usually a year. |
| Population | The total number of people in that country over the same period. |
| GDP per capita | GDP ÷ population, the average economic output per person. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Total GDP ($) | Total GDP for the country and year in question, in whatever currency the figure is quoted in. |
| Population | Total population for the same country and year. |
When to use it
Comparing living standards across countries
GDP per capita is the standard first-pass comparison between economies of different sizes, though it is worth pairing with a measure of income distribution before drawing conclusions about typical living standards.
Adjusting for population when GDP alone is misleading
A country with a much larger population can post a bigger total GDP than a smaller, wealthier one while having a lower GDP per capita, which this calculator makes explicit rather than leaving GDP to speak for itself.
Tracking a single country’s economic output over time
Running the same country’s GDP and population figures for consecutive years shows whether output per person is actually growing, rather than growth in total GDP simply keeping pace with a growing population.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
How GDP per capita changes with population at a fixed GDP
A fixed $1.7 trillion GDP, spread across a range of population sizes.
| Population | GDP per capita |
|---|---|
| 5,000,000 | $340,000.00 |
| 10,000,000 | $170,000.00 |
| 20,000,000 | $85,000.00 |
| 26,000,000 | $65,384.62 |
| 50,000,000 | $34,000.00 |
| 100,000,000 | $17,000.00 |
How GDP per capita changes with total GDP at a fixed population
A fixed 26 million population, against a range of total GDP figures.
| Total GDP | GDP per capita |
|---|---|
| $0.5 trillion | $19,230.77 |
| $1 trillion | $38,461.54 |
| $1.7 trillion | $65,384.62 |
| $3 trillion | $115,384.62 |
| $5 trillion | $192,307.69 |
| $10 trillion | $384,615.38 |
Questions
Is GDP per capita the same as average income?
Not exactly. GDP per capita measures total economic output divided by population, which includes business investment, government spending and other components beyond household income. Average or median household income figures are a closer, though separate, measure of what individuals actually receive.
Why do economists also look at GDP per capita, PPP-adjusted?
Purchasing power parity adjusts for the fact that the same amount of money buys different quantities of goods and services in different countries, due to differing price levels. It gives a fairer comparison of living standards than a raw currency-converted figure, which this calculator does not attempt.
Can GDP per capita fall even if the economy is growing?
Yes, if population grows faster than total GDP. A country can post positive economic growth every year and still see GDP per capita decline if its population is expanding even more quickly.
Does a high GDP per capita mean low inequality?
No, the two are unrelated. GDP per capita is an average, so a country can have a high figure driven by a small share of very high earners while median living standards remain modest.
For inflation-adjusted comparisons of what a fixed amount of money is actually worth over time, see the inflation calculator. For growth rates applied to a single figure across years, use the CAGR calculator.