About 60% of the world's population lives in Asia, where there are huge differences in Gross National Product both by country and per capita.
Here are the 20 richest Asian countries and their corresponding annual GNP per capita based on global purchasing power parity (PPP) in international dollars.
GNP per capita, also referred to as Gross National Income, represents the total amount of money that a country's consumers spend on all goods and services in a year divided by that country's population.
Any country with an italicized name in the list below is also among the top ten richest countries in the world. Based on World Bank Development Indicators published in July 2006, the estimated population for each country in 2006 is shown within brackets.
20 Richest Asian Countries (GNP per capita*)
- Hong Kong (pop. 6,940,432) ... $31,560
- Japan (pop. 127,463,611) ... $29,810
- Singapore (pop. 4,492,150) ... $27,370
- South Korea (pop. 48,846,823) ... $20,530
- Malaysia (pop. 24,385,858) ... $9,720
- Russia (pop. 142,893,540) ... $9,680
- Thailand (pop. 64,631,595) ... $7,930
- Turkey (pop. 70,413,958) ... $7,720
- Kazakhastan (pop. 15,233,244) ... $6,930
- China (pop. 1,313,973,713) ... $5,890
- Philippines (pop. 89,468,677) ... $4,950
- Sri Lanka (pop. 20,222,240) ... $4,210
- Armenia (pop. 2,976,372) ... $4,160
- Azerbaijan (pop. 7,961,619) ... $3,810
- Indonesia (pop. 245,452,739) ... $3,480
- India (pop. 1,095,351,995) ... $3,120
- Georgia (pop. 4,661,473) ... $2,900
- Vietnam (pop. 84,402,966) ... $2,700
- Cambodia (pop. 13,881,427) ... $2,310
- Pakistan (pop. 165,803,560) ... $2,170
*based on 2004 PPP GNP per capita in international$
The average PPP GNP per capita for the top 20 Asian countries is $9,548 per year, much less than the per nation average of $23,758 for the European Union. The above list shows that the family of Asian countries spans a wide range of GNP income levels. For example, Hong Kong's leading GNP per capita is 14.5 times greater than that for Pakistan. The average for the top 4 nations is almost 3 times greater than the GNP per capita for the 5th country on the list, Malaysia.
And The Winners Are...
The list also shows dramatic differences in population levels by country. China and India are the two most-heavily populated nations in the world. Indonesia, Pakistan, Russia and Japan are also characterized by high populations.
Given Asia's dense population, overall GNP statistics present an incisive perspective on which Asian countries have the deepest GNP pockets, as opposed to the individual standard of living within a given nation as measured by GNP per capita.
10 Richest Asian Countries (overall GNP by country)
- China ... $7,739,305,169,570
- Japan ... $3,799,690,243,910
- India ... $3,417,498,224,400
- Russia ... $1,383,209,467,200
- South Korea ... $1,002,825,276,190
- Indonesia ... $854,175,531,720
- Turkey ... $543,595,755,760
- Thailand ... $512,528,548,350
- Philippines ... $442,869,951,150
- Pakistan ... $359,793,725,200
The world's highest populations empower Asian countries to leverage improvements in financial fundamentals at the per person level. Consider that a $100 increase in China's GNP per capita will result in a $131 billion addition to China's GNP, a 1.7% increase. Similarly, that same $100 improvement per capita will add $110 billion to India's GNP, a 3.2% rise.
China, India and Russia are among the fastest growing economies in the world, which is why investments such as Claymore BRIC Exchange Traded fund are among the most lucrative and popular investments from a detailed study of international trade.
The accelerating GNPs of Asian nations are also supported by strong trading blocks, both at the global and regional levels. In addition to the World Trade Organization, Asian nations support trade through membership in:
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
- Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
- Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC or EAEC)
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
- Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
When dealing with other trading partners around the world, trading blocks enable Asian countries to face the future with a high degree of confidence.
Sources: World Bank Development Indicators for 2006 Table 1.1 - Size of the Economy and Table 1.6 - Key indicators for other economies, infoplease.org, The World Factbook
