Useful Links

imoldernu · 01-23-2015, 07:08 AM

In looking for the average income for Saudi Arabia (currently in the news), I came across this Wikipedia page which lists Personal Purchasing Power for more than 180 different countries.

As I read PPP, it equalizes the value of the coinage, exchange rates, GDP of the country and several other statistics to produce what might be interpreted as a relative standard of living... not personal income, for an individual in that country. The numbers come from he the IMF, the World Bank, and the CIA. Not all the same results, but surprisingly close.

Posting here to share the results, which are beyond my expectations, and in some case just amazing. Definitely a "who knew?".

Am sure some of our world travelers will either already know, or who may take issue with the numbers. In any case, some kind of a baseline, that might help in understanding international relationships.
Just two "for instances" China 1/5 of the US, and Russia less than 1/2 the US. Also Check out Yemen, and Afghanistan currently in the news.

The link:
List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Letj · 01-23-2015, 08:09 AM

China is number 89. The media has Americans believing that China is a rival and would be the next super power. The truth is the vast majority in China live in dire poverty may be as much as 80%.

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zinger1457 · 01-23-2015, 08:42 AM

Those numbers can give a very skewed look at the relative standard of living in some of the countries. Kuwait is high on the list but as I recall 40% or more of Kuwait's population is made up of unskilled and low paid workers from 3rd world countries and the minimum wage is just over $200/month.

Meadbh · 01-23-2015, 08:48 AM

Averages only tell you so much. To examine variation (or inequality) use the Gini coefficient.

Gini coefficient - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of countries by income equality - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lsbcal · 01-23-2015, 09:15 AM

I imagine we can get a skewed idea of a country's wealth when we visit, partly because we often go to a city center and see the fancy or well maintained buildings and infrastructure. Many of the press photos come from those big cities. In reality, that may be just the richer segment of the country.

NW-Bound · 01-23-2015, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh

Averages only tell you so much. To examine variation (or inequality) use the Gini coefficient...

Income inequality within a nation aside, one cannot compare average income or net worth of one country's citizen to another's without considering the cost of living.

I remember seeing a table comparing the US to other developed nations where the income is higher. Although the US appears to lag in income, we are not doing badly at all due to the lower cost of living. People who complain about the standard of living of the poor in the US should go see how their peers live in some other developed countries.

PS. Oops! The data referenced in the OP is similar to what I described above, except that what I saw also included the gross income where the US is shown as lagging.

Chuckanut · 01-23-2015, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Letj

China is number 89. The media has Americans believing that China is a rival and would be the next super power. The truth is the vast majority in China live in dire poverty may be as much as 80%.

China has a number of internal problems they need to deal with. Thanks to their one child per couple policy, they have many young men wandering about, with not enough good women to tame them. It's no wonder they have a large military. Something needs to soak up the extra young guys before they cause trouble.