Nigeria, S-Africa, Egypt Account for Half of
Africa's Economy - - World Bank
Nigeria,
South Africa and Egypt account for about half of the African economy says new
data released by the World Bank Group last week.
The report which ranked global economies on the basis of the
strength of their currency said that China will overtake the United States of
America by the end of 2014 as the largest economy in the world.
The report said that low income economies, as a share of world
GDP, were more than two times larger based on Purchasing Power Parity, PPP,
than respective exchange rate shares in 2011.
Yet, these economies accounted for only 1.5 per cent of the
global economy, but nearly 11 per cent of the world population. Roughly 28 per
cent of the world's population lives in economies with GDP per capita
expenditures above the $13,460 world average and 72 per cent are below that
average.
The International Comparison Program (ICP) which released the
new data said that the world economy produced goods and services worth over $90
trillion in 2011, and that almost half of the world's total output came from
low and middle income countries.
Six of the world's 12 largest economies were in the middle
income category (based on the World Bank's definition). When combined, the 12
largest economies account for two-thirds of the world economy, and 59 per cent
of the world population.
The PPP-based world GDP amounted to $90,647 billion, compared to
$70,294 billion measured by exchange rates. Middle income economies' share of
global GDP is 48 per cent when using PPPs and 32 per cent when using exchange
rates.
The approximate median yearly per capita expenditures for the
world - at $10,057 - means that half of the global population has per capita
expenditures above that amount and half below.
Which
are the largest economies?
According to the report, the six largest middle income economies
are China, India, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico which account for 32.3
per cent of world GDP, whereas the six largest high income economies are United
States, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, and Italy which account for
32.9 per cent.
Asia and the Pacific, including China and India, account for 30
per cent of world GDP, Statistical Office of the European Communities
(Eurostat) - and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) - 54 per cent, Latin America - 5.5 per cent (excluding Mexico, which
participates in the OECD and Argentina, which did not participate in the ICP
2011), Africa and Western Asia about 4.5 per cent each.
China and India make up two-thirds of the Asia and the Pacific
economy, excluding Japan and South Korea, which are part of the OECD
comparison. Russia accounts for more than 70 per cent of the CIS, and Brazil
for 56 per cent of Latin America.
South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria account for about half of the
African economy.
Which
countries are the most expensive?
The report stated that going by the Price Level Index (PLI)
which is the ratio of a PPP to a corresponding exchange rate, the most
expensive economies in GDP terms are Switzerland, Norway, Bermuda, Australia
and Denmark, with indices ranging from 210 to 185.
The United States ranked 25th in the world, lower than most
other high-income economies, including France, Germany, Japan, and the United
Kingdom.
Twenty-three economies are showing a PLI of 50 or below. The
cheapest economies according to the report, are Egypt, Pakistan, Myanmar,
Ethiopia and Lao People's Democratic Republic, with indices ranging from 35 to
40.
Which
countries are the richest and poorest in per capita terms?
According to the World Bank, the five economies with the highest
GDP per capita are Qatar, Macao SAR, China, Luxembourg, Kuwait, and Brunei.
The first two economies have more than $100,000 per capita.
Eleven economies have more than $50,000 per capita, while they collectively
account for less than 0.6 per cent of the world's population. The United States
has the 12th highest GDP per capita.
Eight economies - Malawi, Mozambique, Central African Republic,
Niger, Burundi, Congo, Dem. Rep., Comoros and Liberia - have a GDP per capita
of less than $1,000.
Which
countries devote the most spending that directly benefit individuals?
The World Bank report disclosed that "a general measure of
material well-being of each economy's population is measured better by actual
individual consumption per capita. It said that a measure of all expenditures
in the economy that directly benefit individuals rather than by GDP per capita
is more revealing of the impact of government policy on individuals.
By this measure, the five economies with highest actual
individual consumption per capita are Bermuda, United States, Cayman Islands,
Hong Kong SAR, China, and Luxembourg, respectively. The world average actual
individual consumption per capita is approximately $8,647.
Investment
expenditures
The report further stated that "at 27 per cent, China now
has the largest share of the world's expenditure for investment (gross fixed
capital formation); followed by the United States at 13 per cent. India, Japan
and Indonesia follow with 7 per cent, 4 per cent, and 3 per cent, respectively.
