What do you think of, when asked about the richest countries in the world? What comes to mind when asked about the smallest nations in the world? Some would be surprised to find out that many of the world’s richest countries are also the world’s smallest.
What do we mean when we say a country is “rich,”. A country is said to be rich when its economy is large enough to cater for its population. This is one reason small countries are most times the richest in the world.
The Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the value of all goods and services produced in a nation, dividing a country’s GDP by the number of the full-time residents is a better way of determining how rich or poor a country is.
However, when taking into account inflation rates and the cost of local goods and services you get a more accurate picture of a nation’s average standard of living.
Here are the 10 Richest Countries in the World as at August 2020.
10. Switzerland
With an International Reserves of USD 786.9 billion (2018); Gross Domestic Product – GDP of USD 703.8 billion (2018, estimate); GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) of Intl$ 548.5 billion (2018, estimate) and a population of 8.545 million (2019).
Switzerland has the highest density of millionaires in the world, For every 100,000 residents, there are 9,428 of them (billionaires included)—the 11.8% of the total considering just the adult population.
However, this country of 8.6 million owes much his wealth to its banking and insurance services and to tourism, as well as to exports such as pharmaceuticals products, gems and precious metals, precision instruments and machineries (from watches, to medical apparatuses and computers).
9. Kuwait
With an International Reserves of USD 40.3 billion (2018); Gross Domestic Product – GDP ofUSD 141.1 billion (2018, estimate); GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) of Intl$ 306.4 billion (2018, estimate) and a population of approximately 4.1 million people almost entirely concentrated in urban areas, this small state on the northern edge of the Persian Gulf is one of the Middle East’s most advanced and democratic.
The flat Arabian Desert covers most of Kuwait’s territory. It was only in 1938 that oil was discovered under its sands. A lot of oil: Kuwait makes up over 6% of the world’s total reserves. The oil industry accounts today for about 40% of the country’s GDP and over 90% of its exports.
8. United Arab Emirates
With an International Reserves of USD 99.5 billion (2018); Gross Domestic Product – GDP of USD 426.6 billion (2018, estimate); GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) Intl$ 723.7 billion (2018, estimate) and a population of 9.771 million (2019).
The country enjoys considerable wealth, traditional Islamic architecture mixes with glitzy shopping centers, and workers come from all over the world lured by tax-free salaries and year-round sunshine (to the extent that only about 20% of the people living in the country are actually locally-born).
Agriculture, fishing and trading pearls: these used to be the economic mainstays of this Persian Gulf nation. Then oil was discovered in the 1950s and everything changed.
The United Arab Emirates’ economy is also becoming increasingly diversified. Outside the traditionally dominant hydrocarbon sector, trade and finance, as well as construction and tourism, are major industries.
7. Norway
With International Reserves of USD 63.1 billion (2018); Gross Domestic Product – GDP Of USD 434.9 billion (2018, estimate); GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) of Intl$ 395.9 billion (2018, estimate) and a population of 5.328 million (2019).
Norwegians have a $1.2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest. Not only that, they know that with great riches comes great responsibility: contrary to many other rich nations, high per capita GDP figures are truly a reflection of people’s financial wellbeing. Norway has one of the lowest income inequality gaps in the world.
Since the discovery of large offshore reserves in the late 1960s, Norway’s economic engine has been fueled by oil. As western Europe’s top petroleum producer, the country has benefitted for decades from rising prices.
6. Ireland
With an International Reserves of USD 5.2 billion (2018); Gross Domestic Product – GDP of USD 372.7 billion (2018, estimate); GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) of Intl$ 385.9 billion (2018, estimate) and a population of 4.904 million (2019),
Ireland is one of the world’s largest corporate tax havens, with ordinary people benefitting infinitely far less than companies do.
And while they are undoubtedly better off than they used to, according to data from the OECD the national household per-capita, disposable income is actually lower than the overall member countries’ average, about $25,300 a year versus $33,600.
With a considerable gap between the richest and poorest (the top 20% of the population earns almost five times as much as the bottom 20%).
5. Brunei Darussalam
With International Reserves of USD 3.4 billion (2018); Gross Domestic Product – GDP of USD 14.1 billion (2018, estimate); and GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) of Intl$ 34.6 billion (2018, estimate), although the data is scarce, it has been estimated that out of its 450,000 population up to the 40% earns less than $1,000 a year.
The country has immense reserve of oil and natural gas.
4. Singapore
With International Reserves of USD 247.5 billion (2015); Gross Domestic Product – GDP of USD 311.3 billion (2017, estimate); GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) of Intl$ 508.4 billion (2017, estimate) and a population of 5.704 million (2019).
Singapore is an affluent fiscal haven where capital gains and dividends are tax-free.
Singapore is one of the most business-friendly places in the world.it is a thriving trade, manufacturing and financial hub (with 97% of the adult population being literate).
3. Luxembourg
With International Reserves of USD 0.9 billion (2018); Gross Domestic Product – GDP of USD 68.8 billion (2018, estimate); GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) of Intl$ 64.2 billion (2018, estimate) and a population of 613,894 (2019), has plenty to offer, both to its tourists and its citizens.
Luxembourg uses a large share of its wealth to deliver better housing, healthcare and education to its people, who by far enjoy the highest standard of living in the Eurozone.
The country topped the $100,000 mark in per capita GDP in 2015 and never looked back ever since. Even the pandemic is unlikely to change that.
2. Macao
With a population just over 600,000, and more than 40 casinos spread over a territory of about 30 square kilometers, this narrow peninsula just south of Hong Kong is almost literally a money-making machine.
In Asia’s gambling capital many are betting that Macao will climb to the first spot of the richest nation’s ranking very soon.
Formerly a colony of the Portuguese Empire, since the gaming industry was liberalized in 2001 this special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China has seen its wealth growing at an astounding pace.
1. Qatar
With International Reserves of USD 30.4 billion (2018); Gross Domestic Product – GDP of USD 192.5 billion (2018, estimate); GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) of Intl$ 354.8 billion (2018, estimate) and a population of 2.832 million (2019).
About $15,000 is, on average, how much each Qatari citizen has lost every year since the hydrocarbon prices started dropping in 2014.
Still, the country’s oil, gas and petrochemical reserves are so large, and its population so small—just 2.8 million—that this marvel of ultramodern architecture, luxury shopping malls and fine cuisine has managed to top the list of world’s richest nations for 20 years.
Culled from Global Finance
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