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Immediately, there are a few noticeable differences in the top 10 countries by GDP per capita when adjusted for PPP. For one, most countries’ values have increased from their nominal value (except for the U.S. since it is the benchmark).

Some countries have switched ranks in the top 10, such as Ireland and Luxembourg. Others have been replaced all together, with Iceland, Denmark, and Australia falling out of the top 10, replaced by Macao, the UAE, and San Marino.

We can also see how the different calculations of GDP per capita affect the rankings in other regions:

The Americas and Europe

The U.S. leads the Americas in both nominal and PPP-adjusted per capita GDP. However, Canada drops to 3rd place under the new metric, overtaken by Guyana.

In Europe, the usual suspects in the world’s top 10 populate most of the region’s ranks. However, Andorra slides in at 10th in Europe’s richest countries by GDP per capita (PPP). Andorra in particular benefits from its status as a free economic zone—very low or no taxes—and being a tourism hotspot with the sector contributing 80% to its economy.

Asia

Singapore, Qatar, Macao, the UAE, and Hong Kong claim top spots as Asia’s richest countries on both lists. Qatar and the UAE benefit from oil being a key export of the region, while Singapore and are top financial centers of Asia. Macao—where gambling is legal—is a massive tourism draw.

On the other hand, Israel and Japan drop out of the richest countries in Asia when using PPP calculations, with countries like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain edging them out.

Africa and Oceania

The island nations of Seychelles and Mauritius lead the ranks of countries by GDP per capita in both nominal and PPP categories on the African continent, also thanks to their booming tourism industries.

Traditional African economic heavyweight South Africa also features in this list of Africa’s richest. But Egypt, the region’s third largest economy, only makes the top 10 countries by GDP when adjusted for PPP, otherwise weighed down by its large population.

And in Oceania, adjusting GDP for purchasing power doesn’t have much effect on the sizable gap between Australia and New Zealand and their smaller island neighbors. But some local economies are noticeably stronger when adjusting for PPP, especially Fiji‘s, which has a GDP per capita (PPP) three times bigger than its nominal value.

The Drawbacks of GDP Per Capita

GDP per capita is a useful measure, but it also comes with its own set of caveats.

For one, it is a measurement of economic output per person, not individual income or household savings. That gives it clear limitations in certain cases, such as in Ireland, where the presence of multinational corporations obfuscates the general output per person.

Secondly, countries with smaller populations do better in the rankings. Most of the world’s biggest economies (China, India, UK, France) do not find themselves in the top 10 ranks.

Finally, other metrics for a good standard of living, some of them intangible in economic terms—human rights, freedom of expression—are not accounted for at all.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.