I’ve referred several times in the course of this blog to World Bank figures on GNI per capita in different countries, shown in dollars. They’ve generally shown that the UK, despite the claims of the government, has not been doing particularly well. On the latest figures, we will all be pleased to hear that the UK is doing much better relatively. We now have a better five-year average than Spain, Portugal and Greece. We continue to lag behind France, we have been overtaken by Japan and Singapore, and while we used to have incomes comparable to Australia, Canada or Germany, they have left us standing; but this is a considerable improvement on where we were before, and I’m always happy to issue a correction.
2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | Index 2009-2013 | |
Australia | 44,020 | 46,510 | 50,130 | 59,790 | 65,520 | 149 |
Austria | 46,570 | 47,170 | 48,080 | 47,960 | 48,610 | 104 |
Belgium | 44700 | 45,850 | 45,800 | 44,810 | 45,210 | 101 |
Canada | 43060 | 44,450 | 46,860 | 50,650 | 52,200 | 121 |
Denmark | 58350 | 59,480 | 60,260 | 59,860 | 61,160 | 105 |
Finland | 46540 | 47,250 | 47,720 | 46,820 | 47,110 | 101 |
France | 42390 | 42,390 | 42,820 | 41,860 | 42,250 | 100 |
Germany | 42550 | 43,400 | 44,670 | 45,170 | 46,100 | 108 |
Greece | 28280 | 26,840 | 24,940 | 23,670 | 22,530 | 80 |
Italy | 36320 | 36,320 | 36,260 | 34,810 | 34,400 | 95 |
Japan | 37610 | 42,190 | 45,190 | 47,690 | 46,140 | 123 |
Netherlands | 48590 | 48,640 | 49,350 | 48,110 | 47,440 | 98 |
Portugal | 21880 | 22,060 | 21,550 | 20,620 | 20,670 | 94 |
Singapore | 37080 | 44,790 | 48,630 | 51,090 | 54,040 | 146 |
Spain | 31790 | 31,150 | 30,370 | 29,340 | 29,180 | 92 |
Sweden | 48830 | 50,870 | 52,980 | 56,120 | 59,240 | 121 |
Switzerland | 66630 | 73,620 | 74,880 | 80,950 | 86,600 | 130 |
United Kingdom | 41130 | 38,440 | 38,120 | 38,300 | 39,140 | 95 |
United States | 48040 | 48,960 | 50,660 | 52,350 | 53,670 | 112 |