Gross National Income per Capita

Gross National Income in either absolute or per capita form should be used cautiously as a yardstick of economic strength because it does not measure the distribution of wealth among a population. There are countries (most notably, the oil-rich countries of the Middle East) where per capita GNI is high but where the bulk of the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few individuals, leaving the remainder in poverty. Even within countries in which wealth is more evenly distributed (such as those in North America or Western Europe), there is a tendency for dollars or pounds or francs or marks to concentrate in the bank accounts of a relatively small percentage of the population. Yet the maldistribution of wealth tends to be greatest in the less developed countries, where the per capita GNI is far lower than in North America and Western Europe, and poverty is widespread. In fact, a map of GNI per capita offers a reasonably good picture of comparative economic well-being. It should be noted that a low per capita GNI does not automatically condemn a country to low levels of basic human needs and services. There are a few countries, such as Costa Rica and Sri Lanka, that have relatively low per capita GNI figures but rank comparatively high in other measures of human well-being, such as average life expectancy, access to medical care, and literacy.