…. Ranked as part of top ten African countries with highest GDP
BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – An international global economic data processing platform has ranked Eswatini as one of the top 10 African countries with the highest GDP per capita.
This information is contained in various online publications that were published earlier today while others were published when the month started.
Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is an economic metric that breaks down a country’s economic output per person.
Economists use GDP per capita to determine how prosperous countries are based on their economic growth.
GDP per capita is calculated by dividing the GDP of a nation by its population. Countries with a higher GDP per capita tend to be those that are industrial, developed countries
Economist Sanelisiwe Mkhombe said there are many ways to measure different economies against one another, but comparing countries by GDP per capita remains one of the most tried-and-true methods.
“GDP per capita attempts to level the playing field by dividing a country’s economic output by its population, effectively giving the average GDP per person. A higher per capita GDP generally corresponds to higher income, consumption levels, and standards of living,” she said.
In addition, she mentioned that the simplicity of this metric also makes it useful for economists and policymakers to communicate levels of economic well-being to the public.
Meanwhile, the ten countries with the highest GDP per capita are Monaco, Luxembourg, Bermuda, Ireland, Switzerland, Norway, the Cayman Islands, Singapore, the United States, and the Faroe Islands.
“It is important to understand that GDP per capita is not the only measure of a country’s economic and societal well-being,”
“Factors such as income inequality, wealth distribution, and quality of public services also play a significant role in determining a nation’s overall economic conditions and living standards,” said Mkhombe in addition.
When asked what the high GDP per capita means for Eswatini, Mkhombe said The Gross Domestic Product per capita or GDP per capita can be used by the government to understand the distribution of wealth among the people of the country.
Mkhombe said this also helps the government to understand the economic activity and growth of the nation which proves to be beneficial in managing the economic and financial affairs in future.
She said fellow economists on the other hand also study the GDP per capita of different nations to judge the nations’ prosperity and economic growth.
“Very often, the small nations that are rich and well developed turn out to have a higher GDP per capita, which indicates that these nations are prosperous and economically strong and growing,”
“This also indicates that the nation is a good place to live for its people as their needs are being satisfied as the total wealth is divided among a smaller population. This is why the country’s having smaller populations often seem to have a higher GDP per capita as compared to the highly populated countries,”she said.
