Richest Countries in the World

Wealth can be measured in various ways and doesn’t always have to include how much money a country has. It can also be welfare, health or happiness.The method used to rank the richest country in the world is based on the gross domestic product (at purchasing power parity – PPP) per capita standard.

Here’s a list of the 17 Richest countries in the world 2020, ranked by GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita.

17. Germany

Germany is a major powerhouse when it comes to global economy and they have a massive purchasing power. Several world-leading companies are from Germany, such as Volkswagen, BMW, Siemens, and Adidas just to mention a few.

GDP Per Capita: 55.31 thousand.

16. Denmark

Denmark might be one of the smaller countries in Europe, but it’s a rich country, known for ranking high in all international rankings, such as the happiest countries in the world for example. The average Dane has a comfortable living standard and the economy is typically dominated by the service sector, which accounts for 80% of all jobs. The total GDP for Denmark in 2019 was listed at $347.176 billion.

GDP per capita: 55.67 thousand.

15. Sweden

Sweden is another Scandinavian country that ranks as one of the richest countries in the world. While the Swedish Krona (SEK) has fallen in recent years, the economy is still going strong. Sweden is a highly export-dependent country where timber, hydro power and iron ore are some of the main exports. The country has a competitive and liberalized open market economy and the nominal GDP for 2019 ended at $528.929 billion.

GDP per capita: 55.99 thousand.

14. Saudi Arabia

The Royal family of Saudi Arabia is one of the richest families in the world, but there is no shortage of other rich oil sheiks and business people in the country.

The largest income comes from oil, and Saudi Arabia has a GDP Per Capita at 56.91 thousand. This is also where Mecca is located.

GDP Per Capita: 56.91 thousand.

13. Iceland

In recent years there has been a tourism boom in Iceland, and there seems to be no end in the interest of international visitors. Iceland was hit hard by the financial crisis in 2008, but much thanks to the export of fish and aluminum as well as the influx of tourism made sure that the country recovered quickly.

GDP Per Capita: 56.97 thousand.

12. Netherlands

The Dutch have been successful in trading since the 1600s where they sailed around the world. Nowadays, they have a very effective food production which makes it possible to export the excess food. Many vegetables that are sold in Europe comes from the Netherlands. They also have a successful oil refining, chemical industry, and machine production.

GDP Per Capita: 60.3 thousand.

11. San Marino

San Marino is primarily famous for its banking sector, and the residents are definitely living a wealthy life. Tourism is also contributing to the economy. San Marino is one of the smallest countries in the world, entirely surrounded by Italy.

GDP Per Capita: 62.91 thousand.

10. USA

A major world power for a long time that has helped shape the world into what it is today. USA is the richest country in the world if you consider nominal GDP, but when measuring the GDP per capita, the United States only ranks at 10th place among the world’s richest countries.

The United States of America has huge income gaps, and there are enormous differences in minimum wages and those who are wealthy. The financial crisis also hit the US economy hard, but they have managed to recover quite well, and the US dollar is as strong as ever.

GDP Per Capita: 67.43 thousand.

9. Switzerland

Switzerland is another country that has made itself famous for being a financial center. And it is the banking and finance services that contribute to a large part of the country’s wealthy economy. Switzerland also has an important production industry and tourism. Most of the Swiss would be noted as wealthy in the majority of all countries around the world.

For example, one liter of milk could easily cost 7 USD, and a regular cleaner or maid could make more than 3000 USD per month.

GDP Per Capita: 67.56 thousand.

8. Kuwait

Kuwait has large quantities of oil which is also what makes up the majority of the country’s exports. However, they need to import both water and food since they can’t produce enough food for its population. But that’s not really a problem since most people in Kuwait are wealthy and make a lot of money from the oil.

GDP Per Capita: 67.89 thousand.

7. United Arab Emirates

The fact that the United Arab Emirates is one of the richest countries in the world might not be surprising at all, considering the many impressive buildings that can be found in the Emirates. For example, Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world and the only 7-star hotel, Burj al-Arab. It’s primary oil that has made the Emirates rich, and in recent years they have created a financial center as well that has attracted a lot of wealthy people from around the world.

GDP Per Capita: 70.44 thousand.

6. Norway

Norwegians became rich from oil and fish. As an example, they introduced salmon for the Japanese people and their sushi. They found huge quantities of oil in the ’60s, and they have a capital fund worth 1092 billion USD. Almost every Norwegian is wealthy in one way or another, and this has even led to the fact that they import workers from neighboring countries, such as Sweden for lower-skilled jobs.

GDP Per Capita: 79.64 thousand.

5. Brunei

This small little sultanate has become rich thanks to its huge resources of oil and natural gas. Brunei doesn’t have either tax or VAT.

GDP Per Capita: 85.01 thousand.

4. Ireland

Did you know that both Google and Facebook have their European office in Ireland? Many companies are attracted to have Ireland as their base due to tax advantages. This has given a huge rise for the Irish economy, and they are now ranked as the fourth richest country in the world!

GDP Per Capita: 86.99 thousand.

3. Singapore

One of the world’s top financial centers that have become experts in importing products and services to resell. Many Singaporeans are grown up with a desire to become rich, and with the right mentality, will power and conditions, much can happen. The movie Crazy Rich Asians take place in Singapore and give some insights into the rich society and the wealthiest people in the country.

GDP Per Capita: 105.69 thousand.

2. Luxembourg

Another small country that has become rich thanks to banking and financial services. Luxembourg also has a strong industry of steel, rubber, and chemicals. Several of the main headquarters of the EU can be found in the capital of Luxembourg.

GDP Per Capita: 112.04 thousand.

1. Qatar

Qatar is the richest country in the world according to GDP per capita. Wealth primarily comes from oil and natural gas. Qatar also tries to lie at the forefront when it comes to technical innovation and making themselves independent of fossil fuels in the future.

This is also where one of the best airlines in the world has its main base – Qatar Airways. The nominal GDP in 2019 ended at $191.849 billion.

GDP Per Capita: 138.91 thousand

Note: Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao would all be listed as some of the richest countries in the world, if they were independent countries, Also Monaco and Liechtenstein would probably rank well on this list, but they are not members of the IMF, and are thus not included.

More about the richest country in the world

The United States is de facto the richest country in the world if you consider the economy as a whole, but if you measure it by GDP per capita, then Qatar is the world’s richest country.

GDP per Capita is better to paint the whole picture of wealth in a country. In short, the United States has the largest amount of money, even though they also have a massive state debt.

China is the second-largest economy in terms of the total amount of money in the world and is expected to precede the USA in the future and thus become the richest country in the world.

The largest economies in the world

So, now that you know which are the richest countries in the world, ranked by GDP per capita, it will of course also be interesting to know about the world’s largest economies.

This list ranks the countries by the amount of money they have ranked by their total GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

1. USA

2. China

3. Japan

4. Germany

5. United Kingdom

6. India

7. France

8. Brazil

9. Italy

10. Canada

• Happiest Countries in the world.

• World Happiness Report 2020.

• World Happiness Report 2019.