During a year of economic tumult caused by the coronavirus pandemic, most countries have seen their fortunes fluctuate wildly as they were forced to enter in and out of lockdowns to stop the spread of COVID-19. Many businesses had to temporarily shut, with many governments having to spend out on furlough schemes, and nearly all industries were affected in some way. This led to record contractions of countries' economies, followed by record growth as many quickly rebounded, but as the coronavirus crisis rumbles on which nations are actually the world's richest today? Click or scroll through the 35 most prosperous countries in 2021 according to the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) GDP by Purchasing Power Parity, or PPP, per capita data, which measures economic output taking into account currency fluctuations.
All dollar figures are International Dollars.
Cyprus is among the richest countries in the Mediterranean. In August last year the country forecasted a 7% decrease in its GDP as a result of the coronavirus pandemic but the IMF only recorded a 5.1% dip in 2020. Cyprus has seen a 3.7% increase in GDP PPP per capita since last year, and it’s predicted to bounce back to 2019 levels before 2022.
Israel has dropped 14 places down the richest countries ranking this year, despite its GDP PPP per capita actually having increased by more than $1,000 – almost 5% – since 2020. The country hopes to see its economy make a quick recovery, helped along by its astonishing vaccine rollout. As of 25 April, around 57.4% of Israel's total population have been vaccinated, which is more than any other nation in the world, according to the Bloomberg Covid Resilience Ranking.
The Czech Republic saw a drop in its wealth during 2020 as the pandemic all but decimated the manufacturing sector across Europe. The auto industry was particularly badly hit, and cars and vehicle parts were the nation's biggest exports in 2019 according to the OEC. In 2021 GDP PPP per capita has already risen by almost 5.8% compared to last year, and the IMF predicts a further huge 30% increase in the next five years.
Italy was one of the first European countries to be seriously affected by coronavirus, and its impact can be seen in the country’s average GDP PPP per capita figure, which dropped by almost 7.6% in 2020 compared to the previous year. The Italian economy is now recovering and the average GDP PPP per capita is showing an increase of just over 6% compared to last year.
The Japanese economy really took a pounding from the coronavirus pandemic, and in August last year the country reported its biggest economic slump on record. Japan saw a 27.8% drop in GDP in 2020 compared to 2019, its biggest slump on record. However, unlike many neighbouring Asian countries Japan was already suffering from a sluggish economy before the crisis due to an increased sales tax of 10% and the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis. GDP PPP per capita has increased by 5.5% since last year and is on-track to continue a gradual incline over the next five years, according to IMF data.
South Korea bucked the global trend in 2020 as its GDP remained stable and the country even reported its sharpest GDP increase in a decade in October – a 1.9% increase compared to the second quarter. The country was hailed as a model example of how to handle a pandemic in the early months of the crisis while tech exports boomed, and the South Korean economy reaped the rewards. GDP PPP per capita saw a marginal increase of 0.1% in 2020, and has since increased by another 5.4%.
GDP PPP per capita has been on a steady rise in the UK for the last decade, despite financial uncertainty caused by the vote to leave the European Union in 2016. The coronavirus pandemic did cause problems for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales however, and GDP dropped by more than 9% in 2020 compared to the previous year. The COVID-19 outbreak and its resulting three lockdowns have certainly slowed recovery, but GDP is predicted to increase to $50,367 in 2021.
Oil is big business in Saudi Arabia, and the country has felt the repercussions of the volatility in oil prices over the last year. GDP PPP per capita dropped 4.9% to $46,810 in 2020 but has since risen to $48,100 in 2021, which is a 2.8% increase compared to last year.
France is facing a mountain of debt that has only grown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020 France’s GDP PPP per capita decreased by more than 7%. The new year has seen a rebound though, and GDP is currently just shy of 2019 levels.
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One of the first states in the Gulf to discover oil and to build a refinery, people living in Bahrain are some of the wealthiest in the world. As with Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s economy was in flux as the price of oil hit rock bottom at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, and GDP PPP per capita slid by 6% to $48,766 in 2020. While this has rebounded a little, it is yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, but it is predicted to reach $52,001 by 2022, according to the IMF.
GDP PPP per capita in Finland has risen by 4% since last year, and the IMF predicts that it will keep on rising to reach $62,127 in 2026. As with the rest of the world Finland's economy was impacted by coronavirus, but it fared better than expected after Finland managed to get the virus under control relatively quickly and saw domestic demand recover dramatically in summer 2020. In fact it's considered to be the European country handling the coronavirus pandemic most effectively, according to the Bloomberg Covid Resilience Ranking.
This small European country was a COVID-19 hotspot during several periods of 2020, and the impact of that ricocheted through the economy, which contracted by 6.3% last year. GDP PPP per capita fell by almost 6% to $51,096 in 2020. So far in 2021 it has risen slightly to $53,970.
Australia ranks as one of the best countries to live in based on international comparisons of wealth, education, health and quality of life, but in terms of GDP PPP per capita the country has dropped in the rankings from the top 10 last year to number 20 in 2021. That said, while Australia did see a dip in 2020, the country had a relatively swift and effective response to the pandemic, which allowed lockdown restrictions to ease quicker than in most other countries. So far in 2021 GDP has increased by more than 6%.
Controversially Sweden never entered into a national lockdown and, even though it has reluctantly imposed regulations on the number of attendees at events, it has focused on voluntary measures, recommending people work from home or stay at home if unwell. Crucially the country has never ordered businesses to close. That said, GDP PPP per capita still dropped by 2.1% in 2020, but in 2021 has risen by just over 2.6%.
Wealth in Germany is less equally distributed than in many other European countries and the nation boasts 136 billionaires in 2021, up from 106 in 2020, which is more than any other country in Europe. GDP PPP per capita is currently $56,960, which is a 5% increase compared to last year and exceeds the pre-pandemic figures from 2019.
Just inching ahead of Germany is Austria, which has a GDP PPP per capita of $57,890. That’s up by 4.8% compared to last year. The German-speaking country has outperformed its north-western neighbour in its response to COVID-19, but has yet to see its wealth return to pre-pandemic levels.
The Icelandic economy has long been reliant on fisheries and tourism, but relatively recent diversification into lucrative sectors such as information technology and renewable energy have helped the country to weather the COVID-19 storm. GDP PPP per capita is up 3.9% compared to last year, but that figure has yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels and is still less than the average from 2018.
Taiwan is one of the richest countries in Asia and its inhabitants enjoy a high standard of living with decent wealth equality. The island has seen GDP PPP per capita increase steadily since 2009, even during the pandemic thanks to the nation’s fast response to the virus. This allowed the country to return to normality in May last year and report a total of just 12 coronavirus-related deaths. In 2021 GDP is up almost 6.6% compared to last year, and the upward trend is predicted to continue for the next five years.
Before oil was discovered the United Arab Emirates (UAE) relied on fishing and a declining pearl industry, but the UAE's society and economy have been transformed by black gold, making it one of the wealthiest countries in the world. As the COVID-19 outbreak caused turmoil in the oil industry, the UAE saw its GDP PPP per capita drop by 7.6% to $58,753 in 2020. The country is slowly recovering, although it's taken a big hit and GDP won’t return to 2019 levels until 2025 according to IMF forecasts.
An independent state in north-central Italy, San Marino is one of the world's smallest countries and tourism is a key industry, so it’s unsurprising that the economy creaked during 2020 and GDP PPP per capita dropped by more than 9%. Recovery is underway however, and GDP will return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, according to IMF forecasts.
Hong Kong was one of the first places to be hit by the spread of coronavirus outside of central China, but while it managed to avoid imposing a lockdown its strict social distancing measures saw its economy suffer, which was already in recession before the pandemic hit as protests and civil rights issues detered tourists. That said, in 2020 Hong Kong was the 16th richest country last year by GDP PPP per capita, and has since moved up the rankings to 10th in 2021. This year has seen GDP increase by almost 5.6% compared to 2020. However, Hong Kong isn't out of the woods yet and this January it had to enforce its first lockdown following serious outbreaks of coronavirus in its poorest districts.
The tiny state of Brunei has one of the world's highest standards of living and it’s another country to have bucked the trend and seen GDP PPP per capita steadily increase in recent years, despite the coronavirus pandemic. The Bruneian government imposed strict travel rules and harsh non-compliance penalties, among other restrictions, and as a result the oil-rich sultanate only reported a total of three coronavirus-related deaths. GDP has increased by almost 3.3% since last year, and is forecast to increase by an impressive 22% in the next five years, according to IMF projections.
The US economy was hit with its biggest economic contraction on record because of the COVID-19 pandemic but GDP PPP per capita has already bounced back to exceed pre-pandemic levels. In 2020 GDP fell by 2.8% to $63,416, but it has now reached $68,310, which is the highest average since IMF records began.
Like Hong Kong, Macau is an autonomous territory of China with a booming economy. But gambling is big business here and a lack of tourists has wounded the country’s finances, contributing to a dramatic 55% drop in GDP PPP per capita from $124,904 to just $56,078 in 2020. The special administrative region hopes to reverse its economic slump by ramping up its tech industry, and in 2021 Macau is racing back up the richest country rankings.
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Ireland's low corporation tax rates has meant lots of huge multinational companies have made a home here. The country’s capital Dublin is regularly listed as one of the most expensive places to live thanks to its staggering house prices, so it’s fitting that GPD PPP per capita is among the top three in the world. It has also remained stable throughout the coronavirus pandemic, and increased by 2.8% in 2020 when most other countries experienced a drop.
The wealthy state of Singapore is a thriving global financial hub with an impressive GDP PPP per capita. While this did dip by just under 5.4% in 2020, it's now back to pre-pandemic levels. Singapore has recently been given the top spot in the Bloomberg Covid Resilience Ranking, with next to zero community cases of coronavirus and a steady vaccine rollout in place, which only bolsters the financial security of those living there.
Famed for its wealth and excellent standard of living, unsurprisingly Luxembourg remains at the top of the list as the world’s richest country based on GDP PPP per capita. This small European country has long been considered a tax haven, which attracts the wealthy, and is known for its banking and financial services. Luxembourg’s GDP has recovered from the 2% drop it experienced last year, reaching an impressive $122,740 in 2021.
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