Source
Source Contact person/organisation Contact person/organisationIn this dataset, almost all OECD countries compile their data according to 2008 System of National Account (SNA).
The link to the file "ANA_changes.xls" is available for users to provide more information on where OECD countries and non member countries stand regarding the change over the 2008 SNA.
The readers' guide gives general information on the dataset and withheld criteria for this dataset.
Data Characteristics Data Characteristics Other data characteristics Other data characteristics
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is a core indicator of economic performance and commonly used as a broad measure of average living standards or economic well-being; despite some recognised shortcomings.
For example, average GDP per capita gives no indication of how GDP is distributed between citizens. Average GDP per capita may rise, for example, but more people may be worse off if income inequalities also increase.
Equally, in some countries (see Comparability), there may be a significant number of non-resident border or seasonal workers or inflows and outflows of property income and both phenomena imply that the value of production differs from the income of residents, thereby over or under-stating their living standards.
A full discussion of these issues can be found in the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi report on http://www.stiglitz-sen-fitoussi.fr/.
Concepts & Classifications Concepts & Classifications Key statistical concept Key statistical conceptDefinition
What does gross domestic product mean? "Gross" signifies that no deduction has been made for the depreciation of machinery, buildings and other capital products used in production. "Domestic" means that it is production by the resident institutional units of the country. The products refer to final goods and services, that is, those that are purchased, imputed or otherwise, as: final consumption of households, non-profit institutions serving households and government; fixed assets; and exports (minus imports).
GDP at market prices can be measured in three different ways:
- as output less intermediate consumption (i.e. value added) plus taxes on products (such as VAT) less subsidies on products;
- as the income earned from production, equal to the sum of: employee compensation; the gross operating surplus of enterprises and government; the gross mixed income of unincorporated enterprises; and net taxes on production and imports (VAT, payroll tax, import duties, etc., less subsidies);
- or as the expenditure on final goods and services minus imports: final consumption expenditures, gross capital formation, and exports less imports.
A focus on per capita GDP is useful in decomposing drivers of overall GDP growth. For example, real GDP can grow without there being any improvement in real GDP per capita. Decomposing per capita growth into two parts, labour productivity growth (measured as GDP per hour worked) and labour utilisation growth (measured as hours worked per capita) is helpful in this context.
Other Aspects Other Aspects Recommended uses and limitations Recommended uses and limitationsComparability
The comparability of population and GDP estimates across countries is good (see GDPCPC, Gross domestic product). However, some care is needed in interpretation, for example, Luxembourg and, to a lesser extent, Switzerland have a relatively large number of frontier workers. Such workers contribute to GDP but are excluded from the population figures, which is one of the reasons why cross-country comparisons of income per capita based on gross or net national income (GNI and NNI) are often preferred (see second chapter on Income). (See also "Reader's guide", relating to PPP based comparisons). Some care should be taken in comparing countries using the 2008 SNA standards to those using the 1993 SNA standards. The incorporation of the 2008 SNA caused the level of GDP to be revised upward. Chile, Japan, and Turkey still compile data using the 1993 SNA standards.
In China, GDP refers to producers' prices.
In this dataset, almost all OECD countries compile their data according to 2008 System of National Account (SNA).
The link to the file "ANA_changes.xls" is available for users to provide more information on where OECD countries and non member countries stand regarding the change over the 2008 SNA.
The readers' guide gives general information on the dataset and withheld criteria for this dataset.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is a core indicator of economic performance and commonly used as a broad measure of average living standards or economic well-being; despite some recognised shortcomings.
For example, average GDP per capita gives no indication of how GDP is distributed between citizens. Average GDP per capita may rise, for example, but more people may be worse off if income inequalities also increase.
Equally, in some countries (see Comparability), there may be a significant number of non-resident border or seasonal workers or inflows and outflows of property income and both phenomena imply that the value of production differs from the income of residents, thereby over or under-stating their living standards.
A full discussion of these issues can be found in the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi report on http://www.stiglitz-sen-fitoussi.fr/.
Definition
What does gross domestic product mean? "Gross" signifies that no deduction has been made for the depreciation of machinery, buildings and other capital products used in production. "Domestic" means that it is production by the resident institutional units of the country. The products refer to final goods and services, that is, those that are purchased, imputed or otherwise, as: final consumption of households, non-profit institutions serving households and government; fixed assets; and exports (minus imports).
GDP at market prices can be measured in three different ways:
- as output less intermediate consumption (i.e. value added) plus taxes on products (such as VAT) less subsidies on products;
- as the income earned from production, equal to the sum of: employee compensation; the gross operating surplus of enterprises and government; the gross mixed income of unincorporated enterprises; and net taxes on production and imports (VAT, payroll tax, import duties, etc., less subsidies);
- or as the expenditure on final goods and services minus imports: final consumption expenditures, gross capital formation, and exports less imports.
A focus on per capita GDP is useful in decomposing drivers of overall GDP growth. For example, real GDP can grow without there being any improvement in real GDP per capita. Decomposing per capita growth into two parts, labour productivity growth (measured as GDP per hour worked) and labour utilisation growth (measured as hours worked per capita) is helpful in this context.
Comparability
The comparability of population and GDP estimates across countries is good (see GDPCPC, Gross domestic product). However, some care is needed in interpretation, for example, Luxembourg and, to a lesser extent, Switzerland have a relatively large number of frontier workers. Such workers contribute to GDP but are excluded from the population figures, which is one of the reasons why cross-country comparisons of income per capita based on gross or net national income (GNI and NNI) are often preferred (see second chapter on Income). (See also "Reader's guide", relating to PPP based comparisons). Some care should be taken in comparing countries using the 2008 SNA standards to those using the 1993 SNA standards. The incorporation of the 2008 SNA caused the level of GDP to be revised upward. Chile, Japan, and Turkey still compile data using the 1993 SNA standards.
In China, GDP refers to producers' prices.