The map above shows which countries remain richer per person than China in 2020 and which China has overtaken since 1950.
In 1950, China’s GDP per capita in inflation adjusted terms was just $799 per person, making it the 20th lowest in the world.
By 2020 this had risen to $17,226 per person, which still only places it 67th in the world. Here’s how that change looked like over 70 years:
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
Full data below:
| Country | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qatar | $48,436 | $52,299 | $51,921 | $45,860 | $11,705 | $45,788 | $134,803 | $143,119 |
| Norway | $8,655 | $11,483 | $15,983 | $24,031 | $29,434 | $54,040 | $78,476 | $83,543 |
| Singapore | $3,572 | $3,464 | $6,650 | $13,601 | $22,666 | $37,773 | $58,613 | $71,965 |
| United Arab Emirates | $25,182 | $35,758 | $39,135 | $44,168 | $22,254 | $48,888 | $60,112 | $70,188 |
| Kuwait | $46,031 | $45,929 | $48,927 | $21,154 | $9,757 | $35,845 | $68,865 | $66,366 |
| Switzerland | $11,541 | $16,358 | $23,479 | $27,406 | $34,250 | $43,251 | $57,220 | $60,521 |
| Ireland | $5,504 | $6,825 | $9,881 | $13,614 | $18,838 | $38,807 | $48,624 | $55,135 |
| United States | $15,240 | $18,057 | $23,958 | $29,611 | $36,982 | $45,886 | $49,267 | $54,379 |
| Luxembourg | $13,378 | $15,870 | $20,763 | $24,951 | $36,706 | $50,064 | $54,086 | $53,489 |
| Taiwan | $1,460 | $2,157 | $4,044 | $8,384 | $15,841 | $26,787 | $37,385 | $48,779 |
| Australia | $11,815 | $14,013 | $19,166 | $22,972 | $27,373 | $36,603 | $45,400 | $48,269 |
| Denmark | $11,067 | $14,046 | $20,221 | $24,272 | $29,412 | $39,021 | $42,932 | $47,171 |
| Saudi Arabia | $3,556 | $5,928 | $12,153 | $21,068 | $14,335 | $23,905 | $42,738 | $46,724 |
| Hong Kong | $4,082 | $5,088 | $9,250 | $17,086 | $27,960 | $32,894 | $43,171 | $46,550 |
| Oman | $993 | $1,490 | $6,056 | $6,491 | $10,327 | $24,186 | $46,182 | $46,133 |
| Netherlands | $9,558 | $13,209 | $19,075 | $23,438 | $27,515 | $37,900 | $43,812 | $46,014 |
| Germany | $6,186 | $12,282 | $17,277 | $22,497 | $25,391 | $33,367 | $41,110 | $44,996 |
| Sweden | $10,742 | $13,849 | $20,269 | $23,809 | $28,068 | $34,203 | $42,635 | $44,128 |
| Canada | $11,622 | $13,952 | $19,207 | $25,784 | $30,082 | $36,943 | $41,209 | $42,494 |
| Austria | $5,907 | $10,391 | $15,537 | $21,932 | $26,930 | $34,796 | $40,288 | $40,503 |
| Iceland | $8,498 | $10,959 | $14,830 | $24,528 | $28,760 | $33,108 | $36,273 | $39,368 |
| Finland | $6,779 | $9,931 | $15,266 | $20,640 | $26,884 | $32,690 | $37,615 | $38,872 |
| Belgium | $8,706 | $11,081 | $16,914 | $23,060 | $27,412 | $33,720 | $37,739 | $38,763 |
| South Korea | $998 | $1,548 | $2,975 | $6,064 | $13,874 | $23,108 | $31,538 | $38,607 |
| Bahrain | $3,354 | $4,532 | $6,038 | $6,994 | $6,542 | $17,022 | $34,058 | $36,891 |
| Japan | $3,062 | $6,354 | $15,484 | $21,404 | $29,949 | $33,211 | $35,011 | $36,827 |
| France | $8,266 | $11,792 | $18,187 | $23,537 | $28,129 | $33,410 | $36,087 | $35,914 |
| New Zealand | $13,479 | $15,087 | $17,835 | $19,681 | $21,817 | $26,823 | $31,586 | $35,854 |
| United Kingdom | $11,061 | $13,780 | $17,162 | $20,612 | $26,189 | $31,946 | $34,754 | $34,651 |
| Puerto Rico | $3,416 | $5,451 | $10,117 | $13,040 | $16,799 | $27,392 | $33,195 | $33,787 |
| Israel | $4,490 | $7,433 | $12,913 | $17,508 | $20,829 | $26,059 | $28,576 | $32,731 |
| Italy | $5,582 | $9,430 | $15,492 | $20,959 | $26,003 | $32,717 | $34,766 | $32,385 |
| Spain | $3,459 | $5,032 | $9,503 | $14,006 | $19,215 | $26,995 | $31,786 | $30,835 |
| Czechia | $8,748 | $12,336 | $14,178 | $17,056 | $25,922 | $30,365 | ||
| Malta | $1,573 | $2,383 | $3,889 | $8,920 | $13,259 | $20,435 | $23,633 | $29,704 |
| Seychelles | $2,632 | $3,257 | $3,537 | $6,424 | $8,239 | $14,380 | $20,147 | $29,647 |
| Czechoslovakia | $5,581 | $8,142 | $10,307 | $12,723 | $13,570 | $15,378 | $24,573 | $29,043 |
| Lithuania | $12,734 | $13,809 | $10,807 | $18,664 | $28,972 | |||
| Slovenia | $7,165 | $12,803 | $21,151 | $18,093 | $21,501 | $26,001 | $28,733 | |
| Cyprus | $2,885 | $3,496 | $6,590 | $9,451 | $15,560 | $22,327 | $27,630 | $28,634 |
| Poland | $3,900 | $5,125 | $7,058 | $9,149 | $8,150 | $12,732 | $20,609 | $28,577 |
| Estonia | $15,044 | $17,247 | $16,807 | $20,713 | $28,262 | |||
| Slovakia | $12,374 | $13,905 | $21,941 | $26,468 | ||||
| Hungary | $3,953 | $5,816 | $8,015 | $10,052 | $10,296 | $13,129 | $20,036 | $26,091 |
| Portugal | $3,325 | $4,712 | $8,724 | $12,822 | $17,256 | $23,372 | $25,463 | $25,700 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | $5,856 | $9,964 | $13,141 | $19,734 | $14,112 | $19,180 | $30,236 | $25,549 |
| Latvia | $13,739 | $15,806 | $11,310 | $17,140 | $25,453 | |||
| Kazakhstan | $11,899 | $11,888 | $9,309 | $19,965 | $25,124 | |||
| Romania | $1,884 | $2,939 | $4,547 | $6,592 | $5,596 | $7,090 | $16,377 | $24,800 |
| Russia | $3,311 | $5,557 | $9,234 | $12,204 | $12,400 | $10,553 | $21,737 | $24,625 |
| Malaysia | $2,485 | $2,439 | $3,314 | $5,829 | $8,179 | $13,475 | $18,574 | $24,279 |
| Turkey | $2,079 | $3,041 | $4,398 | $6,070 | $8,606 | $11,904 | $16,528 | $23,722 |
| Equatorial Guinea | $797 | $1,101 | $1,934 | $2,613 | $2,474 | $12,915 | $42,038 | $23,300 |
| Greece | $3,052 | $5,015 | $9,900 | $14,300 | $15,964 | $20,965 | $26,517 | $21,767 |
| Croatia | $5,067 | $8,751 | $14,193 | $12,948 | $13,245 | $19,511 | $21,672 | |
| Chile | $5,880 | $6,781 | $8,195 | $9,024 | $10,203 | $15,212 | $18,910 | $20,206 |
| Eastern Europe (MPD) | $4,133 | $5,866 | $8,330 | $9,784 | $10,091 | $8,834 | $16,320 | $19,579 |
| Belarus | $9,487 | $11,467 | $9,111 | $17,172 | $19,053 | |||
| USSR | $4,529 | $6,288 | $8,886 | $10,245 | $10,989 | $8,194 | $16,345 | $18,851 |
| Panama | $2,577 | $3,217 | $5,131 | $6,849 | $7,119 | $9,899 | $15,169 | $18,841 |
| Uruguay | $7,015 | $7,643 | $8,030 | $10,546 | $10,305 | $13,050 | $16,416 | $18,460 |
| Mauritius | $3,942 | $4,396 | $4,662 | $6,970 | $11,489 | $14,272 | $16,269 | $18,446 |
| Middle East and North Africa (MPD) | $2,288 | $3,103 | $4,790 | $6,731 | $6,432 | $9,659 | $16,565 | $18,227 |
| Bulgaria | $2,632 | $4,642 | $7,608 | $9,634 | $8,922 | $8,411 | $14,686 | $18,204 |
| Montenegro | $2,439 | $4,857 | $7,992 | $6,605 | $6,046 | $14,510 | $17,356 | |
| Iran | $2,742 | $3,437 | $6,677 | $6,334 | $5,620 | $9,105 | $17,751 | $17,296 |
| China | $799 | $1,057 | $1,398 | $1,930 | $2,982 | $4,730 | $9,658 | $17,226 |
| Yugoslavia | $2,276 | $3,778 | $6,288 | $10,037 | $9,000 | $8,473 | $14,251 | $16,758 |
| Turkmenistan | $6,763 | $5,796 | $4,173 | $14,397 | $16,581 | |||
| Azerbaijan | $7,165 | $7,394 | $4,215 | $16,154 | $16,190 | |||
| Argentina | $7,949 | $8,861 | $11,639 | $13,080 | $10,254 | $14,369 | $18,980 | $15,976 |
| Thailand | $1,302 | $1,718 | $2,700 | $4,071 | $7,385 | $9,627 | $13,344 | $15,816 |
| Gabon | $2,958 | $3,982 | $5,587 | $8,402 | $7,646 | $10,638 | $14,927 | $15,746 |
| Dominican Republic | $1,637 | $2,075 | $2,488 | $3,781 | $3,939 | $6,788 | $11,276 | $15,326 |
| Serbia | $3,948 | $6,515 | $10,724 | $9,754 | $6,060 | $11,964 | $15,256 | |
| Mexico | $3,510 | $4,723 | $6,873 | $9,929 | $9,699 | $12,613 | $14,697 | $15,254 |
| Botswana | $489 | $564 | $907 | $2,348 | $5,267 | $8,044 | $12,545 | $14,163 |
| Costa Rica | $3,129 | $4,328 | $5,984 | $7,828 | $7,567 | $9,320 | $12,032 | $13,996 |
| Brazil | $2,236 | $3,398 | $4,635 | $8,249 | $7,842 | $9,834 | $14,216 | $13,686 |
| North Macedonia | $3,586 | $6,545 | $9,899 | $9,173 | $8,084 | $11,038 | $13,126 | |
| Algeria | $2,176 | $3,328 | $3,585 | $5,024 | $4,697 | $6,835 | $12,588 | $13,086 |
| Mongolia | $677 | $912 | $1,226 | $1,618 | $2,123 | $2,936 | $7,830 | $12,990 |
| Latin America (MPD) | $3,678 | $4,698 | $6,193 | $8,612 | $8,055 | $10,133 | $13,356 | $12,865 |
| Colombia | $3,432 | $3,980 | $4,932 | $6,786 | $7,693 | $8,497 | $11,192 | $12,377 |
| Egypt | $1,451 | $1,580 | $1,999 | $3,298 | $4,022 | $6,594 | $10,719 | $12,235 |
| Indonesia | $1,280 | $1,613 | $1,882 | $2,981 | $4,007 | $5,384 | $8,386 | $11,895 |
| Georgia | $10,519 | $12,140 | $4,892 | $8,443 | $11,771 | |||
| Libya | $620 | $1,323 | $6,591 | $8,741 | $4,921 | $9,771 | $29,157 | $11,742 |
| Iraq | $2,174 | $4,360 | $5,536 | $10,165 | $3,918 | $3,649 | $10,274 | $11,717 |
| Armenia | $9,291 | $9,669 | $5,140 | $8,331 | $11,546 | |||
| Sri Lanka | $1,997 | $2,064 | $2,389 | $2,917 | $3,864 | $5,841 | $8,320 | $11,447 |
| Albania | $1,596 | $2,313 | $3,194 | $3,741 | $3,983 | $4,808 | $9,223 | $11,373 |
| Peru | $3,679 | $4,733 | $6,143 | $6,795 | $4,795 | $6,038 | $9,508 | $11,137 |
| South Africa | $4,041 | $4,847 | $6,448 | $6,998 | $6,111 | $7,583 | $11,319 | $10,839 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | $2,871 | $4,251 | $6,588 | $5,893 | $7,082 | $8,982 | $10,736 | |
| Barbados | $3,390 | $5,316 | $10,197 | $12,318 | $12,994 | $12,600 | $11,954 | $10,487 |
| Tunisia | $1,777 | $2,141 | $2,912 | $4,693 | $5,316 | $7,548 | $10,722 | $10,354 |
| Lebanon | $3,872 | $5,812 | $7,084 | $4,608 | $3,086 | $7,406 | $15,622 | $10,183 |
| Ukraine | $8,467 | $9,607 | $5,166 | $9,601 | $9,770 | |||
| Ecuador | $2,970 | $3,649 | $4,535 | $6,582 | $6,221 | $6,908 | $9,327 | $9,646 |
| Jordan | $2,651 | $3,714 | $3,818 | $7,141 | $6,044 | $7,622 | $11,601 | $8,896 |
| Paraguay | $2,391 | $2,346 | $2,825 | $5,113 | $5,230 | $4,896 | $7,139 | $8,603 |
| Eswatini | $604 | $783 | $1,704 | $2,946 | $3,881 | $4,895 | $7,193 | $8,168 |
| Saint Lucia | $1,231 | $1,691 | $2,203 | $3,011 | $5,203 | $7,191 | $10,059 | $8,165 |
| El Salvador | $2,375 | $2,813 | $3,488 | $3,781 | $3,378 | $5,404 | $7,351 | $8,138 |
| Dominica | $980 | $1,245 | $1,492 | $2,219 | $3,939 | $5,697 | $8,768 | $7,974 |
| Morocco | $2,319 | $2,118 | $2,576 | $3,622 | $4,130 | $4,754 | $6,932 | $7,849 |
| Namibia | $4,009 | $4,855 | $6,164 | $6,293 | $5,007 | $5,972 | $7,906 | $7,735 |
| Philippines | $1,706 | $2,353 | $2,812 | $3,787 | $3,502 | $4,034 | $5,694 | $7,624 |
| Vietnam | $1,049 | $1,274 | $1,172 | $1,207 | $1,634 | $2,773 | $4,572 | $7,395 |
| Cuba | $2,638 | $2,994 | $2,976 | $4,106 | $4,713 | $4,009 | $6,578 | $7,364 |
| Guatemala | $3,323 | $3,496 | $4,653 | $6,384 | $5,165 | $5,860 | $6,526 | $7,309 |
| Jamaica | $2,115 | $4,230 | $6,135 | $4,975 | $6,035 | $6,531 | $7,026 | $6,880 |
| Laos | $697 | $771 | $850 | $1,054 | $1,481 | $2,262 | $4,114 | $6,824 |
| India | $987 | $1,200 | $1,384 | $1,495 | $2,087 | $2,753 | $4,526 | $6,731 |
| Moldova | $9,078 | $9,835 | $2,990 | $4,615 | $6,561 | |||
| Myanmar | $631 | $899 | $1,023 | $1,320 | $1,253 | $1,843 | $3,773 | $6,283 |
| Angola | $1,677 | $1,997 | $2,818 | $1,532 | $1,384 | $2,014 | $7,521 | $6,280 |
| Bolivia | $3,011 | $2,560 | $3,469 | $4,100 | $3,502 | $4,174 | $5,142 | $6,062 |
| Cape Verde | $1,006 | $1,135 | $1,385 | $1,352 | $1,965 | $3,584 | $6,034 | $5,832 |
| Pakistan | $1,025 | $1,031 | $1,517 | $1,851 | $2,531 | $3,155 | $4,354 | $5,243 |
| Nigeria | $1,200 | $1,307 | $1,744 | $2,080 | $1,773 | $2,145 | $4,905 | $4,976 |
| Venezuela | $8,462 | $12,116 | $15,289 | $16,270 | $13,251 | $13,993 | $17,106 | $4,953 |
| Kyrgyzstan | $5,848 | $5,742 | $3,246 | $3,978 | $4,899 | |||
| Tajikistan | $5,746 | $4,803 | $1,723 | $2,976 | $4,828 | |||
| Nicaragua | $2,565 | $3,148 | $4,463 | $3,414 | $2,291 | $2,859 | $3,917 | $4,575 |
| Honduras | $2,018 | $2,147 | $2,391 | $3,282 | $2,960 | $3,336 | $4,306 | $4,568 |
| Palestine | $1,549 | $2,248 | $3,008 | $5,239 | $5,345 | $5,377 | $4,549 | $4,491 |
| Bangladesh | $861 | $869 | $1,004 | $875 | $1,006 | $1,485 | $2,599 | $4,419 |
| Congo | $1,693 | $1,999 | $2,396 | $3,075 | $3,794 | $4,159 | $5,738 | $4,203 |
| Ghana | $1,788 | $2,197 | $2,270 | $1,844 | $1,693 | $2,100 | $2,946 | $4,069 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | $1,278 | $1,352 | $2,243 | $3,182 | $2,217 | $2,219 | $3,093 | $3,826 |
| Cambodia | $768 | $1,070 | $1,031 | $1,320 | $1,404 | $1,659 | $2,427 | $3,728 |
| Cote d'Ivoire | $1,659 | $2,002 | $2,882 | $3,253 | $2,083 | $2,353 | $2,555 | $3,682 |
| Mauritania | $679 | $913 | $1,548 | $1,682 | $1,511 | $1,935 | $2,983 | $3,532 |
| Djibouti | $3,459 | $4,087 | $4,774 | $3,167 | $2,308 | $1,881 | $2,544 | $3,427 |
| Zambia | $1,054 | $1,530 | $1,710 | $1,452 | $1,285 | $1,429 | $3,032 | $3,271 |
| Kenya | $1,038 | $1,157 | $1,458 | $1,675 | $1,780 | $1,915 | $2,580 | $3,130 |
| Tanzania | $676 | $732 | $905 | $958 | $875 | $1,149 | $2,069 | $2,948 |
| Syria | $3,838 | $4,819 | $5,643 | $10,374 | $9,087 | $7,668 | $6,521 | $2,904 |
| Nepal | $802 | $980 | $1,055 | $1,057 | $1,315 | $1,677 | $2,152 | $2,833 |
| Cameroon | $1,070 | $1,326 | $1,565 | $1,900 | $1,930 | $1,961 | $2,420 | $2,769 |
| Former Sudan | $1,309 | $1,632 | $1,415 | $1,484 | $1,211 | $1,951 | $3,707 | $2,587 |
| Senegal | $2,007 | $2,303 | $2,287 | $2,021 | $1,999 | $1,984 | $2,151 | $2,524 |
| Benin | $1,627 | $1,468 | $1,543 | $1,691 | $1,811 | $1,909 | $1,855 | $2,298 |
| Lesotho | $631 | $813 | $1,073 | $1,589 | $1,882 | $1,967 | $2,314 | $2,297 |
| Ethiopia | $622 | $701 | $948 | $1,033 | $915 | $772 | $1,106 | $2,122 |
| Uganda | $1,095 | $1,137 | $1,382 | $912 | $932 | $1,192 | $1,831 | $2,032 |
| Yemen | $1,452 | $1,537 | $1,961 | $3,650 | $3,622 | $4,212 | $4,812 | $2,031 |
| Rwanda | $1,020 | $1,224 | $1,337 | $1,672 | $1,398 | $1,024 | $1,416 | $1,935 |
| Afghanistan | $1,156 | $1,326 | $1,272 | $1,019 | $963 | $502 | $1,628 | $1,928 |
| Gambia | $982 | $1,167 | $1,422 | $1,325 | $1,400 | $1,441 | $1,773 | $1,914 |
| Comoros | $534 | $679 | $961 | $1,065 | $1,092 | $1,204 | $1,433 | $1,870 |
| Guinea | $520 | $671 | $795 | $872 | $861 | $1,047 | $1,292 | $1,727 |
| Haiti | $1,790 | $1,809 | $1,567 | $2,063 | $1,602 | $1,521 | $1,557 | $1,642 |
| Mali | $728 | $851 | $934 | $1,168 | $1,191 | $1,153 | $1,505 | $1,639 |
| Burkina Faso | $756 | $971 | $1,188 | $1,165 | $1,286 | $1,275 | $1,326 | $1,639 |
| Sierra Leone | $902 | $1,176 | $1,553 | $1,584 | $1,635 | $829 | $1,421 | $1,636 |
| Zimbabwe | $1,117 | $1,495 | $2,043 | $2,064 | $2,160 | $2,211 | $1,402 | $1,586 |
| North Korea | $2,456 | $1,657 | $1,751 | $1,584 | ||||
| Guinea-Bissau | $462 | $800 | $1,395 | $1,207 | $1,270 | $1,231 | $1,329 | $1,531 |
| Togo | $870 | $1,058 | $1,631 | $1,572 | $1,275 | $1,150 | $1,191 | $1,483 |
| Chad | $815 | $974 | $880 | $583 | $692 | $716 | $1,720 | $1,464 |
| Madagascar | $1,516 | $1,793 | $1,954 | $1,680 | $1,262 | $1,239 | $1,350 | $1,301 |
| Malawi | $516 | $628 | $713 | $1,004 | $861 | $967 | $1,092 | $1,187 |
| Mozambique | $1,806 | $2,115 | $2,778 | $1,945 | $1,776 | $1,196 | $957 | $1,077 |
| Niger | $983 | $1,213 | $1,337 | $1,291 | $872 | $693 | $810 | $963 |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | $909 | $1,192 | $1,224 | $953 | $813 | $414 | $637 | $794 |
| Liberia | $3,151 | $3,674 | $4,457 | $4,138 | $1,690 | $972 | $854 | $768 |
| Burundi | $595 | $733 | $893 | $952 | $1,124 | $740 | $718 | $720 |
| Central African Republic | $1,307 | $1,567 | $1,508 | $1,234 | $1,023 | $964 | $910 | $614 |
The data itself comes from Our World In Data.
The Data comes from the Maddison Project Database, which describes the data in the following way:
- This data is adjusted for inflation and for differences in living costs between countries.
- Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of the total value added from the production of goods and services in a country or region each year. GDP per capita is GDP divided by population.
- This data is expressed in international-$ at 2011 prices, using a combination of 2011 and 1990 PPPs for historical data.
- Time series for former countries and territories are calculated forward in time by estimating values based on their last official borders.
- The Maddison Project Database is based on the work of many researchers who have produced estimates of economic growth and population for individual countries. The full list of sources for this historical data is given in the original dataset.
- For more regularly updated estimates of GDP per capita since 1990, see the World Bank’s indicator.
What do you think?
rockymountains says
I think there is a error, Myanmar was richer than China in 1950s,1960s, Maybe 1970s probably.