The list is dominated by small countries. In addition, 12 of the 25 wealthiest nations are in Europe. This can be seen in the new list published by Global Finance Magazine. As was the case last year, Switzerland finds itself among the top ten. The main reasons for this are the robust financial industry, the central location in Europe, the vibrant financial services sector and its independence on economic and currency matters.
There are just three European countries in the top ten – in addition to Switzerland, Luxembourg at no. 2 and Norway at no. 6. Per-capita income in Switzerland amounts to nearly USD 57,000. By comparison, residents in Qatar earn more than twice as much: nearly USD 150,000.
In order to be able to compare the standards of living in the various countries, gross domestic product (GDP) per resident was calculated, including purchasing power. This means that the relative costs of living and inflation rate were also taken into account. This resulted in the so-called per-capita purchasing power parity.
