Inequality has long been a topic of discussion in economic policy circles around the world, and it endures between and within countries. According to IMF forecasts for 2021, Luxembourg has the greatest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita at $131,781.72, while Burundi has the lowest at $265.18.
Who has the highest and lowest gross domestic product?
What are the world’s largest economies? According to the International Monetary Fund, the following countries have the greatest nominal GDP in the world:
Which country is the poorest in the world?
Burundi, a small landlocked country ravaged by Hutu-Tutsi ethnic conflict and civil violence, has the terrible distinction of being the poorest country on the planet. Food scarcity is a serious concern, with almost 90 percent of its approximately 12 million residents reliant on subsistence agriculture (with the overwhelming majority of them surviving on $1.25 a day or less), and food insecurity is about twice as high as the norm for Sub-Saharan African countries. Furthermore, access to water and sanitation is still limited, and only about 5% of the population has access to electricity. Needless to say, the epidemic has worsened all of these issues.
How did things get to this point, despite the fact that the civil war officially ended 15 years ago? Infrastructure deficiencies, widespread corruption, and security concerns are all common causes of extreme poverty. In 2005, Pierre Nkurunziza, a charismatic former Hutu rebel who became president, was able to unite the country behind him and begin the process of reconstructing the economy. However, in 2015, his announcement that he would run for a third termwhich the opposition claimed was illegal under the constitutionreignited old feuds. Hundreds of people were killed in fighting, and tens of thousands were internally or externally displaced as a result of the failed coup attempt.
Nkurunziza died in the summer of 2020, at the age of 55, from cardiac arrest, while it is widely assumed that Covid-19 was the true reason. Days later, Evariste Ndayishimiye, an ex-general designated by Nkurunziza to succeed him when his term expired, was sworn in. His track record has been mixed so far. While he, like his predecessor, minimized the virus’s severity, and claims of human rights violations continue to emerge from the country, he made an effort to relaunch the economy and mend diplomatic relations with his African neighbors, particularly the West. His efforts were rewarded: the United States and the European Union recently withdrew financial restrictions imposed in the aftermath of the 2015 political turmoil, resuming aid to Burundi. Could this be a watershed moment for the world’s poorest country?
Which country is the most powerful in the world?
In the 2021 Best Countries Report, Canada wins the top overall rank as the world’s number one country for the first time. After coming in second place in the 2020 report, Canada has now eclipsed Switzerland in the 2021 report, with Japan, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia following closely behind.
Which country owes the most money?
What countries have the world’s largest debt? The top 10 countries with the largest national debt are listed below:
With a population of 127,185,332, Japan holds the world’s biggest national debt, accounting for 234.18 percent of GDP, followed by Greece (181.78 percent). The national debt of Japan is presently $1,028 trillion ($9.087 trillion USD). After Japan’s stock market plummeted, the government bailed out banks and insurance businesses by providing low-interest loans. After a period of time, banking institutions had to be consolidated and nationalized, and other fiscal stimulus measures were implemented to help the faltering economy get back on track. Unfortunately, these initiatives resulted in a massive increase in Japan’s debt.
The national debt of China now stands at 54.44 percent of GDP, up from 41.54 percent in 2014. China’s national debt currently stands at more than 38 trillion yuan ($5 trillion USD). According to a 2015 assessment by the International Monetary Fund, China’s debt is comparatively modest, and many economists have rejected concerns about the debt’s size, both overall and in relation to China’s GDP. With a population of 1,415,045,928 people, China currently possesses the world’s greatest economy and population.
At 19.48 percent of GDP, Russia has one of the lowest debt ratios in the world. Russia is the world’s tenth least indebted country. The overall debt of Russia is currently about 14 billion y ($216 billion USD). The majority of Russia’s external debt is held by private companies.
The national debt of Canada is currently 83.81 percent of GDP. The national debt of Canada is presently over $1.2 trillion CAD ($925 billion USD). Following the 1990s, Canada’s debt decreased gradually until 2010, when it began to rise again.
Germany’s debt to GDP ratio is at 59.81 percent. The entire debt of Germany is estimated to be around 2.291 trillion ($2.527 trillion USD). Germany has the largest economy in Europe.
What accounts for Japan’s high GDP?
Japan has one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated economies. It boasts a highly educated and hardworking workforce, as well as a huge and affluent population, making it one of the world’s largest consumer marketplaces. From 1968 to 2010, Japan’s economy was the world’s second largest (after the United States), until China overtook it. Its GDP was expected to be USD 4.7 trillion in 2016, and its population of 126.9 million has a high quality of life, with a per capita GDP of slightly under USD 40,000 in 2015.
Japan was one of the first Asian countries to ascend the value chain from inexpensive textiles to advanced manufacturing and services, which now account for the bulk of Japan’s GDP and employment, thanks to its extraordinary economic recovery from the ashes of World War II. Agriculture and other primary industries account for under 1% of GDP.
Japan had one of the world’s strongest economic growth rates from the 1960s to the 1980s. This expansion was fueled by:
- Access to cutting-edge technologies and major research and development funding
- A vast domestic market of discriminating consumers has given Japanese companies a competitive advantage in terms of scale.
Manufacturing has been the most notable and well-known aspect of Japan’s economic development. Japan is now a global leader in the production of electrical and electronic goods, automobiles, ships, machine tools, optical and precision equipment, machinery, and chemicals. However, in recent years, Japan has given some manufacturing economic advantage to China, the Republic of Korea, and other manufacturing economies. To some extent, Japanese companies have offset this tendency by shifting manufacturing production to low-cost countries. Japan’s services industry, which includes financial services, now accounts for over 75% of the country’s GDP. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is one of the most important financial centers in the world.
With exports accounting for roughly 16% of GDP, international trade plays a key role in the Japanese economy. Vehicles, machinery, and manufactured items are among the most important exports. The United States (20.2%), China (17.5%), and the Republic of Korea (17.5%) were Japan’s top export destinations in 2015-16. (7 per cent). Export growth is sluggish, despite a cheaper yen as a result of stimulus measures.
Japan’s natural resources are limited, and its agriculture sector is strictly regulated. Mineral fuels, machinery, and food are among Japan’s most important imports. China (25.6%), the United States (10.9%), and Australia (10.9%) were the top three suppliers of these items in 2015. (5.6 per cent). Recent trade and foreign investment developments in Japan have shown a significantly stronger involvement with China, which in 2008 surpassed the United States as Japan’s largest trading partner.
Recent economic changes and trade liberalization, aiming at making the economy more open and flexible, will be critical in assisting Japan in dealing with its problems. Prime Minister Abe has pursued a reformist program, called ‘Abenomics,’ since his election victory in December 2012, adopting fiscal and monetary expansion as well as parts of structural reform that could liberalize the Japanese economy.
Japan’s population is rapidly aging, reducing the size of the workforce and tax revenues while increasing demands on health and social spending. Reforming the labor market to increase participation is one of the strategies being attempted to combat this trend. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ‘Three Arrows’ economic revitalisation strategy of monetary easing, ‘flexible’ fiscal policy, and structural reform propelled Japan’s growth to new heights in 2013.
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Why is Tajikistan so impoverished?
Tajikistan is located in Central Asia, between Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, and is surrounded by a vast mountain range. Major oil and natural gas deposits have been discovered in Tajikistan in the last decade, rekindling hopes of reviving the country’s ailing economy and returning economic power to the Tajiks. Tajikistan had roughly 27.4 percent of its population living below the national poverty threshold as of 2018. The following are ten statistics about poverty in Tajikistan:
facts about poverty in Tajikistan
- Not all parts of the country are affected by poverty in the same way. In 2018, the poverty rate in Sugd’s northwest region was 17.5 percent. The Districts of Republican Subordination, just below, had a percentage of almost double that, at 33.2 percent.
- Poverty appears to be more acute in rural Tajikistan than in metropolitan areas. Cotton farming, one of Tajikistan’s principal cash crops, has been demonstrated to do little to reduce poverty levels or lift people out of poverty. Those with non-agricultural occupations in metropolitan regions like as Dushanbe, the capital, might move to Russia to find work. This happens frequently. In 2018, the poverty rate in urban Tajikistan was at 21.5 percent, while rural Tajikistan had a rate of 30.2 percent.
- In Tajikistan, the rate of poverty alleviation has slowed. Poverty rates fell from 83 percent to 31 percent between 2000 and 2015. Since 2014, the annual decrease in the national poverty rate has slowed to 1%.
- The lack of job creation and stagnant pay growth are to blame for the declining rate of poverty alleviation. Due to a lack of new and better opportunities to stimulate the economy, a large portion of the workforce seeks work in Russia, which does little to help Tajikistan’s economy.
- According to reports, 75% of households are concerned about covering their family’s basic needs in the coming year. Tajikistan is the poorest and most remote of the former Soviet Union’s sovereign states. More than 95 percent of households failed to meet the minimal level of food consumption to be considered appropriately sustained, according to the first nationally conducted study since the war ended and Tajikistan attained independence.
- Tajikistan has a high rate of stunting and malnutrition among children, which has been linked to insufficient access to clean water and food. Many families spend more money on drinking water than they can afford. For the 64 percent of Tajiks who live below the national poverty line, this means suffering additional costs on top of a daily income of less than $2.
- There are just 163 places to dwell for every 1000 people. With 1.23 million dwelling units, Tajikistan has the smallest housing stock in Europe and Central Asia. This is largely due to the government’s inability to offer public housing, while private owners lack the financial means to invest in or maintain their houses.
- Tajikistan’s population is 35 percent under the age of 15. This percentage is around 17% among the world’s wealthiest countries. A large number of young people in the population means more difficulties for the rising workforce as they try to make ends meet, especially in a place where the economy may not be able to respond. This might exacerbate Tajikistan’s economic stagnation, with disgruntled young workers fleeing to other countries, as many are already doing.
- It’s possible that up to 40% of Tajiks in Russia are working illegally. Tajikistan is reliant on Russian remittances. This is in addition to Russia’s increasingly stringent administrative procedures for foreign workers. Because of these two factors, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs’ estimate of one million Tajiks working in Russia per year is suspect. In Tajikistan, between 30 and 40 percent of households have at least one family member working overseas.
- As of 2015, Tajikistan had a literacy rate of 99.8%. Primary education is compulsory, and literacy is strong, albeit young people’s skill levels are declining. This is due to economic needs driving young people away from their education in pursuit of a source of income to help them meet their basic necessities.
Since attaining independence in 1991, Tajikistan has been working its way out of poverty. The country’s over-reliance on remittances, on the other hand, has caused its economy to stagnate. As a result, there is a hungry workforce and a scarcity of jobs to feed them. Gurdofarid is a non-profit organization that aims to empower Tajik women by teaching them the skills they need to find work in their own nation.
Is the UK economy larger than that of Russia?
While the United States has the greatest economy in the world, with a GDP of $21 trillion, Russia’s nominal GDP is $1.48 trillion. 1 Russia lags behind considerably smaller countries like the United Kingdom, Italy, and France in terms of GDP.