India’s Economic Dilemma: Many of the world’s richest countries are also the world’s smallest countries. The pandemic and economic recession have also not had any impact on the economy of those countries.
India is a country which has established its influence across the world. India is the 5th largest economy after America, China, Japan and Germany. But when it comes to being included in the list of the world’s richest countries, India’s name does not even appear in the top-100.
This forces us to think why so much inequality? You will probably be surprised to know that many of the richest countries in the world are among the smallest.
Story of the world’s richest country:
The list of world’s ten richest countries includes 4 countries of Asia and 5 countries of Europe. Luxembourg, a small country in Western Europe, is the richest in the world. It is surrounded by Belgium, France and Germany. Luxembourg is the 7th smallest country in Europe in terms of area. The population here is only 6.50 lakh.
The government of Luxembourg spends a large part of the country’s wealth on providing better housing facilities, health care and education to its people. Luxembourg is a developed country, where GDP per capita income is the highest at $ 143,320.
Luxembourg is a founding member of the European Union, the United Nations, the European Union, NATO and the OECD.
World’s Richest Countries based on GDP (Gross Domestic Product):
- Luxembourg
- Ireland
- Singapore
- Qatar
- Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region) of China
- Switzerland
- United Arab Emirates
- Sen Marino
- Norway
- USA
What is GDP per capita income?
There are many ways to measure whether a country is considered rich, but one of the most common is GDP per capita income. GDP is the total value of all products and services produced in a year.
When GDP is divided by the total population of the country, then GDP per capita income is arrived at. Per capita GDP tells how much each person in a country earns on average.
This is a way to estimate the standard of living of the citizens of a country. It is considered a better scale than GDP to measure the economic condition of a country.
Where is India among the richest countries in the world?
According to the Capita Ranking 2023 on GDP, India is at 129th position i.e. 129th in the list of richest countries. India’s GDP per capita income is $2673 (Rs 2.21 lakh). However, when it comes to world GDP ranking, India is at 5th place.
According to IMF estimates, by the year 2027, India will be the third largest economy in the world. In 2014, India was at 10th place in this list. In terms of per capita GDP, India’s situation is worse than neighboring countries Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
To become the third largest economy by 2027, India will have to grow at a rate of eight percent annually. IMF estimates that the average annual per capita GDP of Indians will be $3466 in 2027. But this will not bring any improvement in the capita ranking.
South Sudan is considered the poorest country in the world where per capita GDP is 475 dollars. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the average per capita income in the ten poorest countries of the world is $ 1432, while in the ten richest countries it is more than $ 105,170.
How do small countries become the richest in the world?
Small countries like Luxembourg, San Marino, Switzerland are included in the list of 10 richest countries in the world. These countries are prosperous due to their strong financial systems and tax systems.
Because of this, people are attracted towards foreign investment, professional talent and higher deposits in banks.
Some countries are rich due to natural resources. These countries have large reserves of oil and gas, which make them very wealthy. Like- Qatar and United Arab Emirates.
Tourist places make some countries prosperous. Countries with attractive tourist destinations and gambling industries attract tourists, which boosts the economy.
Gleaming casinos and large number of tourists are good for the economy of any country. Despite being hit by the lockdown and the pandemic, Macau’s name is included in the list of top-5 countries.
Macau has become known as the ‘gambling capital of the world’. Gambling is legal here.
Why is India not included among the richest countries?
India’s economy is growing rapidly but the public is not getting its benefits equally. Inequality is a big reason. On one hand, some people in the country have wealth worth crores of rupees, while on the other hand, lakhs of people are forced to live below the poverty line.
According to Oxfam International report, only 1 percent of the population in India owns about 40 percent of the country’s wealth. This means that a small section is extremely wealthy, while the majority of the population is economically weak.
India’s infrastructure still does not reach world-class standards. Dilapidated roads, inadequate power supply and weak public transport system hinder the economic development of the country.
These shortcomings not only increase production costs but also hinder attracting investment. However, there has been a lot of improvement compared to previous decades.
Apart from this, lack of skilled manpower in India is also a big challenge. For this reason many companies turn to foreign countries in search of skilled employees. These companies shy away from investing in India, which has a negative impact on the economic development of the country.
Corruption is also a serious disease of Indian economy. This not only restricts the circulation of wealth, but also prevents investment and hampers economic growth. However, it is also important to note that India is making rapid progress in improving this direction.
