The economic strength of nations is typically measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By this measure, the U.S. is still No. 1 and when China passed Japan in August to become the second wealthiest country, it was big news.
However, GDP doesn't tell you how much income -- the money that actually ends up in people's pockets -- is produced in a given country. To understand which nation has the most income, 24/7 Wall St. used Gross National Income (GNI) as a measure. We ranked the ten countries with the highest GNI per capita using the most recent data available from the World Bank. To factor in a nation's quality of life, we collected information on literacy, unemployment, and percentage of GDP spent on education. Sources include the World Bank, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, (UNESCO), and the CIA World Factbook.
Our methodology makes for a surprising list. Very few are superpowers. These are countries where there is either a small group of extremely wealthy people (Kuwait and Brunei, for example), or where the government heavily influences the distribution of income (such as Norway and the Netherlands).The following the 24/7 Wall St. list of the ten richest countries in the world:
