Geography
The Wealth of Country’s
Per capita income is the total national income of a nation divided by the number of people that live in that nation. It is calculated from a countries gross domestic product. Per capita income and gross domestic product potentially describes how much money a country earns. During the 1900’s, New Zealand was the richest country. Following New Zealand was Australia, the United States, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Austria, and finally France. In 2010, the top ten wealthiest countries in the world were: Monaco, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Qatar, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Kuwait, and Sweden.
Why are some nations on the 1900’s list but not the 2010’s wealthiest country’s list? New Zealand, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, Germany, France, Denmark, and Austria were all on the 1900’s top ten wealthiest countries list, but were not even on the list in 2010. Several different things may happen in order for a country to fall off the top ten wealthiest list or move down spots. For example, inflation may occur in a country, which will have negative affects on that countries economy. A recession, which is a slow down of economic growth, could happen within a country. Lastly, if a nation goes to war, it can potentially increase the debt of that country. Several things may happen to help a country increase its wealth. By increasing a country’s wealth they potentially move up on the top ten wealthiest country’s list. Monaco, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Sweden were not even on the 1900’s top 10 wealthiest countries. Gross domestic product determines a country’s wealth in a year based off goods and services provided. For example, Qatar is on the 2010 top ten wealthy countries because it has an abundance of natural resources like