Which country has the highest Gross National Income?

 Today's topic is Gross national income (GNI). Unlike GDP, which is the gross national product that indicates the national power of a country, per capita income is an important indicator of the quality of life of citizens. We will look into the world's top 60 rankings of Gross national income as of 2020. Are you excited? Go go go!!!

 

#1 Luxembourg ($115,034)

Beautiful scenery of Luxembourg (Image by Pit Karges from Pixabay)

 

 Luxembourg, a very small European country, ranked first in the world in Gross national income. There are many reasons why Luxembourg ranks first in the world in per capita income.

 Firstly, Luxembourg's central location within the European Economic Area provides excellent transport links. The country's location is a transportation hub, bordering France, Belgium, and Germany. Based on this, we have laid the foundation for the development of Luxembourg's logistics and financial industries. In particular, Luxembourg has established itself as an important financial center within the EU and has grown its economy based on this.

 Second, Luxembourg has one of the most open economies in the world. This facilitates the inflow of foreign investment and creates an environment in which internationally competitive companies can enter Luxembourg. As a Korean, this is the most painful and enviable part.

 Third, Luxembourg is promoting the development of high value-added industries. Leading companies are focusing on high-tech industries such as IT, biotechnology, and aerospace, which is greatly contributing to the development of domestic industries and the increase in GDP per capita.

Some of the world's leading companies located in this country include:

1. ArcelorMittal: One of the world's largest steel manufacturers and a representative company in Luxembourg.
2. SES: One of the world's largest satellite communications companies, with networks around the world.
3. RTL Group: One of Europe's largest broadcasting and media groups, headquartered in Luxembourg.
4. Skype: A company that provides Internet calling and messaging services, was developed in Luxembourg and gained great popularity.
5. FAMAR: Pharmaceutical company, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Europe.
6. Cargolux: A global air transportation company that is achieving success in the field of cargo transportation.
7. Lombard International Assurance: One of the leading financial services companies in Europe, active in the fields of insurance and wealth management.

  Lastly, Luxembourg is a country with a high rate of citizen participation in economic activity. This means high employment rates and low labor outflow. In other words, this acts as a structural factor that allows each citizen to achieve a high level of productivity and has a positive impact on domestic economic growth. As such, the reason why Luxembourg's per capita income is ranked first in the world is due to the complex effects of the above various factors.

 

#2 Switzerland ($85,608)

Night view of a historic city in Switzerland (Image by LUM3N from Pixabay)

 

 Switzerland ranks second in the world in per capita income. It is very different from Luxembourg, which ranks first, but considering its population, it can be considered a very high level of national income. The reason they have such a high national income is because they have a large concentration of leading companies in a wide variety of industries.

 In particular, Switzerland has excellent technological capabilities due to its high level of education and quality of its workforce. Even in the harsh environment of the mountains, they have been famous for providing reliable and excellent mercenaries since the ancient Roman era, playing a central role in every major event in Western Europe, and receiving very positive scores for trust and credibility. For example, Swiss mercenaries are the mercenaries currently protecting the Vatican in Rome and are known for their faithfulness to the end even in times of crisis. They also have a very free economic structure.

 Switzerland has high economic freedom and has fewer regulations on starting and running businesses. In addition, it is a country with very high financial and investment stability due to its status as a small, neutral country. At the same time, many leading companies are concentrated in highly efficient, high-value-added industries such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare, finance, and watch manufacturing. In addition, Switzerland is located in the center of Europe, making it an ideal location for international business activities. As a result, many of the world's major industrial companies have their headquarters located in Switzerland.

 First of all, in the pharmaceutical field, global pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis, Roche, and Sinovac are headquartered in Switzerland. Additionally, leading biotechnology companies such as Vassel, Locion and Amje are active in Switzerland. In finance, global financial companies such as UBS, Credit Suis, Junku and Public Bank are headquartered in Switzerland. Lastly, in the watch manufacturing field, world-class watch manufacturers such as Rolex, Omega, and Tissot are active in Switzerland.

Some of the world's best companies in Switzerland are:

1. Nestle: A global food and beverage company, headquartered in Switzerland.
2. ABB: A leading industrial automation and robotics company in Switzerland.
3. Novartis: One of Switzerland's leading pharmaceutical companies, with a network around the world.
4. Credit Suisse: One of the world's leading financial companies. However, it went bankrupt in 2023.

#3 Norway ($76,202)

Norwegian port (Image by adriankirby from Pixabay)

 

 Norway ranks third in the world in per capita income. The reason Norway has such a high per capita income is because of its enormous natural resources. We are earning a lot of profit by exporting huge amounts of oil and natural gas. At the same time, we are using our high level of education to create high value-added industries.

 

 In Norway, many leading companies are concentrated in high value-added industries such as pharmaceuticals, transportation, and energy.

 

 The main industry is oil and gas-related, with world-class oil and gas companies such as Statholen, Habaron, and Equinor operating in Norway. In the pharmaceutical field, world-class pharmaceutical companies such as Almergan and Nova Nordisk are active in Norway. It also shows outstanding capabilities in the logistics and transportation fields, with leading transportation companies such as Norwegian Air and BW Group headquartered in Norway.

 

The world-famous companies representing Norway are as follows:

1. Statoil: One of Norway's largest oil and gas companies with operations worldwide.

2. DNB: One of Norway's leading financial companies, it has great influence in Scandinavia.

3. Telenor: One of the leading telecommunications companies headquartered in Norway, and also provides services to Indonesia, Bangladesh, etc.

4. Aker Solutions : One of the leading engineering and construction companies based in Norway, primarily active in the oil and gas industry.

 

#4 Ireland ($76,119)

An iconic Irish pub in Dublin, the capital of Ireland (Image by Magui from Pixabay)

 

 The country that came in fourth place after Norway was Ireland. In fact, it is a very surprising ranking, especially since Ireland is often remembered for the IRA or the independence movement seeking independence from Britain. However, it is said that Ireland was able to achieve such a huge per capita income for a special reason.

 The first is that Ireland has one of the lowest taxes among the member states of the European Union (EU). This has led to more companies relocating their operations to Ireland, which has played a significant role in stimulating economic growth and creating jobs.

 

 Second, Ireland is a country with a high level of economic openness. In order to attract foreign investment, we are making efforts to improve the business environment and simplify related laws and regulations. Thanks to these efforts, Ireland has become one of the countries receiving the most foreign investment in the world. Of course...this would be difficult for Korea, which has many members of the National Assembly. Everyone makes various laws because they think they are doing well, but they all ultimately lead to regulations.

 

 Lastly, it is said that many global companies have their headquarters or core headquarters in Ireland. Various IT companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, and Amazon have their headquarters or European headquarters in Ireland. Additionally, companies such as pharmaceutical company Ferragona, media group RTE, and textile company Aran Sweater Market are among the world's leading companies headquartered in Ireland. These companies are having a significant impact on the Irish economy.

 

 We ranked from 1st to 4th, and 5th place went to Qatar, which showed the power of oil money. 

 

Below is the world per capita income ranking (2020).

1 Luxembourg $115,034
2 Switzerland $85,608
3 Norway $76,202
4 Ireland $76,119
5 Qatar $69,271
6 Iceland $67,037
7 Singapore $65,233
8 United States $63,416
9 Denmark $62,998
10 Sweden $58,926
11 Australia $57,436
12 Netherlands $56,988
13 Austria $56,658
14 Canada $52,991
15 Finland $52,052
16 Germany $50,695
17 Belgium $49,529
18 United Kingdom $42,330
19 Hong Kong $41,883
20 Israel $41,660
21 France $41,550
22 New Zealand $41,071
23 Japan $40,347
24 Italy $35,801
25 South Korea $32,771
26 Slovenia $31,958
27 Spain $31,221
28 Turkey $30,254
29 Greece $28,541
30 Estonia $27,764
31 Czech Republic $27,273
32 Lithuania $26,634
33 Malaysia $26,592
34 Kazakhstan $26,042
35 Chile $25,668
36 Poland $25,219
37 Russia $24,564
38 Croatia $23,745
39 Poland $16,210
40 Iran $15,973
41 Malaysia $15,849
42 Dominican Republic $15,767
43 Russia $15,703
44 Egypt $14,868
45 Brazil $14,468
46 Uruguay $14,437
47 Turkey $13,956
48 China $13,674
49 Algeria $12,902
50 Venezuela $11,789
51 Tunisia $11,340
52 Thailand $10,788
53 French Polynesia $10,640
54 Sri Lanka $10,620
55 Philippines $10,493
56 India $9,448
57 Kyrgyzstan $4,664
58 Papua New Guinea $4,424
59 Burkina Faso $2,321
60 Democratic Republic of the Congo $873