169 Wealth

Definition

Wealth is defined as the Gross Domestic Product of a territory, a measure of the total economic activity within a territory. However here, instead of using a Purchasing Power Parity monetary value, normal currency exchange rates are used and values given in US$. It therefore reflects the ability to purchase foreign goods, ignoring the variability of local purchasing power. In 2002, world Gross Domestic Product in US dollars (not adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity) was 32 trillion; that is US$5137 per person.

Data sources

The source of the data used is the United Nations Development Programme’s 2004 Human Development Report, Table 13. In turn, this data was sourced from the World Bank’s 2004 World Development Indicators. CD-ROM. Washington, DC. Aggregates were calculated for the Human Development Report Office by the World Bank.

Click here to view detailed data source references

The source of the quote used on this poster was an article written by Deanne Julius, entitled ‘US Economic Power: Waxing or Waning?’. This article was published in Energy, Vol. 26 (4) - Winter 2005. The quote was sourced in July 2006, from the website below:

http://hir.harvard.edu/articles/1287/

Excel sheets

Below is an explanation of each of the columns in the excel file:

Column A = Unique numerical territory (see 001).

Column B = Region and territory names (see 001).

Column C = Region code (see 001).

Column D = The ISO 3 code, or ISO ALPHA-3 (see 001).

Column E = Gross Domestic Product, in billions of US$, in 2002. This number was taken directly from the source data, in this same form. Where data were missing, the regional average of Gross Domestic Product per person per year (Column F) was multiplied by the population of that territory in millions (Column G), divided by one thousand, to produce an estimate in billions.

Column F = Gross Domestic Product per person, in US$, in 2002. This number was taken directly from the source data, in this same form. For those 23 territories that are not covered by the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report, the level of absolute wealth is based on the estimation in Column E. To calculate Gross Domestic Product per person the Gross Domestic Product in US$ billions (Column E) is divided by the population in millions (Column G), and multiplied by 1000 so that all is measured in US$ per person per year. (F = 1000 *; E / G).

Column G = Population in millions, 2002. See technical notes 002, Total Population.