MANILA, Philippines: Brunei topped the list of Asia's richest economies by per capita income and Hong Kong emerged as the biggest spender, according to a study released Monday.
Nepal, meanwhile, was the region's poorest by both measures.
The report by regional statistical agencies, coordinated by the Asian Development Bank, showed wide disparities in Asia's living standards.
It found that the tiny, oil-rich sultanate of Brunei has a per capita gross domestic product 13 times higher than the regional average of 20,432 Hong Kong dollars (US$2,621; €1,789), and more than 40 times larger than the lowest-ranked Nepal.
Brunei is followed by Singapore, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Apart from Nepal, the poorest have-nots include Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos and India.
The study covered 23 economies, excluding Japan, South Korea and East Timor.
India, one of the world's fastest growing economies, has a per capita income of 12,090 Hong Kong dollars (US$1,551; €1,059), still behind the regional average and also below Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
China, meanwhile, ranked above average with its per capita income of 23,267 Hong Kong dollars (US$2,986; €2,038).
Meanwhile, Hong Kong residents were the biggest spenders, according to a measure of household living standards called the per capita actual final consumption expenditure index. Taiwan and Brunei came in second and third.
In terms of spending, China and India both lagged behind the regional average, the study found.
"The study shows the growth and developmental challenges facing the region," said Ifzal Ali, ADB's chief economist. "The region has miles to go before celebrating its economic success."
The study, called "2005 International Comparison Program in Asia and the Pacific: Purchasing Power Parity and Real Expenditure," is part of a global initiative spearheaded by the World Bank that allows cross-country comparison of purchasing powers of currencies and living standards.
please corect your topic agin, so far as i reead in the news: it said that ...THE POOREST HAVE NOT INCLUD LAOS. GOOD!
A 'have not' is a way of saying something or someone does not have anything - it means poor. Take another English language course and ask for advice from someone before coming here and telling people to correct things that don't need correcting.
Table 1. PPP Adjusted Indicators, 2005 (Hong Kong , China, as base)
Economy
Per Capita Real GDPa (HK dollar)
Per Capita Real AFCEa (HK dollar)
Price Level Index (Asia=100)
Brunei Darussalam
269,971
81,740
133
Singapore
235,923
99,393
159
Macao, China
211,907
67,160
162
Hong Kong, China
202,941
125,303
180
Taipei,China
148,275
107,878
148
Malaysia
65,217
35,544
112
Iran, Islamic Republic of
60,815
42,671
73
Thailand
39,070
28,679
97
Fiji Islands
23,938
23,648
208
China, People's Republic of
23,267
11,189
103
Maldives
22,845
14,061
156
Bhutan
21,009
12,328
88
Asia
20,432
12,878
100
Sri Lanka
19,798
17,464
86
Indonesia
18,396
14,970
100
Philippines
16,675
14,049
97
Mongolia
15,035
10,360
85
Pakistan
13,628
13,087
79
Viet Nam
12,185
8,362
73
India
12,090
9,293
82
Lao People's Democratic Republic
10,303
7,101
69
Cambodia
8,266
7,713
77
Bangladesh
7,215
6,456
86
Nepal
6,146
5,806
78
a Real refers to purchasing power parity-adjusted values Notes: Results for the People's Republic of China were based on national annual average prices extrapolated by the ICP Regional Office and the ICP Global Office using price data for 11 cities submitted by the National Bureau of Statistics of China.
I went to the source also but couldn't make heads or tails of all the charts. I know they were also looking at things like Purchasing Power Parity, which is often a more realistic way to compare countries especially like Lao PDR where much of the population isn't in the cash economy. I wish they had just used one currency for all comparisons. A quick look and I couln't figure things out. Usually I'm ok with all this econo speak.
