The Wealth of Nations

Below is the CIA's tabulation of gross domestic product per capita by country, ranked from highest to lowest.

There are some interesting conclusions and lessons to be drawn from it. First note that the very richest countries are tax dodges or oil sheikdoms. Leichtenstein produces nothing except for a false teeth factory as Harvey has noted. Luxembourg, Bermuda, Jersey, Luxembourg, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands, and Andorra are likewise tax dodges, not national economies. Their wealth is that of other countries concealed there.

Ireland and Switzerland are a middle case - small countries which flourish in part because they are tax dodges. The Swiss benefit from their honesty and orderliness, their good character. The Irish get along in spite of their lack of it.

Qatar, Norway, Kuwait, Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain all derive their wealth exclusively or primarily from oil and all are small.

All the tax dodge countries and the oil kingdoms are even smaller. The first country on the list that has more people than a large American city, the wealthiest large country, is.... the United States.

Next come the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Japan, France, and Italy.

So for all the economic doom and gloom in our press, it is well to remember that the United States is still the wealthiest large country in the world. And compared to the others of the ten biggest countries in the world - China, India, Indonesia, Brasil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Russia, and Japan - we are wealthy indeed.

Of course these are all 2008 figures. American spending last year was all put on a First Bank of China credit card which we are not in a position to pay. So last year's wealth may not mean much in 2009.

Anent which, how crazy is it that we are deeply and dangerously in debt to China? Our per capita GDP last year was $47,500 and theirs was $6,000. Yet we are in debt to them? Their per capita GDP is one-eighth of ours, and less than 2/3 of the world average of $10,500 (if the world were a country it would rank 101st). How could this happen? Who was in charge? Oh. Him.

We manage our money as well as the Iraqis manage their oil fields.

Here are some lessons to draw from the ranking below:

1. Stay the hell out of Africa.
2. Avoid socialist dictatorships - North Korea versus South, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Anything
3. Avoid former socialist dictatorships too - Moldova, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia
4. Be Chinese, but not in China - Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan
5. Live near oil if possible - Kuwait, Brunei, UAE, Alberta, Norway - unless it conflicts with rule #1 - Nigeria
6. In general it is a poor idea to be brown, but a terrible idea to be black - Africa, Brasil, Haiti.
7. It is good to be Scandinavian - Sweden, Denmark, Iceland
8. If you live in a country with a high birth rate, leave - Gaza, West Bank, Afghanistan.
9. Move to the US if you can, to the EU if you can't. Canada is also good if you are able to persuade yourself that winter will never come.
10. If your country was rich last year, expect to be screwed this year - United States, Ireland, Iceland.

Tragically the poorest country on the list, Zimbabwe, was not long ago the richest, best run, safest country in Africa. The collapse of their economy and of the Zimbabwean shilling since the farm expropriations at the beginning of the century have made them the poorest people in the world. Unlike the people of Gaza who have largely brought their misfortunes on themselves and deserve them, the Shona have fallen into a crevasse in their history. The Palestinians are nasty , aggressive, and violent. The Shona are kind, polite, and pleasant and in no way deserve what has befallen them. It is hard to see how it could have been avoided and harder to see how it can be escaped.

1	Liechtenstein		$118,000
2	Qatar		$111,000
3	Luxembourg		$81,200
4	Bermuda		$69,900
5	Norway		$59,500
6	Kuwait		$57,500
7	Jersey		$57,000
8	Singapore		$51,600
9	Brunei		$51,300
10	United States		$47,500
11	Ireland		$45,500
12	United Arab Emirates		$44,600
13	Guernsey		$44,600
14	Cayman Islands		$43,800
15	Hong Kong		$43,800
16	Andorra		$42,500
17	Iceland		$42,300
18	Switzerland		$42,000
19	San Marino		$41,900
20	Netherlands		$40,500
21	Austria		$40,400
22	Canada		$39,200
23	British Virgin Islands		$38,500
24	Australia		$38,200
25	Sweden		$38,200
26	Gibraltar		$38,200
27	Belgium		$37,500
28	Bahrain		$37,400
29	Equatorial Guinea		$37,300
30	Denmark		$37,200
31	Finland		$37,000
32	United Kingdom		$36,700
33	Germany		$35,500
34	Falkland Islands		$35,400
35	Isle of Man		$35,000
36	Spain		$34,600
37	Japan		$34,100
38	European Union		$33,700
39	France		$33,300
40	Greece		$32,100
41	Italy		$31,400
42	Taiwan		$31,100
43	Faroe Islands		$31,000
44	Bahamas,		$30,700
45	Macau		$30,000
46	Monaco		$30,000
47	Slovenia		$29,600
48	Israel		$28,600
49	New Zealand		$27,900
50	Korea, South		$27,700
51	Czech Republic		$25,900
52	Malta		$24,600
53	Trinidad and Tobago		$23,600
54	Portugal		$22,200
55	Slovakia		$22,000
56	Aruba		$21,800
57	Estonia		$21,400
58	Cyprus		$21,300
59	Seychelles		$21,000
60	Saudi Arabia		$20,500
61	Oman		$20,200
62	Greenland		$20,000
63	Hungary		$19,800
64	Antigua and Barbuda		$19,400
65	Saint Kitts and Nevis		$19,100
66	Barbados		$18,900
67	Croatia		$18,400
68	French Polynesia		$18,000
69	Lithuania		$17,800
70	Puerto Rico		$17,800
71	Poland		$17,400
72	Latvia		$17,300
73	Russia		$16,100
74	Netherlands Antilles		$16,000
75	Malaysia		$15,200
76	New Caledonia		$15,000
77	Chile		$14,900
78	Virgin Islands		$14,500
79	Mexico		$14,300
80	Argentina		$14,200
81	Gabon		$14,200
82	Libya		$14,200
83	Botswana		$13,900
84	Venezuela		$13,500
85	Grenada		$13,200
86	Bulgaria		$12,900
87	Iran		$12,800
88	Northern Mariana Islands		$12,500
89	Uruguay		$12,400
90	Romania		$12,200
91	Mauritius		$12,100
92	Turkey		$11,900
93	Belarus		$11,800
94	Panama		$11,800
95	Costa Rica		$11,600
96	Kazakhstan		$11,500
97	Turks and Caicos Islands		$11,500
98	Lebanon		$11,100
99	Saint Lucia		$11,100
100	Serbia		$10,800
101	World		$10,500
102	Brazil		$10,200
103	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines		$10,200
104	Montenegro		$10,100
105	South Africa		$10,100
106	Dominica		$10,000
107	Azerbaijan		$9,500
108	Cuba		$9,500
109	Colombia		$9,200
110	Cook Islands		$9,100
111	Macedonia		$9,100
112	Angola		$9,000
113	Suriname		$8,900
114	Anguilla		$8,800
115	Jamaica		$8,600
116	Peru		$8,500
117	Belize		$8,400
118	Thailand		$8,400
119	Dominican Republic		$8,200
120	Palau		$8,100
121	American Samoa		$8,000
122	Tunisia		$7,900
123	Ecuador		$7,500
124	Ukraine		$7,400
125	Saint Pierre and Miquelon		$7,000
126	Algeria		$6,900
127	Bosnia-Herzegovina		$6,500
128	Turkmenistan		$6,500
129	Namibia		$6,400
130	Armenia		$6,300
131	El Salvador		$6,200
132	Albania		$6,000
133	China		$6,000
134	Egypt		$5,800
135	Niue		$5,800
136	Guatemala		$5,300
137	Kiribati		$5,300
138	Bhutan		$5,200
139	Jordan		$5,200
140	Nauru		$5,000
141	Mayotte		$4,900
142	Georgia		$4,700
143	Samoa		$4,700
144	Vanuatu		$4,600
145	Tonga		$4,600
146	Syria		$4,600
147	Bolivia		$4,500
148	Morocco		$4,500
149	Maldives		$4,500
150	Sri Lanka		$4,400
151	Swaziland		$4,400
152	Honduras		$4,400
153	Paraguay		$4,200
154	Congo, Republic of the		$3,900
155	Indonesia		$3,900
156	Guyana		$3,900
157	Cape Verde		$3,800
158	Wallis and Futuna		$3,800
159	Fiji		$3,800
160	Montserrat		$3,400
161	Philippines		$3,300
162	Iraq		$3,200
163	Mongolia		$3,200
164	Gaza Strip		$2,900
165	Nicaragua		$2,900
166	West Bank		$2,900
167	India		$2,900
168	Vietnam		$2,800
169	Solomon Islands		$2,700
170	Djibouti		$2,700
171	Uzbekistan		$2,600
172	Moldova		$2,500
173	Pakistan		$2,500
174	Western Sahara		$2,500
175	Yemen		$2,500
176	Saint Helena		$2,500
177	Marshall Islands		$2,500
178	Cameroon		$2,300
179	Kosovo		$2,300
180	Timor-Leste		$2,300
181	Papua-New Guinea		$2,300
182	Nigeria		$2,300
183	Micronesia, Federated States		$2,200
184	Kyrgyzstan		$2,200
185	Sudan		$2,200
186	Laos		$2,100
187	Mauritania		$2,100
188	Cambodia		$2,000
189	Korea, North		$1,800
190	Tajikistan		$1,800
191	Cote d'Ivoire		$1,700
192	Chad		$1,600
193	Kenya		$1,600
194	Lesotho		$1,600
195	Tuvalu		$1,600
196	Senegal		$1,600
197	Bangladesh		$1,500
198	Ghana		$1,500
199	Benin		$1,500
200	Zambia		$1,500
201	Tanzania		$1,400
202	Gambia, The		$1,300
203	Haiti		$1,300
204	Uganda		$1,300
205	Sao Tome and Principe		$1,300
206	Burma		$1,200
207	Burkina Faso		$1,200
208	Guinea		$1,100
209	Mali		$1,100
210	Nepal		$1,100
211	Comoros		$1,000
212	Madagascar		$1,000
213	Tokelau		$1,000
214	Ethiopia		$900
215	Mozambique		$900
216	Togo		$900
217	Sierra Leone		$900
218	Rwanda		$900
219	Afghanistan		$800
220	Malawi		$800
221	Central African Republic		$700
222	Niger		$700
223	Eritrea		$700
224	Guinea-Bissau		$600
225	Somalia		$600
226	Liberia		$500
227	Burundi		$300
228	Congo, Democratic Republic of the		$300
229	Zimbabwe		$200