Bill Mitchell's Alternative Olympic Games Medal Tally - 2012


Latest News: August 17, 2012 - Final Medal Tally

The Tables in the Tabs are now complete as at August 17, 2012 for the Final Medal Tally.

I have adjusted the tables to reflect the decision to award the New Zealand field athlete the Gold Medal and disqualify the drug cheat from Belarus in the Shot Put event. This also involved awarding a silver medal to Russia and the bronze to China.

We will resume in 2016.

Introduction

The following analysis is derived from the Olympic Games Medal Tally and aims to present a different view of the Games. The absolute (official) medal count allows large nations to hear their national anthem a lot but hides facts like how large their economy is (the largest having more resources to devote to sport and nutrition etc), how large their population is (more people to win medals), and how much income per person the nation has (arguably the best measure of the capacity of the nation to mount a sport's campaign in pursuit of medals).

The following alternative medal counts modify the official tally to take into account size of economy, size of population and the income per head that each medal-winning nation enjoys.

The comparisons cannot be used to extrapolate anything. There are clearly not enough medals available at the Olympic Games for a largely populated country like China or the US or India, to name a few of several to win their "fair share". But then we also would expect the large countries to exhibit scale economies that smaller countries cannot. Whatever, the tables are not statistical or probabilistic in nature and carry no predictive value. They are just for some fun and should not be taken seriously.

The following Tables are available which modify the raw tally:

  • GDP per Weighted Medal
  • Weighted Per Capita Rankings
  • Weighted Medals per $US1000 per capita income
  • By GDP
  • By Population
  • By GDP Per Capita

This table shows the Gross Domestic Product for the medal winning countries expressed in billions of 2011 International dollars for comparative purposes. The next columns are the actual Gold, Silver, Bronze and Total medals won by the respective nations. The Weighted Medal Total is formulated by treating a Gold medal as a complete medal, Silver as 0.666 of a medal, and Bronze as 0.3333 of a medal. So the formula for column (9) = (5) + 0.66(6) + 0.33(7).

Column (10) is gained by dividing (4) by (9). The division is done in this way to avoid very small numbers should we have presented Medals per $GDP. But it is a measure of how efficient the medal performance is for the scale of the economy. Column (10) can be expressed in words as the amount in millions of GDP (USD) per weighted medal. So the smaller this number the 'better' is the performance given the capacity of the economy (as measured by GDP).

  • Column (1) shows rank according to weighted per capita total.
  • Column (2) shows the actual rank according to official medal tally.
  • Column (3) is nation.
  • Column (4) is GDP in Billions of International dollars (purchasing-power parity) as at 2011.
  • Columns (5) to (8) is Actual Official Gold, Silver, Bronze and Total medals, respectively.
  • Columns (9) is the weighted total medals (as described above).
  • Column (10) is the measure of how much GDP ($ billion) per weighted total medals.

The data is ranked according to Column (10).

The LOWEST number is best.

Last computed: August 17, 2012 - Final Medal Tally

     1      50    Grenada                           1         1        0        0       1        1.0          1.4
     2      18    Jamaica                          25         4        4        4      12        8.0          3.1
     3      56    Mongolia                         13         0        2        3       5        2.3          5.7
     4      39    Georgia                          25         1        3        3       7        4.0          6.2
     5      20    North Korea                      40         4        0        2       6        4.7          8.6
     6      52    Bahamas                          11         1        0        0       1        1.0         10.8
     7      74    Montenegro                        7         0        1        0       1        0.7         10.8
     8      28    Kenya                            71         2        4        5      11        6.3         11.4
     9      16    Cuba                            114         5        3        6      14        9.0         12.7
    10      47    Trinidad and Tobago              27         1        0        3       4        2.0         13.3
    11      61    Armenia                          18         0        1        2       3        1.3         13.6
    12      15    New Zealand                     122         6        2        5      13        9.0         13.6
    13       9    Hungary                         196         8        4        5      17       12.3         15.9
    14      30    Azerbaijan                       93         2        2        6      10        5.3         17.6
    15      77    Moldova                          12         0        0        2       2        0.7         18.2
    16      34    Lithuania                        62         2        1        2       5        3.3         18.6
    17      25    Croatia                          80         3        1        2       6        4.3         18.6
    18      26    Belarus                         142         2        5        5      12        7.0         20.4
    19      24    Ethiopia                         95         3        1        3       7        4.7         20.4
    20      12    Kazakhstan                      217         7        1        5      13        9.3         23.3
    21      42    Slovenia                         58         1        1        2       4        2.3         25.0
    22      49    Latvia                           35         1        0        1       2        1.3         26.3
    23      14    Ukraine                         329         6        5        9      20       12.3         26.9
    24      65    Estonia                          27         0        1        1       2        1.0         27.6
    25      44    Serbia                           79         1        1        2       4        2.3         34.0
    26      70    Cyprus                           24         0        1        0       1        0.7         36.0
    27      29    Denmark                         207         2        4        3       9        5.6         36.7
    28      72    Gabon                            25         0        1        0       1        0.7         37.2
    29      19    Czech Republic                  285         4        3        3      10        7.0         40.9
    30      10    Australia                       914         7       16       12      35       21.5         42.5
    31      27    Romania                         267         2        5        2       9        6.0         44.8
    32      73    Botswana                         30         0        1        0       1        0.7         45.0
    33       4    Russia                         2383        24       26       32      82       51.7         46.1
    34      54    Uganda                           46         1        0        0       1        1.0         46.4
    35      48    Uzbekistan                       95         1        0        3       4        2.0         47.9
    36       3    United Kingdom                 2261        29       17       19      65       46.5         48.6
    37      79    Tajikistan                       16         0        0        1       1        0.3         49.2
    38      45    Tunisia                         101         1        1        1       3        2.0         50.7
    39      13    Netherlands                     704         6        6        8      20       12.6         55.9
    40      46    Dominican Republic               93         1        1        0       2        1.7         56.3
    41      84    Macedonia                        21         0        0        1       1        0.3         64.7
    42      41    Ireland                         182         1        1        3       5        2.7         68.5
    43       5    South Korea                    1554        13        8        7      28       20.6         75.5
    44      59    Slovakia                        127         0        1        3       4        1.7         76.9
    45      37    Sweden                          382         1        4        3       8        4.6         82.4
    46      35    Norway                          266         2        1        1       4        3.0         88.9
    47      85    Afghanistan                      30         0        0        1       1        0.3         90.1
    48      86    Bahrain                          31         0        0        1       1        0.3         94.2
    49       7    France                         2218        11       11       12      34       22.2         99.8
    50      63    Bulgaria                        101         0        1        1       2        1.0        102.1
    51      33    Switzerland                     340         2        2        0       4        3.3        102.4
    52       8    Italy                          1847         8        9       11      28       17.6        105.1
    53      66    Puerto Rico                     108         0        1        1       2        1.0        109.5
    54      38    Colombia                        472         1        3        4       8        4.3        109.8
    55       6    Germany                        3099        11       19       14      44       28.2        110.1
    56      71    Guatemala                        75         0        1        0       1        0.7        113.2
    57      23    South Africa                    555         3        2        1       6        4.7        119.4
    58      17    Iran                            990         4        5        3      12        8.3        119.4
    59      21    Spain                          1413         3       10        4      17       10.9        129.4
    60      31    Poland                          772         2        2        6      10        5.3        145.6
    61      60    Finland                         196         0        1        2       3        1.3        148.3
    62      36    Canada                         1396         1        5       12      18        8.3        169.0
    63       2    China                         11300        38       27       23      88       63.4        178.2
    64       1    United States                 15094        46       29       29     104       74.7        202.0
    65      11    Japan                          4440         7       14       17      38       21.9        203.2
    66      22    Brazil                         2294         3        5        9      17        9.3        247.5
    67      51    Algeria                         264         1        0        0       1        1.0        263.7
    68      76    Qatar                           182         0        0        2       2        0.7        275.8
    69      32    Turkey                         1074         2        2        1       5        3.7        294.1
    70      43    Argentina                       716         1        1        2       4        2.3        308.8
    71      62    Belgium                         413         0        1        2       3        1.3        313.1
    72      57    Thailand                        602         0        2        1       3        1.7        364.9
    73      53    Venezuela                       374         1        0        0       1        1.0        374.1
    74      69    Portugal                        249         0        1        0       1        0.7        377.2
    75      58    Egypt                           519         0        2        0       2        1.3        393.2
    76      40    Mexico                         1662         1        3        3       7        4.0        418.5
    77      75    Greece                          294         0        0        2       2        0.7        446.0
    78      67    Malaysia                        447         0        1        1       2        1.0        451.8
    79      81    Kuwait                          154         0        0        1       1        0.3        465.2
    80      78    Singapore                       315         0        0        2       2        0.7        477.1
    81      82    Morocco                         163         0        0        1       1        0.3        492.8
    82      64    Taiwan                          876         0        1        1       2        1.0        884.9
    83      83    Hong Kong                       351         0        0        1       1        0.3       1064.0
    84      68    Indonesia                      1125         0        1        1       2        1.0       1136.0
    85      55    India                          4458         0        2        4       6        2.6       1688.6
    86      80    Saudi Arabia                    683         0        0        1       1        0.3       2068.9

This measure shows the medals by million people and also a weighted medal tally per million people. The rankings are sorted on this latter measure. It takes the official medal tally and expresses the Gold, Silver and Bronze in per capita terms. In this case, I have chosen to use Medals per Million People as the per capita measure even if some countries have less than a million citizens. The measure just means that they would achieve this is scaled up proportionately. The weighted per capita total differs from the actual per capita total in that I have weighted a Gold medal as a complete medal, Silver as 0.666 of a medal, and Bronze as 0.3333 of a medal.

Various weightings could be applied but I chose this presumably defensible weighting. After all: "you don't win a silver, you lose gold!".

The Gold column is the actual Gold medals per million people in that country, the Silver column is the actual Silver medals per million people in that country, and the Bronze is the actual Bronze medals per million people in that country. The Unweighted total is the Total medals without the weighting applied. The final column is the Total medals per capita weighted as described above.

  • Column (1) shows rank according to weighted per capita total.
  • Column (2) shows the actual rank according to actual medals.
  • Column (3) is nation.
  • Column (4) is 2011 population in millions.
  • Columns (5) to (8) is Actual Gold, Silver, Bronze and Total medals, respectively.
  • Column (9) is the weighted total medals count.
  • Column (10) is the weighted per capita total medals count (Column (9) divided by Column (4).

The nations are ranked according to column (10).

The HIGHEST number is best.

Last computed: August 17, 2012 - Final Medal Tally

   1     50    Grenada                           0.1        1       0        0        1        1.0       9.5338
   2     18    Jamaica                           2.7        4       4        4       12        8.0       2.9518
   3     52    Bahamas                           0.3        1       0        0        1        1.0       2.8804
   4     15    New Zealand                       4.4        6       2        5       13        9.0       2.0427
   5     47    Trinidad and Tobago               1.3        1       0        3        4        2.0       1.4854
   6      9    Hungary                          10.0        8       4        5       17       12.3       1.2366
   7     42    Slovenia                          2.1        1       1        2        4        2.3       1.1367
   8     74    Montenegro                        0.6        0       1        0        1        0.7       1.0534
   9     34    Lithuania                         3.2        2       1        2        5        3.3       1.0405
  10     29    Denmark                           5.6        2       4        3        9        5.7       1.0161
  11     25    Croatia                           4.4        3       1        2        6        4.3       0.9831
  12     10    Australia                        22.6        7      16       12       35       21.7       0.9573
  13     39    Georgia                           4.5        1       3        3        7        4.0       0.8912
  14     56    Mongolia                          2.8        0       2        3        5        2.3       0.8328
  15     16    Cuba                             11.3        5       3        6       14        9.0       0.7995
  16     13    Netherlands                      16.7        6       6        8       20       12.7       0.7584
  17     65    Estonia                           1.3        0       1        1        2        1.0       0.7457
  18      3    United Kingdom                   62.6       29      17       19       65       46.7       0.7448
  19     26    Belarus                           9.5        2       5        5       12        7.0       0.7386
  20     19    Czech Republic                   10.5        4       3        3       10        7.0       0.6636
  21     35    Norway                            5.0        2       1        1        4        3.0       0.6057
  22     49    Latvia                            2.2        1       0        1        2        1.3       0.6006
  23     70    Cyprus                            1.1        0       1        0        1        0.7       0.5965
  24     41    Ireland                           4.5        1       1        3        5        2.7       0.5941
  25     30    Azerbaijan                        9.2        2       2        6       10        5.3       0.5816
  26     12    Kazakhstan                       16.6        7       1        5       13        9.3       0.5636
  27     37    Sweden                            9.5        1       4        3        8        4.7       0.4934
  28     72    Gabon                             1.5        0       1        0        1        0.7       0.4341
  29     61    Armenia                           3.1        0       1        2        3        1.3       0.4298
  30     33    Switzerland                       7.9        2       2        0        4        3.3       0.4214
  31      5    South Korea                      49.8       13       8        7       28       20.7       0.4151
  32      4    Russia                          141.9       24      26       32       82       52.0       0.3662
  33     76    Qatar                             1.9        0       0        2        2        0.7       0.3565
  34      6    Germany                          81.7       11      19       14       44       28.3       0.3465
  35      7    France                           65.4       11      11       12       34       22.3       0.3412
  36     73    Botswana                          2.0        0       1        0        1        0.7       0.3280
  37     44    Serbia                            7.3        1       1        2        4        2.3       0.3213
  38     59    Slovakia                          5.4        0       1        3        4        1.7       0.3062
  39      8    Italy                            60.8        8       9       11       28       17.7       0.2906
  40     27    Romania                          21.4        2       5        2        9        6.0       0.2803
  41     14    Ukraine                          45.7        6       5        9       20       12.3       0.2698
  42     66    Puerto Rico                       3.7        0       1        1        2        1.0       0.2696
  43     86    Bahrain                           1.3        0       0        1        1        0.3       0.2518
  44     60    Finland                           5.4        0       1        2        3        1.3       0.2474
  45     36    Canada                           34.5        1       5       12       18        8.3       0.2416
  46      1    United States                   311.6       46      29       29      104       75.0       0.2406
  47     21    Spain                            46.2        3      10        4       17       11.0       0.2378
  48     20    North Korea                      24.5        4       0        2        6        4.7       0.1909
  49     45    Tunisia                          10.7        1       1        1        3        2.0       0.1873
  50     77    Moldova                           3.6        0       0        2        2        0.7       0.1873
  51     11    Japan                           127.8        7      14       17       38       22.0       0.1720
  52     46    Dominican Republic               10.1        1       1        0        2        1.7       0.1657
  53     84    Macedonia                         2.1        0       0        1        1        0.3       0.1615
  54     28    Kenya                            41.6        2       4        5       11        6.3       0.1521
  55     31    Poland                           38.2        2       2        6       10        5.3       0.1395
  56     63    Bulgaria                          7.5        0       1        1        2        1.0       0.1337
  57     78    Singapore                         5.2        0       0        2        2        0.7       0.1286
  58     62    Belgium                          11.0        0       1        2        3        1.3       0.1211
  59     81    Kuwait                            2.8        0       0        1        1        0.3       0.1183
  60     17    Iran                             74.8        4       5        3       12        8.3       0.1114
  61     38    Colombia                         46.9        1       3        4        8        4.3       0.0923
  62     23    South Africa                     50.6        3       2        1        6        4.7       0.0922
  63     48    Uzbekistan                       29.3        1       0        3        4        2.0       0.0682
  64     69    Portugal                         10.6        0       1        0        1        0.7       0.0626
  65     75    Greece                           11.3        0       0        2        2        0.7       0.0590
  66     43    Argentina                        40.8        1       1        2        4        2.3       0.0572
  67     24    Ethiopia                         84.7        3       1        3        7        4.7       0.0551
  68     32    Turkey                           73.6        2       2        1        5        3.7       0.0498
  69     79    Tajikistan                        7.0        0       0        1        1        0.3       0.0478
  70     22    Brazil                          196.7        3       5        9       17        9.3       0.0474
  71      2    China                          1344.1       38      27       23       88       63.6       0.0474
  72     83    Hong Kong                         7.1        0       0        1        1        0.3       0.0471
  73     71    Guatemala                        14.8        0       1        0        1        0.7       0.0451
  74     64    Taiwan                           23.2        0       1        1        2        1.0       0.0431
  75     40    Mexico                          114.8        1       3        3        7        4.0       0.0348
  76     67    Malaysia                         28.9        0       1        1        2        1.0       0.0346
  77     53    Venezuela                        29.3        1       0        0        1        1.0       0.0342
  78     54    Uganda                           34.5        1       0        0        1        1.0       0.0290
  79     51    Algeria                          36.0        1       0        0        1        1.0       0.0278
  80     57    Thailand                         69.5        0       2        1        3        1.7       0.0240
  81     58    Egypt                            82.5        0       2        0        2        1.3       0.0161
  82     80    Saudi Arabia                     28.1        0       0        1        1        0.3       0.0119
  83     82    Morocco                          32.3        0       0        1        1        0.3       0.0103
  84     85    Afghanistan                      35.3        0       0        1        1        0.3       0.0094
  85     68    Indonesia                       242.3        0       1        1        2        1.0       0.0041
  86     55    India                          1241.5        0       2        4        6        2.7       0.0021

This table shows the weighted medal count in terms of GDP per persons. So it scales the size of the economy by the size of the population. The Weighted Medal Total is formulated by treating a Gold medal as a complete medal, Silver as 0.666 of a medal, and Bronze as 0.3333 of a medal. So the formula for column (9) = (5) + 0.66(6) + 0.33(7).

Column (10) is gained by dividing (9) by (4) then multiplying by 1000 (to get some numbers before the decimal point). Column (10) can be expressed in words as the number of weighted medals a country would have if every person had $US1000 per year. So the larger this number the 'better' is the performance given the wealth of the economy scaled by its population

  • Column (1) shows rank according to weighted per capita total.
  • Column (2) shows the actual rank according to actual medals.
  • Column (3) is nation.
  • Column (4) is GDP per person ($PPP) as at 2011.
  • Columns (5) to (8) is Actual Gold, Silver, Bronze and Total medals, respectively.
  • Columns (9) is the weighted total medals (described above).
  • Column (10) is the Weighted Medals per $PPP1000 GDP per person

The data is ranked according to Column (10).

The HIGHEST number is best. Australia slips relative to the Per Capita Rankings because while it is small in population terms, it is relatively rich. China, by comparison which is large in population is poor in terms of GDP per capita.

Last computed: August 17, 2012 - Final Medal Tally

   1      2     China                            8382       38      27       23       88       63.4        7.5650
   2     24     Ethiopia                         1093        3       1        3        7        4.7        4.2558
   3     28     Kenya                            1746        2       4        5       11        6.3        3.6026
   4      4     Russia                          16736       24      26       32       82       51.7        3.0903
   5     20     North Korea                      1800        4       0        2        6        4.7        2.5889
   6     14     Ukraine                          7233        6       5        9       20       12.3        1.6964
   7      1     United States                   48387       46      29       29      104       74.7        1.5440
   8      3     United Kingdom                  36090       29      17       19       65       46.5        1.2882
   9     16     Cuba                             9900        5       3        6       14        9.0        0.9051
  10     18     Jamaica                          9029        4       4        4       12        8.0        0.8816
  11     22     Brazil                          11769        3       5        9       17        9.3        0.7876
  12     54     Uganda                           1317        1       0        0        1        1.0        0.7592
  13      6     Germany                         37897       11      19       14       44       28.2        0.7431
  14     39     Georgia                          5491        1       3        3        7        4.0        0.7230
  15     12     Kazakhstan                      13001        7       1        5       13        9.3        0.7161
  16     55     India                            3694        0       2        4        6        2.6        0.7148
  17      5     South Korea                     31714       13       8        7       28       20.6        0.6492
  18     17     Iran                            13053        4       5        3       12        8.3        0.6351
  19      7     France                          35156       11      11       12       34       22.2        0.6320
  20     11     Japan                           34740        7      14       17       38       21.9        0.6290
  21      9     Hungary                         19591        8       4        5       17       12.3        0.6273
  22     48     Uzbekistan                       3302        1       0        3        4        2.0        0.6026
  23      8     Italy                           30464        8       9       11       28       17.6        0.5767
  24     10     Australia                       40234        7      16       12       35       21.5        0.5349
  25     30     Azerbaijan                      10202        2       2        6       10        5.3        0.5195
  26     56     Mongolia                         4744        0       2        3        5        2.3        0.4870
  27     27     Romania                         12476        2       5        2        9        6.0        0.4777
  28     26     Belarus                         15028        2       5        5       12        7.0        0.4625
  29     23     South Africa                    10973        3       2        1        6        4.7        0.4238
  30     38     Colombia                        10249        1       3        4        8        4.3        0.4196
  31     21     Spain                           30626        3      10        4       17       10.9        0.3566
  32     85     Afghanistan                       956        0       0        1        1        0.3        0.3450
  33     15     New Zealand                     27668        6       2        5       13        9.0        0.3242
  34     13     Netherlands                     42183        6       6        8       20       12.6        0.2987
  35     40     Mexico                          14610        1       3        3        7        4.0        0.2717
  36     31     Poland                          20334        2       2        6       10        5.3        0.2606
  37     19     Czech Republic                  27062        4       3        3       10        7.0        0.2576
  38     32     Turkey                          14517        2       2        1        5        3.7        0.2514
  39     61     Armenia                          5384        0       1        2        3        1.3        0.2452
  40     25     Croatia                         18192        3       1        2        6        4.3        0.2375
  41     44     Serbia                          10642        1       1        2        4        2.3        0.2180
  42     68     Indonesia                        4666        0       1        1        2        1.0        0.2122
  43     45     Tunisia                          9478        1       1        1        3        2.0        0.2100
  44     36     Canada                          40541        1       5       12       18        8.3        0.2037
  45     58     Egypt                            6540        0       2        0        2        1.3        0.2018
  46     77     Moldova                          3373        0       0        2        2        0.7        0.1957
  47     46     Dominican Republic               9287        1       1        0        2        1.7        0.1787
  48     34     Lithuania                       18856        2       1        2        5        3.3        0.1761
  49     57     Thailand                         9396        0       2        1        3        1.7        0.1756
  50     79     Tajikistan                       2067        0       0        1        1        0.3        0.1597
  51     29     Denmark                         37152        2       4        3        9        5.6        0.1515
  52     51     Algeria                          7333        1       0        0        1        1.0        0.1364
  53     43     Argentina                       17516        1       1        2        4        2.3        0.1324
  54     71     Guatemala                        5070        0       1        0        1        0.7        0.1302
  55     37     Sweden                          40394        1       4        3        8        4.6        0.1146
  56     47     Trinidad and Tobago             20053        1       0        3        4        2.0        0.0992
  57     49     Latvia                          15662        1       0        1        2        1.3        0.0849
  58     42     Slovenia                        28642        1       1        2        4        2.3        0.0810
  59     53     Venezuela                       12568        1       0        0        1        1.0        0.0796
  60     33     Switzerland                     43370        2       2        0        4        3.3        0.0766
  61     63     Bulgaria                        13597        0       1        1        2        1.0        0.0728
  62     50     Grenada                         13896        1       0        0        1        1.0        0.0720
  63     59     Slovakia                        23304        0       1        3        4        1.7        0.0708
  64     41     Ireland                         39639        1       1        3        5        2.7        0.0669
  65     82     Morocco                          5052        0       0        1        1        0.3        0.0653
  66     67     Malaysia                        15568        0       1        1        2        1.0        0.0636
  67     74     Montenegro                      11545        0       1        0        1        0.7        0.0572
  68     35     Norway                          53471        2       1        1        4        3.0        0.0559
  69     65     Estonia                         20380        0       1        1        2        1.0        0.0486
  70     73     Botswana                        16030        0       1        0        1        0.7        0.0412
  71     72     Gabon                           16183        0       1        0        1        0.7        0.0408
  72     60     Finland                         36236        0       1        2        3        1.3        0.0364
  73     66     Puerto Rico                     27384        0       1        1        2        1.0        0.0362
  74     62     Belgium                         37737        0       1        2        3        1.3        0.0350
  75     52     Bahamas                         30959        1       0        0        1        1.0        0.0323
  76     84     Macedonia                       10367        0       0        1        1        0.3        0.0318
  77     69     Portugal                        23361        0       1        0        1        0.7        0.0283
  78     64     Taiwan                          37720        0       1        1        2        1.0        0.0262
  79     75     Greece                          26294        0       0        2        2        0.7        0.0251
  80     70     Cyprus                          29074        0       1        0        1        0.7        0.0227
  81     80     Saudi Arabia                    24237        0       0        1        1        0.3        0.0136
  82     86     Bahrain                         27556        0       0        1        1        0.3        0.0120
  83     78     Singapore                       59711        0       0        2        2        0.7        0.0111
  84     81     Kuwait                          41691        0       0        1        1        0.3        0.0079
  85     83     Hong Kong                       49137        0       0        1        1        0.3        0.0067
  86     76     Qatar                           02943        0       0        2        2        0.7        0.0064

Past GDP and Per Capita Rankings

Data Sources:

Population Data

The population data is sourced from the World Bank Indicators Database.

The population counts (in millions) are at 2011.

Gross Domestic Product

The economic activity measure used for comparative purposes Gross domestic product based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) valuation of country GDP as published by the International Monetary Fund in their World Economic Outlook (WEO). The latest publication date is April 2012. The data is for 2011 and the specific WEO series used is denoted PPPGDP.

The comparative unit is what the IMF refer to as the current international dollar. The IMF say that:

"These data form the basis for the country weights used to generate the World Economic Outlook country group composites for the domestic economy. The IMF is not a primary source for purchasing power parity (PPP) data. WEO weights have been created from primary sources and are used solely for purposes of generating country group composites. For primary source information, please refer to one of the following sources: the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, or the Penn World Tables."

Gross Domestic Product per Capita

The economic activity measure used for comparative purposes is GDP in PPP (Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) dollars per person as published by the IMF World Economic Outlook (last publication is April 2012).

The data is for 2011.

The IMF note that the data "are derived by dividing GDP in PPP dollars by total population".

See additional notes applicable for GDP in PPP.


Contact address:

Professor Bill Mitchell
Professor of Economics
Director, Centre of Full Employment and Equity
University of Newcastle
Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia

Telephone: +61-2-4921 5027
Fax: +61-2-4921 8731
Mobile Phone: 0419 422 410
E-mail: Bill.Mitchell AT newcastle.edu.au (change AT to @ and eliminate the spaces)

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