S'pore's Per Capita GDP Is No 2 In Asia-Pac

Source : The Business Times, August 1, 2007

Asian Development Bank ranking based on purchasing power parity

SINGAPORE'S per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms was ranked second among 23 countries in the Asia-Pacific.

The PPP indicates the number of units of a local currency that is required to purchase the same goods and services as a unit of currency in a base country.

The ranking was done as part of a study coordinated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2005, under the International Comparison Programme (ICP) for Asia-Pacific scheme. The findings were published in the report, A Snapshot of Asia in 2005: Purchasing Power Parity.

The report gives Singapore an index of 1,150. Based on the regional average of HK$20,545 (S$3,952), which was set as the base index at 100, Singapore's GDP per capita at PPP is roughly HK$236,268, or nearly 12 times the regional average.

Brunei was the top-ranked country with an index of 1,312. Macau came in third with an index of 1,035, followed by Hong Kong (988) and Taiwan (720).

Singapore also reported a high price level index of 160, based on a regional average of 100. The Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) explained that as price levels correlate closely with income, high-income economies generally have high price levels. 'In 2005, price levels among countries with high-income economies such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau were fairly comparable,' it noted of the ADB report. 'Singapore's price level was close to Macau and about 10 per cent lower than Hong Kong.'

Singapore also ranked high among other indicators. Its per capita household consumption at PPP, which refers to the value of the consumption of goods and services by households, was the third-highest at HK$99,706. This was surpassed only by Hong Kong's HK$125,303 and Taiwan's HK$109,108.

In terms of per capita gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) - which consists of investment in infrastructure and purchases of machinery and equipment - Singapore had the highest figure at HK$52,609. This is about 10 times the regional average.

According to DOS, PPP adjusts for the different price levels across countries and are therefore more meaningful indicators for cross-country comparisons than those aggregates expressed in a common currency (usually the US dollar).