Per Capita

Per capita (Latin: “by head”) expresses a total value on a per-person basis. It’s commonly used in economics and statistics to compare metrics like GDP, income, spending, or resource use across populations of different sizes.

Key takeaways

• Per capita = total value ÷ population.
• Common measures: GDP per capita and income per capita.
• Per capita allows apples-to-apples comparisons across populations of different sizes.
• It can be misleading when distributions are skewed; median values often better represent typical individual outcomes.

How per capita is calculated

To compute a per capita figure:
Value per capita = (Total value) ÷ (Population)

Example: If a country’s GDP is $1 trillion and its population is 50 million, GDP per capita = $1,000,000,000,000 ÷ 50,000,000 = $20,000.

Common uses

• GDP per capita — average economic output per person.
• Income per capita — average income per person.
• Non-economic rates — e.g., alcohol consumption per capita or car crashes per capita.

Per capita vs. median

Per capita reports an average across the entire population and is sensitive to outliers (very high or low values). Median measures the middle value in a distribution and often better reflects what a typical person experiences.

Example (U.S. 2023 figures cited for comparison):
* Real median household income: $78,538
* Per capita income: $43,289

Because per capita averages include all individuals, including children and extreme earners, median figures can give a clearer picture of typical income.

Per capita and poverty

Aggregate growth (total GDP) can mask changes in individual welfare. If population growth outpaces GDP growth, GDP per capita may fall even though total GDP rises. This matters in regions with fast population growth, where rising aggregate output does not necessarily reduce poverty or raise average living standards.

Example comparison: United States vs. China (2023 data)

• United States: GDP ≈ $27.72 trillion; population ≈ 334.91 million → GDP per capita ≈ $82,769.
• China: GDP ≈ $17.79 trillion; much larger population → GDP per capita ≈ $12,614.

These per capita figures show that despite China’s large aggregate output, average economic output per person remains well below that of the United States.

Global perspective

A global GDP per capita figure summarizes average output per person worldwide. For example, a world GDP per capita of about $13,170 (with roughly 8.06 billion people) corresponds to a total global GDP on the order of $100+ trillion.

Limitations

• Does not reflect distributional differences within a population.
• Influenced by population structure (age distribution) and outliers.
• Should be complemented by median, poverty rates, and other indicators for fuller insight.

Bottom line

Per capita is a useful, simple measure for comparing average values across populations of different sizes, but it has limitations. Use it alongside median and distributional statistics to understand typical experiences and the prevalence of poverty or inequality.