§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report, from 69W international sources available to him, a table showing the top 20 countries in order of income per head of population over the last five years; if he will express the relative positions in percentage terms using the United States gross national product as base: and if he will give the United Kingdom estimate on the bases of an economy (a) with and (b) without offshore oil.
§ Mr. BrittanThe table below contains estimates of gross national product at market prices per head of population for the top 20 countries in respect of the years 1975 to 1977. The figures have been calculated by the World Bank. Comparable figures for the later years are not available. The top 20 countries have been defined through the figures published by the World Bank and include only those with a population of 1 million or more. The figures are based on average relative prices and exchange rates during 1975 to 1977 and the year-to-year movements reflect changes in the real output in each country and in the rate of inflation in the United States.
Gross National Product at Market Prices Per Capita* 1975 1976 1977† 1975 1976 1977† United States $ per head USA = 100 Kuwait 12,120 13,960 12,700 168 177 147 Switzerland 8,760 9,160 9,960 122 116 115 Sweden 8,490 9,030 9,250 118 115 107 United States 7,200 7,880 8,640 100 100 100 Norway 7,060 7,800 8,540 98 99 99 Canada 7,270 7,930 8,450 101 101 98 Germany (Fed Rep) 6,720 7,510 8,160 93 95 94 Denmark 6,950 7,690 8,050 97 98 93 Belgium 6,580 7,020 7,580 91 89 88 Australia 6,490 6,990 7,340 90 89 85 France 6,070 6,730 7,290 84 85 84 Netherlands 6,060 6,650 7,160 84 84 83 Libya 4,900 5,970 6,680 68 76 77 Finland 5,590 5,890 6,150 78 75 71 Austria 5,070 5,620 6,140 70 71 71 Japan 4,600 5,090 5,640 64 65 65 Saudi Arabia 4,500 4,420 4,980 62 56 58 Germany (East)‡ 4,160 4,520 4,940 58 57 57 United Kingdom 3,860 4,180 4,930 54 53 51 New Zealand 4,060 4,200 4,370 56 53 51 * Source: 1978 World Bank Atlas
†Preliminary
‡ There are special difficulties in producing comparable estimates for centrally-planned economies, where national accounts are compiled on the basis of the system of Material Product Balances. Esimates of GNP for East Germany on a comparable basis have been produced by the World Bank, but more than usual caution in the use of the figures is advised.
Gross Domestic Product at Market Prices, Per Capita* 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 United Kingdom=100 Based on purchasing power parities Germany (Fed Rep) 123 124 127 126 128 Denmark 126 129 129 126 125 France 119 120 121 120 121 Belgium 115 116 116 114 114 Netherlands 114 115 116 113 111 * Sources: National Accounts ESA—Aggregates 1960–1979
It is not practical to produce estimates for the United Kingdom on the basis of an economy without offshore oil. To do so would require a complex set of assumptions and calculations and would involve a disproportionate use of resources. Details of the contribution of the petroleum and natural gas industry to the gross domestic product in the years 1970 to 1979 are given in table 3.1 of National Income and Expenditure, 1980 edition.
70WAlternative estimates of gross domestic product per head, but relating only to the member countries of OECD, covering the period 1961–1979, are given on page 88 of"National Accounts of OECD Countries 1950–1979 Volume 1 Main Aggregates", published by OECD.
It is well recognised that the use of official or market-exchange rates to convert GNP or GDP estimates to a common unit of measurement can give very misleading results because the rates do not necessarily reflect the relative purchasing power of national currencies in terms of the goods and services available in the countries being compared. A more realistic assessment is given by the use of purchasing power parities to convert to a common unit. Estimates of relative GDP at market prices per head, taking the United Kingdom = 100 are included for certain countries in the table below. These estimates are based on purchasing power parities developed by the Statistical Office of the European Communities, but are available only for the member countries.