§ Mr. Tebbitasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for 1977 or the latest date for which information is available the gross domestic product at factor cost per head of total population in each member State of the EEC, the United States of America, Canada and Japan.
§ Mr. Denzil Davies, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 18 January 1979; Vol. 960, c. 866], gave the following answer:
The latest available information is given in the table below.
Comparative estimates of gross domestic product published by international organisations are given in terms of market prices; and they are converted to a common unit of measurement on the basis of official or market rates of exchange. The use of these exchange rates in this context can be misleading since they do not necessarily reflect the relative purchasing power of national currencies in terms of the goods and services available in the countries being compared. It is generally recognised that a more realistic assessment of relative levels of GDP can be made through the use of purchasing power parities. However, there are now two sets of purchasing power parities based on studies by the United Nations and by the statistical 161W office of the European Communities; and they give slightly different results. Alternative
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT AT MARKET PRICES IN 1976 PER HEAD OF TOTAL POPULATION Based on official or market rates of exchange* Based on purchasing power parities (UK = 100) US Dollars UK=100 UN† SOFC‡ Belgium … … … … … … 6,713 172 NA 118 Denmark … … … … … … 7,594 194 NA 129 France … … … … … … 6,552 167 134 122 Germany, Federal Republic … … … 7,247 185 134 127 Irish Republic … … … … … 2,509 64 NA 66 Italy … … … … … … 3,041 78 80 79 Luxembourg … … … … … 6,276 160 NA 120 Netherlands … … … … … 6,501 166 119 116 United Kingdom … … … … … 3,914 100 100 100 United States … … … … … 7,912 202 168 NA Canada … … … … … … 8,409 215 NA NA Japan … … … … … … 4,922 126 106 NA NA = Not available. *Source: National accounts of OECD countries Volume 1. † Extrapolated from benchmark estimates for 1970 and 1973 produced by the UN international comparisons project. ‡ Source: SOEC—extrapolated from benchmark estimates for 1975
§ Mr. Tebbitasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for the top 25 economies, including, where relevant, economies in the Communist bloc, the gross national product per capita at factor cost and expressed in terms of United States dollars, for 1951, 1964, 1970, 1973, 1976 and 1977.
§ Mr. Denzil Davies, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 18 January 1979; Vol. 960, c. 867], gave the following information:
Estimates at factor cost are not readily available from international sources. The table below contains estimates of gross national product at market prices per head of the population for the top 25 economies in respect of the years 1974–76. The figures have been calculated by the World Bank. Comparable figures for 1977 and for years before 1974 are not available. The top 25 economies have been defined through the figures published by the World Bank and include only those countries with a population of 1 million or more. The figures are based on average relative prices and exchange rates during 1974–76 and the year-to-year movements reflect changes in real output in each country and in the rate of inflation in the United States.
There are special difficulties in producing comparable estimates for centrally planned economies, where national
162Wnative estimates are given in the table for those countries covered by both studies.
accounts are compiled on the basis of the system of material product balances. Estimate of GNP for these countries on a comparable basis have been made by the World Bank, but more than usual caution in the use of figures is advised.
Alternative estimates, but relating only to the member countries of OECD, covering the period from 1961 to 1976 are given on page 133 of "National Accounts of OECD Countries 1976, Volume 1, Main Aggregates", published by OECD.
It is 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 have been included in the table, derived on the basis of purchasing power parities extrapolated from the benchmark estimate for 1970 and 1973 provided by the United Nations International Comparisons Project.
These estimates are available only for a limited number of countries at present. Alternative estimates for EEC member countries in 1976, based on purchasing 163W power parities developed by the statistical office of the European Communities, are
Gross national product at market prices per capita* Gross domestic product at market prices per capita Based on Purchasing power Parities† 1974 1975 1976 (preliminary) 1974 1975 1976 (preliminary) 1974 1975 1976 US $ per head USA = 100 USA = 100 Kuwait … … 11,270 15,190 15,480 169 213 196 Switzerland … 8,280 8,410 8,880 124 118 113 Sweden … … 7,440 8,150 8,670 111 114 110 United States … 6,680 7,120 7,890 100 100 100 100 100 100 Canada … … 6,390 6,930 7,510 96 97 95 Denmark … … 6,290 6,810 7,450 94 96 94 Norway … … 6,040 6,760 7,420 90 95 94 Germany, Federal Republic … … 6,280 6,670 7,380 94 94 94 80 80 80 Belgium … … 5,840 6,270 6,780 87 88 86 79 78 NA France … … 5,520 5,950 6,550 83 84 83 78 80 80 Libya … … 4,360 5,530 6,310 65 78 80 Netherlands … 5,420 5,750 6,200 81 81 79 73 72 71 Australia … … 5,360 5,700 6,100 80 80 77 Finland … … 4,970 5,420 5,620 74 76 71 Austria … … 4,530 4,870 5,330 68 68 68 Japan … … 4,040 4,450 4,910 60 63 62 63 64 64 Saudi Arabia … 3,090 4,010 4,480 46 56 57 New Zealand … 4,080 4,280 4,250 61 60 54 German Democratic Republic‡ … 3,450 3,910 4,220 52 55 53 United Kingdom … 3,530 3,780 4,020 53 53 51 60 61 60 Israel … … 3,600 3,790 3,920 54 53 50 Czechoslovakia‡ … 3,240 3,610 3,840 49 51 49 Italy … … 2,690 2,810 3,050 40 39 39 49 49 48 Spain … … 2,510 2,750 2,920 38 39 37 Poland‡ … … 2,270 2,600 2,860 34 37 36 *Source: World Bank Atlas. † Extrapolated from the benchmark estimates for 1970 and 1973 produced by the United Nations International Comparisons Project. ‡ Tentative estimates produced by the World Bank.