§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the top 20 countries in the world in order of income per head for the years 1977 to 1981 inclusive; if he will express the relative position in percentage terms using the United States gross national product as a base; and if he will express the United Kingdom figures as the bases of an economy (a) with and (b) without the United Kingdom continental shelf contribution to gross national product.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneEstimates of gross national product at market prices per head of population for the top324W 20 countries in respect of the years 1979 and 1980 are given in the 1981 "World Bank Atlas" which is available in the Library. Comparable results for other years are not available.
Alternative estimates of gross domestic product per head, covering the period 1963–81 but relating only to the member countries of OECD, are given on page 86 of "National Accounts of OECD Countries 1952–1981 Volume 1 Main Aggregates", published by OECD and also available in the Library.
It is well recognised that the use of official or market exchange rates to convert estimates or GNP or GDP to a common unit of measurement can give very misleading results because the rates do not necessarily reflect the relative purchasing powers 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. Figures on this basis for 15 OECD member countries are given on page 98 of the OECD publication referred to above.
It is not practicable to produce estimates for the United Kingdom on the basis of an economy without the continental shelf. 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 1971 to 1981 are given in Table 3.1 of the Blue Book "National Income and Expenditure 1982 Edition", which is available in the Library.