HC Deb 31 January 1989 vol 146 cc111-2W
Mr. Redwood

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the most recent annual average income per head for(a) the seven Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, (b) the Warsaw Pact countries including Russia and (c) China.

Mrs. Chalker

GDP per head (in United States dollars) in the major seven OECD countries in 1987 was as follows:

At current prices and current exchange rates At current prices and purchasing power parity
USA 18,338 18,338
Japan 19,465 13,182
West Germany 18,280 13,323
France 15,818 12,803
United Kingdom 11,765 12,340
Italy 13,224 12,254
Canada 16,019 17,211

Source: OECD, Department of Economics and Statistics: National Accounts 1960–1987.

Because the currencies of the Warsaw pact countries are not fully convertible, conversion of local currency output estimates to dollars is not straightforward. Different procedures can produce very different results. The first column of figures below shows estimates of GNP per head calculated by the IBRD for the three members of the Warsaw pact who are also members of the IMF/IBRD. The second column shows estimates for all members of the Warsaw pact published by a United States Government agency:

GNP per head at current prices and 3-year moving average exchange rates1 1987 $ GNP per head at current prices2 1987 $
Hungary 2,240 8,264
Poland 1,920 6,883
Romania 1,500–3,000 6,376
Bulgaria n/a 7,200
Czechoslovakia n/a 9,705
GDR n/a 11,873
USSR n/a 8,363
1 Source: World Bank Atlas, 1988.
2 Source: Economic Handbook, 1985—an unclassified publication of the CIA Directorate of Intelligence.

The People's Republic of China's GNP per head (at current prices and three-year moving average exchange rates) is estimated by the IBRD at $300 in 1987. Figures for Warsaw pact countries and for China should be treated with caution.