{"id":71248,"date":"2013-01-27T09:30:14","date_gmt":"2013-01-27T09:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=71248"},"modified":"2013-02-01T00:40:35","modified_gmt":"2013-02-01T00:40:35","slug":"real-and-phantom-per-capita-income","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/real-and-phantom-per-capita-income\/","title":{"rendered":"Real and Phantom Per Capita Income"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Muttukrishna Sarvananthan<\/a><\/span> –<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Dr. Muttukrishna Sarvananthan<\/p><\/div>\n

The Per Capita Income (PCI) is derived by dividing the Gross National Product\/Income (GNP\/I) of a country by the total population of a country during a given period of time. It is a commonly used yardstick for practical and analytical purposes. However, it is important to understand that the per capita income of a country does not necessarily indicate the level of development of that country. For example, according to the World Development Indicators 2012 of the World Bank, while the Per Capita Income of Cuba was $5,520, PCI of India was $1,270, PCI of Timor-Leste was $2,220, and Sri Lanka\u2019s Per Capita Income was $2,240 in the year 2010. The foregoing figures do not imply that Cuba is economically better-off than India or Sri Lanka; similarly it does not imply that Sri Lanka is economically better-off than India, and Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste are on par in terms of economic development. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the World Development Indicators 2012 of the World Bank, countries are classified as follows using the World Bank Atlas method. All the data in the WDI 2012 pertains to the calendar year 2010. These benchmark figures are revised upwardly every year.<\/span><\/p>\n