1. Monaco
per capita GDP: $203,900
Monaco, a major tourist resort in the Mediterranean. The Principality of Monaco has booming high value-add industries and a strong services sector. Monaco has no income tax, but it makes most of its money from being a tax haven.
2. Liechtenstein per capita GDP: $113,210
Natives of Liechtenstein, a small country bordering Switzerland and Austria, are the second richest in the world in terms of annual per capita income. The principality has an industrialized economy, with banking and financial services being the mainstay. Tourism too is a major revenue earner for the nation.
The personal income tax rates in Liechtenstein too are exceedingly low: basic income tax rate is 1.2 per cent on income up to 200,000 Swiss Francs, and maximum is 5 per cent on income over 2 million Swiss Francs a year.
3. Norway per capita GDP: $86,440
Norway’s per capita income is the third highest in the world. Norway has a mixed economy consisting of state-owned businesses and a robust free market. It’s a highly developed and an industrialized state. Fishing, petroleum, hydel power, minerals contribute heavily to the nation’s GDP.
4. Luxembourg per capita GDP: $74,430
Luxembourg’s is the world’s fourth highest PCI. Luxembourg is located in Europe and is bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. The nation has highly developed industrial and financial sectors. Luxembourg, one of the world’s richest cities, also offers higher salaries. On an average, workers in Western European cities receive more than three times the pay of their colleagues in Eastern Europe.
5. Channel Islands per capita GDP: $68,610
The Channel Islands is the fifth highest per capita income in the world. Tourism is the major revenue generator for the Channel Islands. The islands of Jersey and Guernsey also provide financial services and are tax havens. Small-scale organic beef production has been reintroduced in an effort to diversify the industry.
6. Qatar per capita GDP: $66,100
Qataris is the sixth highest in the world. Qatar is an Arab emirate located in the Persian Gulf. The nation’s economy mainly depends on its huge oil and natural gas reserves. There is no income tax in Qatar. Qatar is an oil- and gas-rich nation with world’s third largest gas reserves. Qatar has experienced rapid economic growth over the last several years on the back of high oil prices.
7. Bermuda per capita GDP: $60,000
Bermuda, a tourist’s delight, is located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has the seventh highest per capita income in the world. Bermuda is a major financial centre and is particularly attractive because of its low taxation rates. Financial services is the nation’s largest industry, followed by tourism.
8. Denmark per capita GDP: $58,930
Denmark is the world’s eighth highest PCI. Denmark has a highly industrialized economy, with robust agricultural and corporate sectors. Despite being one of the most competitive nations, it has a very weak financial regulatory system. Also, its labour laws are very lax and tilted heavily in favour of the employers.
9. Switzerland per capita GDP: $56,370
Switzerland ranks ninth in the World Bank’s per capita income rankings. Switzerland, a truly capitalist economy, has many giant banks and multinational corporations.
It also has highly developed industries in sectors like pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machine parts, electronics, precision instruments, banking, tourism, etc. Dairy farming too is an age old industry in Switzerland. It has very low tax rates.
10. Kuwait per capita GDP: $53,930
Kuwaitis have the tenth highest per capita income in the world. The country has the world’s fifth largest oil reserves. The Kuwait Stock Exchange, which has about 200 firms listed, is the second-largest stock exchange in the Arab world.
Petroleum and petroleum products now account for nearly 95 per cent of Kuwait’s export revenues, and 80 per cent of government income.
Kuwait is regarded as one of the most economically developed countries in the Arab League.
