Top 10 Richest Countries In The World In 2022

8. United  States

 

• Population: 331,643,466
• GDP per capita (PPP): $65,279.5

The richest countries are not always the smallest? The United States will come as no surprise as featuring in the top 10 richest countries in the world in 2022.

The United States has strong purchasing power with resource-rich land and the biggest economy in the world. It supplies its energy and can export its oil and gas for profit. The size of its economy and the high rate of real GDP growth goes unmatched by any other country. As a relatively deregulated market economy with a decentralized political system, there are virtually no state-owned enterprises, and the legal system protects the liability of investors. Although such stats attract talented people worldwide to take a shot at earning a fortune. It remains one of the top countries where wealth is not shared equally.

The Effect of COVID-19

Many Americans lost their jobs during the pandemic and found themselves with astronomical medical bills and other expenses to pay. However, those in the top quintile of the population and earning over $60,000 a year managed in many cases to keep working from home. And saw their stock investments grow in value, and received stimulus checks on top of that.

America has an entrepreneurial mindset that is encouraged from an early age and supported by university programs and research institutions. There is also a developed financial system in place of equity finance and a decentralized banking system that supports entrepreneurial activities. Nevertheless, public debt is currently $27,000 billion, which is also $3,000 billion higher than pre-COVID-19.

Yet another story is how the super-rich fared during the health crisis. According to the Institute for Policy Studies, between March 2020 and April 2021, the collective wealth of America’s 719 billionaires leaped by $1.62 trillion, or 55%, from $2.95 trillion to $4.56 trillion. They now hold over four times more wealth than the roughly 165 million Americans in society’s bottom half. In 1990, the situation was reversed. Billionaires were worth $240 billion and the bottom 50% had $380 billion in combined wealth.

7. Norway

 

• Population: 5,435,878
• GDP per capita (PPP): $67,978.7

Norway is known to have the highest standard of living on the planet. It has an advanced education system, a distinct social security system, and universal health care. It ranks first on the human development index. Its raw oil and gas resource exports drive the economy. Abundant reserves ensure future prosperity in areas such as seafood, hydropower, lumber, minerals, natural gas, and freshwater. Petroleum is yet another export that has brought Norway wealth since the 1970s.

The government invests in free education for its citizens. Parents ensure that kids learn the importance of productivity from an early age in school. Keeping busy with work is a cultural staple in Norway, without which citizens do not find joy in life. The main occupations include telecommunications and technologies. Norway’s standard of living is coveted by other nations because of its low unemployment and poverty rates of 3 and 0.5%, respectively. Although things cost a lot in Norway, Norwegians don’t mind investing back into their economy. While having high purchasing power through high wages enables them to spend extravagantly abroad

Europe’s Top Petroleum Producer

Norway’s economic engine has been fueled by oil since the discovery of large offshore reserves in the late 1960s. As western Europe’s top petroleum producer, the country has benefited for decades from rising prices.

However, prices crashed at the beginning of 2020, then the global pandemic ensued, and the krone was sent in free fall. The Norwegian economy fell by 6.3 % in the second quarter of that year. The biggest decline in half a century and possibly since World War Two.

After the initial shock, the economy gradually pared the losses and closed the year at -0.7%. Then, in 2021, it regained much of the ground lost during the previous months, growing overall by about 3%.

Norwegians can always count on their $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund when it comes to any economic problem fate might throw at them. The largest of its kind in the world.  Yet Norwegians know that with great wealth comes great responsibility. Norway has amongst the lowest income inequality gaps in the world.