ABSTRACT
One of the most commonly used indicators of national income is GNP* per capita. Figure 5.1 charts national variations in GNP per capita in 1984 according to the calculations of the World Bank. Ethiopia recorded the lowest figure (110 US dollars per capita), the United Arab Emirates the highest (21,920 US dollars per capita). In general terms, the pattern of income depicted on the map holds few surprises. The strength of the capitalist core in the west is readily apparent, as is the industrial vigour of Japan. Major oil exporters like Saudi Arabia and Libya also feature prominently. It may come as a surprise to learn that Libya enjoyed roughly the same GNP per capita in 1984 as did the UK (8,500 US dollars), but that is the measure of the rewards provided by oil revenues in relatively unpopulated states in the desert regions. Perhaps the most revealing dimension of this data, though, is one which is not apparent from the map. It is that some 51 per cent of the world's population in 1984 lived in countries registering GNPs of less than 500 US dollars per capita. The contrast is with the industrial market economies which accounted for just 15 per cent of world popu-
lation and enjoyed an average GNP per capita (weighted) of 11,430 US dollars. Switzerland headed that particular league in 1984, with a value of 16,330 US dollars.
