National Accounts Statistics

The purpose of this article is to compare all 36 advanced economies using key indicators from national accounts statistics. These indicators include:

1. Gross domestic product (GDP)
2. Net national income (NNI)
3. Household net-adjusted disposable income
4. Compensation of employees
5. Actual individual consumption (AIC)

The fifth indicator forms part of GDP as measured by the expenditure approach. The following indicators represent income components across resident sectors:

• (2) NNI covers all resident sectors.
• (3) Household net-adjusted disposable income includes both households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs).
• (4) Compensation of employees refers to the total remuneration—salaries, wages, and employers' social contributions—received by resident households.

All indicators are in current prices, expressed on a per-capita basis, and converted to US dollars using current purchasing power parities (PPPs). Dataset (1) refers to the year 2024, while the remaining datasets refer to 2023 (see Figure 1a, 2, 3, 4, and 5). Datasets (2), (3), (4), and (5) together constitute the Material Welfare Index (MWI), which is one of the subindices of the Sustainable Social Development Index (SSDI). (See the link below for more information.) For the last updated date, refer to Table 1 and 2.

In the updated 2023 MWI, Luxembourg ranks first, followed by the United States, Norway, Singapore, and Switzerland. Taiwan ranks 12th, overtaking Denmark compared to its 2022 position. (See Figure 6.)

New datasets have been incorporated since December 2, 2025, specifically the projections of GDP per capita (PPPs) for the period 2025–2027. The projections indicate that, in 2025, Ireland is expected to overtake Luxembourg, and Taiwan is expected to overtake the Netherlands and Iceland. In 2026, Taiwan is projected to exceed the United States, Denmark is projected to exceed Iceland, and Estonia is projected to exceed Japan. In 2027, Sweden is projected to exceed Australia, and Croatia is projected to approach Japan. (See Figure 1b and Table 1 and 2.)

Keywords: GDP per capita, PPPs, purchasing power parities, GNI, NNI, national income, household disposable income, compensation of employees, actual individual consumption, consumption expenditure per catpia, economic outlook, projections of GDP per capita

§ Links:
…… Sustainable Social Development Index
…… Household Mateiral Welfare and Income Distribution
…… Employee Material Welfare
…… Table 1. OECD-Eurostat
…… Table 2. Taiwan and Singapore
…… Table 3. Material Welfare Index
The corresponding figures for other economies in the Eurostat-OECD group, including Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Poland, are shown in Table 1 and 3.


Figure 1a.

• According to Eurostat Statistics Explained, GDP is equal to the sum of the gross value added of all resident institutional units engaged in production, plus any taxes on products, and minus any subsidies on products. Gross value added is defined as the difference between output and intermediate consumption. Alternatively, GDP can also be measured as the sum of final uses of goods and services (that is, all uses except intermediate consumption) at purchasers' prices, minus the value of imports of goods and services. It is also equal to the sum of primary incomes distributed by resident producer units.
• PPPs for GDP are used and sourced from the OECD (see Table 1). For Taiwan and Singapore, PPPs are estimated based on benchmark results from the International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 (see Table 2).
• Data are generally sourced from the OECD and Eurostat. For Taiwan and Singapore, data come from their respective national statistics offices. (See Table 1 and 2.)
• Figures for all countries refer to calendar years.
• Limitations: Per-capita values for Luxembourg and Switzerland are distorted due to cross-border employment. Figures for tax havens—including Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Singapore—are exaggerated.
• Within the Eurostat-OECD group, other economies whose figures are higher than that of Greece include Poland, Romania, and Hungary.

It should be emphasized that the PPPs produced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) differ substantially from those provided by Eurostat and the OECD for economies within the Eurostat-OECD group. The IMF applies the simplest extrapolation method, relying on implicit GDP price deflators to update PPPs for GDP in non-benchmark years of the ICP. In contrast, Eurostat and the OECD employ what is widely regarded as the most robust extrapolation approach—the so-called "rolling survey (or benchmark) method"—which consists of six surveys conducted within a three-year cycle, combined with time-series price indices specific to each basic heading (the lowest level of aggregation). For economies covered by the Eurostat–OECD PPP programme, the World Bank adopts the PPPs directly from Eurostat–OECD. For all other economies, however, the World Bank relies on PPPs derived through the deflator-based extrapolation method.


Figure 1b.

• For OECD member countries, the data are sourced from OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2025 Issue 2. For Cyprus and Malta, the data are obtained from Eurostat. For Taiwan, the figures for 2025 and 2026 are sourced from its national statistics office, while the figure for 2027 is derived using nominal and real GDP growth rates and population growth data from the IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2025. For Singapore, the figures are also sourced from the IMF.
• The PPPs for Taiwan and Singapore are updated using the corresponding figures for the United States reported by the OECD.
• Figures for all countries refer to calendar years.
• As one of the other economies within the Eurostat-OECD group, Poland is projected to overtake Japan in 2026.
• For projections covering the longer period from 2025 to 2030, refer to Figure 1 in this article.

Figure 2.

• NNI is calculated as Gross National Income (GNI) minus consumption of fixed capital. GNI—also referred to as the balance of primary income in the Allocation of Primary Income Account—represents the total income earned by residents of an economy. It is calculated as the sum of primary incomes (including gross operating surplus (GOS), mixed income, and compensation of employees, as recorded in the Generation of Income Account), plus property income received, and minus property income paid. It is also equal to GDP minus primary income payable by resident units to non-resident units, plus primary income receivable from non-resident units to resident units.
• PPPs for GDP are used and sourced from the OECD (see Table 1). For Taiwan and Singapore, PPPs are estimated based on benchmark results from the International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 (see Table 2).
• Data are generally sourced from the OECD and Eurostat. For Taiwan and Singapore, data come from their respective national statistics offices. (See Table 1 and 2.)
• For Iceland, Norway, and New Zealand, data are sourced from their respective national statistics offices.
• Figures for all countries refer to calendar years, whereas the figures for New Zealand are based on fiscal years starting on April 1.
• Limitation: Figures for tax havens—including Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Singapore—are exaggerated.
• Within the Eurostat-OECD group, other economies whose figures are higher than that of Latvia include Romania, Poland, and Hungary.

Figure 3.

• Net-adjusted disposable income of households and NPISHs is calculated as their gross disposable income, minus their consumption of fixed capital, plus social transfers in kind from the government. Social transfers in kind from the government are equal to the individual consumption expenditure of the general government. Disposable income is the balancing item in the Secondary Distribution of Income Account, which includes current taxes on income and wealth, social contributions, social benefits other than social transfers in kind, and other current transfers.
• PPPs for AIC are used and sourced from the OECD (see Table 1). For Taiwan and Singapore, PPPs are estimated based on benchmark results from the International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 (see Table 2).
• Data are generally sourced from the OECD and Eurostat. For Taiwan and Singapore, data come from their respective national statistics offices. (See Table 1 and 2.)
• For Iceland, Norway, and New Zealand, data are sourced from their respective national statistics offices.
• Figures for all countries refer to calendar years, whereas the figures for Australia and New Zealand are based on fiscal years starting on July 1 and April 1, respectively.
• Singapore: Available source data comprise the gross disposable income of the personal sector and the individual consumption expenditure of the general government. (In Singapore, the personal sector refers to households and NPISHs.) CFC for the personal sector is estimated by multiplying total economy CFC by the ratio of gross operating surplus (GOS) for the personal sector to that of the total economy.
• Data for Israel is unavailable owing to the lack of a detailed breakdown of national disposable income for households and NPISHs.
• Limitation: Income distribution data are lacking, making this an imperfect metric for representing most residents. See the previously mentioned article for more on household income distribution. In 2021, Luxembourg and Norway ranked highest in median household disposable income adjusted for social transfers in kind.
• Within the Eurostat-OECD group, other economies whose figures are higher than that of Latvia include Poland and Hungary.

Figure 4.

• According to Eurostat Statistics Explained, compensation of employees includes all forms of remuneration—both in cash and in kind—that employees receive from their employers in exchange for work performed. It comprises gross (pre-tax) wages and salaries, employers' actual social contributions, and imputed social contributions—those provided directly by employers to employees without the involvement of a social security fund, insurance enterprise, or autonomous pension fund.
• PPPs for AIC are used and sourced from the OECD (see Table 1). For Taiwan and Singapore, PPPs are estimated based on benchmark results from the International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 (see Table 2).
• Data are generally sourced from the OECD and Eurostat. For Taiwan and Singapore, data come from their respective national statistics offices. (See Table 1 and 2.)
• For Iceland, Norway, and New Zealand, data are sourced from their respective national statistics offices.
• Figures for all countries refer to calendar years, whereas the figures for Australia and New Zealand are based on fiscal years starting on July 1 and April 1, respectively.
• Limitation: This value is calculated by dividing the compensation of employees by the resident population rather than the number of resident employees. For more information, refer to the earlier article on average annual wages (for all employees working within the country).
• Within the Eurostat-OECD group, other economies whose figures are higher than that of Greece include Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria.

Figure 5.

• AIC refers to all goods and services actually consumed by households, consisting of consumer goods and services purchased directly by households, as well as services provided by NPISHs and the general government for individual consumption (such as health and education services).
• PPPs for AIC are used and sourced from the OECD (see Table 1). For Taiwan and Singapore, PPPs are estimated based on benchmark results from the International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 (see Table 2).
• Data are generally sourced from the OECD and Eurostat. For Taiwan and Singapore, data come from their respective national statistics offices. (See Table 1 and 2.)
• For New Zealand, data are sourced from its national statistics offices.
• Figures for all countries refer to calendar years, whereas the figures for Australia and New Zealand are based on fiscal years starting on July 1 and April 1, respectively.
• Advantage: AIC per capita is a better metric to measure consumers' welfare than GDP per capita.
• Within the Eurostat-OECD group, other economies whose figures are higher than that of Latvia include Poland, Romania, and Hungary.

Figure 6.

• See the previously mentioned article for more on the material welfare index.
• For Dataset (3), Israel's figure is missing and was imputed using regression with Datasets (4) and (5) as explanatory variables (2023 result: 33,441; adjusted R² = 0.92).
• Within the Eurostat-OECD group, other economies whose figures in 2023 are higher than that of Latvia include Poland, Hungary, and Romania. These figures are the weighted averages of four indicators, with the weights based on those of all 36 advanced economies.
• See Table 3 for more information.

Despite having the highest level of material welfare among advanced economies, the United States also records the highest Gini index and the second-highest poverty rate among advanced OECD economies, both based on equivalised disposable income. In the 2024 SSDI, the United States ranks second lowest in the health index and performs worst in the safety and security index among all advanced economies. These outcomes may be partly attributed to its high levels of income inequality and poverty.

Only 12 advanced economies meet the criteria of high material welfare (defined as an index score exceeding two-thirds), low income inequality (a Gini index below 0.3), and a low poverty rate (below 10%). These include all Nordic countries, as well as the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, France, and Taiwan—the only Asian country on the list. (For definitions of these income distribution indicators, see the article mentioned earlier.)