South Korea Ranked 49th in the World in GNI Per Capita

South Korea’s gross national income (GNI) per capita in 2003 reached $12,030, increased by $630 from 2002 to 2003, maintaining its ranking at 49th in the world.

The nation is also ranked 11th in nominal national income, which reflects the size of the nation’s economy.

According to the World Development Indicator 2005, released by the World Bank, Luxemburg tops the GNI ranking with $45,740, approximately 3.8 times more than that of South Korea, the Bank of Korea announced on May 9.

Bermuda and Channel Islands, the two most famous tax havens in the world, ranked second and ninth, respectively. Since the two countries did not report their actual GNI to the organization, the organization had to assume the number based on its own data. The two tax havens’ main source of revenue is from global companies and private investment funds, which they promote with an advantageous corporate tax system.

Bermuda, located in the northern Caribbean Sea, consists of about 150 islets, with a total population of 65,000.

Japan is top among Asian countries, ranked seventh in the world with $34,180, followed by Hong Kong (19th, $25,860) and Singapore (29th, $21,230), which are also ranked higher than South Korea.

On the other hand, South Korea ranked 11th in the nominal national income ranking for two consecutive years with $5,764.

The size of the national income of the U.S. ($11.126 trillion) was 19.1 times more than that of South Korea. Japan’s national income was $4.36 trillion (7.6 times), and China marked $1.416 trillion (2.5 times), respectively.

Kyung-Joon Chung news91@donga.com