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21/11/2007 - New benchmark comparisons based on purchasing power parities (PPPs) show the level of gross domestic product per head has risen closer to the OECD average in a number of countries including Turkey, Mexico, the Slovak Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.
The new PPP figures, based on the benchmark year 2005, enable a comparison of economic and consumer activity in 55 countries, including Russia and the Balkan states. They show for instance that since 2002, the previous benchmark year used for calculating PPPs, Mexico's gross domestic product (GDP) per head rose from a level that was 37% of the OECD average to 39% in 2005.
Italy's GDP per head fell from a level that was 5% above the OECD average to a level 4% below between 2002 and 2005. Switzerland's GDP per head slipped from 30% to 20% above the OECD average over the same period. Meanwhile, the rising value of Norway's oil exports helped its GDP per head jump from 45% to 65% above the OECD average.
The latest PPP calculations also show that the share of GDP represented by household consumption of goods and services can vary considerably from country to country. Britain's GDP per head is about 7% above the OECD average but its actual individual consumption is 20% above the average. The situation is the opposite in the Netherlands and Australia where the relative ranking of GDP per head is higher than for consumption per head.
See the latest set of figures and explanatory note.
Purchasing power parities (PPPs) are currency conversion rates that take into account price differences between countries. The benchmark results, released every three years, reflect a new set of price quotations for a basket of about 3000 comparable and representative goods and services which make up GDP.
For further information on PPPs, journalists are invited to contact the OECD's Statistics Directorate website http://www.oecd.org/std/ppp or stat.contact@oecd.org, or the OECD's Media Division (tel: + 331 4524 9700).
The data was produced in partnership with Eurostat, and the statistical services of Russia and of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
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