Taiwan was the 14th-richest among 193 countries and territories in the world this year, an analysis by Global Finance magazine based on GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power showed last week.
The world rankings released by the magazine on Thursday last week listed Ireland as the richest country in the world, ahead of Luxembourg in second, with Singapore third, Qatar fourth, Macau fifth, the United Arab Emirates sixth, Switzerland seventh, Norway eighth, the US ninth and San Marino 10th.
Also finishing ahead of Taiwan were Brunei (11th), Hong Kong (12th) and Denmark (13th).
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
Among other important economies, Germany ranked 19th, South Korea 30th, the UK 31st, Japan 38th, Russia 60th and China 77th, the report said.
Global Finance said its rankings are based on GDP per capita data from the IMF, which are adjusted to take into account inflation rates, and the cost of local goods and services in each economy.
The resulting figure, known as purchasing power parity, is expressed in international dollars to allow comparisons between different countries, the report said.
Many small countries that hit above their weight economically placed near the top of the rankings, often due to to their sophisticated financial systems, tax programs to attract foreign investment, large stores of hydrocarbons or other natural resources, the report said.
Citing the IMF, the magazine said that some of those figured should be taken with a pinch of salt, as many countries in the rankings, including first-placed Ireland, are tax havens.
This means that the wealth of such countries “was originally generated elsewhere, which artificially inflates their GDP,” and often benefits multinationals far more than the average person, the report said.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
PLANS: MSI is also planning to upgrade its service center in the Netherlands Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) yesterday said it plans to set up a server assembly line at its Poland service center this year at the earliest. The computer and peripherals manufacturer expects that the new server assembly line would shorten transportation times in shipments to European countries, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times by telephone. MSI manufactures motherboards, graphics cards, notebook computers, servers, optical storage devices and communication devices. The company operates plants in Taiwan and China, and runs a global network of service centers. The company is also considering upgrading its service center in the Netherlands into a
RSS