Richest Countries in the World 2026 — GDP per Capita Rankings

The World's Wealthiest Nations

GDP per capita — total economic output divided by population — is the most widely used proxy for comparing national wealth. The range is staggering: the richest countries report figures above $80,000 per person while the poorest fall below $500. This 100x+ gap reflects accumulated differences in institutions, education, infrastructure, technology, and governance built over decades or centuries.

Small financial centers and resource-rich nations dominate the top of the per-capita rankings: Luxembourg (driven by its outsized financial sector relative to its 650,000 population), Ireland (inflated by multinational profit routing), Singapore, Qatar, and Switzerland. Among large economies, the United States leads at roughly $85,000, well ahead of Germany (~$58,000) and Japan (~$35,000).

Nominal GDP per capita is distorted by exchange rates and doesn't reflect local purchasing power — a salary of $10,000 goes much further in Vietnam than in Switzerland. For a fairer comparison, use GDP per capita in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. GDP per capita is also an average, not a measure of income distribution — inequality means actual living standards may differ significantly from what the average suggests.

The 2026 rankings carry an important exchange rate caveat. Dollar strength in 2025-2026 — partly driven by safe-haven demand during global trade tensions — has compressed the dollar-denominated GDP per capita of European countries. Germany, France, Sweden, and the Netherlands all appear smaller on this list than their local economic performance implies; a stronger euro would move them several positions up. Conversely, countries whose currencies held firm against the dollar — Singapore, Switzerland, and the Gulf states — maintain their rankings. One standout trajectory: Guyana, whose offshore oil production has driven a tenfold increase in GDP per capita over the past decade, moving it from one of South America's poorest to one of its wealthiest economies by this measure. Compare these economies directly using the country comparison tool.

Why France and Germany Don't Appear in the Top 10

France and Germany rank among Europe's three largest economies by total GDP — yet neither appears in the top 10 richest countries by GDP per capita in 2026. Germany lands at roughly $58,000 per person and France at around $50,000, placing both in the 15–25 range globally. The gap between being a large economy and a high per-capita one is significant: Germany's total output of $5.4 trillion makes it the world's third-largest economy, but divided across 84 million people, the per-person figure falls well short of Luxembourg's 660,000 residents sharing a much smaller but highly concentrated financial sector.

The 2026 exchange rate has pushed Germany and France further down the list. Dollar strength — driven partly by safe-haven demand during the US-China tariff standoff — has weakened the euro, compressing the dollar value of every European economy. In purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, Germany's GDP per capita is closer to $63,000, which better reflects actual household living standards. The same exchange-rate effect applies to France, Sweden, Italy, and the Netherlands: a persistent 10% shift in the EUR/USD rate moves these countries by roughly 4–6 ranking positions. When the euro strengthens again, they move back up. This is a feature of nominal dollar-denominated rankings, not a genuine shift in economic well-being.

Ireland is the most extreme case in the other direction: it ranks near the top of the per-capita list, but its headline figure is heavily distorted by the accounting practices of multinationals — Apple, Google, Meta — that book enormous profits through Irish subsidiaries. Ireland's actual household living standard, measured by gross national income (GNI*), is roughly 40% lower than the headline GDP per capita implies. Similarly, Luxembourg's figure is inflated by its cross-border workforce and its role as the EU's leading financial centre. For a more grounded comparison of European economies, use the country comparison tool with PPP-adjusted data, or the Germany vs France head-to-head.

Norway and Global Prosperity Rankings in 2026

Luxembourg leads the world in nominal GDP per capita at roughly $154,000, but on composite prosperity rankings — which combine per-capita income with inequality, healthcare quality, democratic institutions, and social safety nets — Norway ranks #1 globally in 2026. The HelloSafe Prosperity Index and the Legatum Prosperity Index both place Norway at the top, reflecting its high per-capita income (~$88,000), exceptionally low inequality (one of the world's lowest Gini coefficients), universal healthcare, and the Government Pension Fund Global — the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, which surpassed $2 trillion in May 2026 (~$364,000 per Norwegian citizen). Ireland and Luxembourg rank second and third respectively on these composite measures, followed by Iceland and Denmark.

The contrast between Luxembourg's GDP per capita ranking and Norway's prosperity ranking reveals a key limitation of the per-capita measure: Luxembourg's headline figure is inflated by roughly 200,000 cross-border commuters from France, Germany, and Belgium who work in Luxembourg, contribute to its economic output, but do not live there — understating Luxembourg's true resident income. Norway's per-capita figure, by contrast, reflects genuine domestic production: petroleum revenues flow into the sovereign wealth fund rather than inflating private consumption, providing durable, distributable wealth for future generations. This is why Norway consistently tops comprehensive wellbeing measures even while Luxembourg and Singapore lead raw GDP per capita rankings. Compare Norway directly with other top-ranked economies using the country comparison tool.

The UK, Australia, and Canada in the 2026 Rankings

Three of the world's most prosperous English-speaking nations — the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada — rank between approximately 12th and 22nd by nominal GDP per capita in 2026, well below the small financial centers and Nordic welfare states that dominate the top of the list. The UK's nominal GDP per capita of roughly $62,000 places it alongside Germany, Austria, and Finland — all genuine high-income economies, but well behind Luxembourg, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, and Ireland on raw per-capita measures. The core reason is scale: large populations dilute total GDP into per-person figures that favor compact city-states and small nations. The UK's $4.26 trillion economy divided among 68 million people yields a per-capita figure roughly one-third of Luxembourg's — yet the UK economy is nearly 16 times larger in absolute terms. Canada faces the same arithmetic: $2.5 trillion across 40 million people produces roughly $62,000 per capita, similar to the UK. Dollar strength in 2025–2026 has also mechanically compressed the dollar value of the pound and Canadian dollar, pushing both countries further down nominal rankings than their underlying economic performance implies.

Australia is in a stronger per-capita position at roughly $75,000 — placing it around 10th–15th globally in nominal dollar terms, ahead of most continental European economies. This reflects Australia's high-wage economy, commodity export revenues, and a relatively resilient exchange rate. On composite prosperity indices — the HelloSafe and Legatum measures that weight income alongside inequality, healthcare, democratic institutions, and quality of life — the rankings diverge further. The HelloSafe Prosperity Index 2026 places Norway, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Switzerland at the top; the United Kingdom falls outside the top 20 on this index, reflecting higher inequality, housing affordability pressure, and healthcare system strain relative to the Nordic benchmark. This is the gap that analysts and publications often highlight when noting that "the UK doesn't make the top 20 richest countries" — they are typically citing composite prosperity measures, not raw GDP per capita, where the UK sits around 20th. Australia and Canada score somewhat better on composite measures than their nominal per-capita rank suggests, due to higher livability and social mobility scores. For a direct comparison, see country comparison tool, or the individual economy pages for UK, Australia, and Canada.

Japan’s GDP per Capita Paradox: What Yen Depreciation Hides

Japan presents the most striking anomaly in the 2026 richest-countries ranking. By nominal GDP per capita, Japan sits around 35th–38th globally at roughly $35,000 per person — a figure that places it below Costa Rica and Greece on the raw ranking. Yet Japan has the world’s fourth-largest economy at $4.4 trillion, universal healthcare, life expectancy above 84 years (the highest of any large country), one of the world’s lowest violent crime rates, and consistently ranks in the top 10–20 on composite prosperity indices. How can a country be simultaneously 35th in GDP per capita and among the world’s most genuinely wealthy nations?

The answer is yen depreciation. Japan’s GDP per capita was approximately $46,000 in 2022, placing it comfortably in the top 25 globally. Since then, the Bank of Japan’s policy of holding interest rates near zero while the US Federal Reserve hiked aggressively caused the yen to depreciate from roughly 105 per dollar in 2021 to over 150 per dollar by 2025–26. This 40%+ depreciation mechanically compressed Japan’s dollar-denominated GDP per capita by a corresponding amount — with no change in actual Japanese living standards, wages, or purchasing power in yen. In PPP-adjusted terms, Japan’s per-capita income is closer to $55,000–60,000, reflecting its actual economic strength. South Korea faces a smaller version of the same problem: won depreciation in 2025–26 has pushed Korea’s nominal per-capita figure lower than its underlying economy implies. Currency effects on GDP per capita rankings are not permanent shifts in national wealth — they are exchange rate arithmetic that reverses when currencies normalise. Compare Japan vs other economies on the country comparison tool.

Asia’s per-capita rankings in 2026 reflect the same currency dynamics more broadly. Singapore leads Asia (and ranks top 5 globally) at roughly $100,000 per person — its consistent monetary policy and currency peg have insulated it from the yen/won compression. South Korea (~$34,000) and Taiwan (~$35,000) both appear lower than their genuine economic sophistication would suggest, due to currency weakness. China (~$14,700) sits well below where PPP-adjusted measures would place it, reflecting both genuine income gaps and a yuan that has weakened modestly against the dollar. India (~$2,900 nominal vs ~$9,000 PPP) shows the widest divergence between nominal and real per-capita income. The lesson: always read nominal per-capita rankings alongside PPP figures and composite prosperity indices — nominal rankings alone are heavily distorted by dollar strength in 2025–26.

Switzerland in 2026: The Safe-Haven Economy That Held Its Ranking

Switzerland occupies a distinctive position in the 2026 per-capita rankings — roughly 4th–5th globally at approximately $87,000 per person, behind Luxembourg and Singapore but broadly level with Norway. What sets Switzerland apart from most other top-10 economies in 2026 is its currency trajectory. While the euro fell significantly against the dollar in 2025–2026 (compressing the nominal per-capita figures of Germany, France, Austria, and the Netherlands by several ranking positions), and while the yen depreciated sharply (dropping Japan from the 25th to the 35th–38th range), the Swiss franc (CHF) held firm and in some periods strengthened against the dollar. The CHF’s safe-haven status — driven by demand during the US-China tariff confrontation and geopolitical uncertainty — meant Switzerland’s dollar-denominated GDP per capita held its position even as neighboring economies fell. Switzerland is one of the few European economies for which the 2025–2026 dollar strength was not a material headwind.

Switzerland’s economic model differs fundamentally from Norway’s and Ireland’s — the two European economies that typically bracket it in per-capita rankings. Norway’s wealth is built on oil fund redistribution: the Government Pension Fund Global (surpassed $2 trillion in May 2026, the largest sovereign wealth fund on Earth) distributes petroleum revenues to a population of 5.5 million, producing strong public wealth and low inequality. Ireland’s headline GDP per capita (~$89,000–$100,000) is heavily distorted by Apple, Google, and Pfizer booking profits through Irish subsidiaries; actual Irish household income — better measured by GNI — is roughly 40% lower. Switzerland’s per-capita figure of ~$87,000 faces neither distortion: it reflects actual Swiss resident and corporate income. Swiss wealth is generated by private banking and asset management (the country manages over $2.5 trillion in non-resident assets), a globally dominant pharmaceutical sector (Novartis, Roche, Lonza represent roughly 40% of Swiss goods exports), precision manufacturing and luxury goods (Richemont, ABB, Nestlé, Rolex), and a tax framework that attracts holding companies from across Europe. The combination of institutional depth, currency stability, and export diversification makes Switzerland one of the most genuinely durable high per-capita economies in the rankings — not a resource spike or a profit-routing artefact. Compare Switzerland directly with Norway using the country comparison tool.

June 2026: The ECB Rate Hike and What It Means for European Per-Capita Rankings

The European Central Bank is expected to raise its deposit rate from 2.00% to 2.25% on June 11, 2026 — the first rate hike since September 2023, reversing an easing cycle driven by the Strait of Hormuz oil shock that pushed eurozone HICP inflation to 3.2% in May 2026 — the highest reading since September 2023, up from 3.0% in April, with energy prices rising 10.9% year-on-year. This decision matters directly for this per-capita ranking page for a non-obvious reason: European per-capita GDP figures in US dollars are calculated by dividing euro-denominated economic output by the EUR/USD exchange rate. A 1% strengthening of the euro against the dollar adds approximately 1% to every eurozone economy's dollar-denominated per-capita figure — without any change in what Europeans actually produce or earn.

The EUR/USD rate fell from approximately 1.21 in early 2021 to a trough near 1.05–1.08 in 2025, driven by the energy shock of 2022 and the pace of US Federal Reserve rate hikes relative to the ECB's more gradual response. That depreciation directly explains why Germany (~$58K) and France (~$50K) appear lower in 2026's per-capita ranking than their underlying productivity implies — both perform notably better in PPP-adjusted figures (~$63K and ~$54K respectively). The ECB delivered the June 11 hike as widely forecast — the deposit rate is now 2.25% (effective June 17, 2026), and the new Eurosystem staff projections confirm eurozone inflation at 3.0% in 2026 (revised up) and growth cut to just 0.8% (revised down). Bloomberg projects EUR/USD recovering toward 1.14–1.20 as the ECB hiking cycle — with further hikes to 2.50–2.75% projected by December — diverges from the Federal Reserve, which holds at 3.50–3.75% through Q3 2026. At those levels, Germany would move approximately 2–3 positions up this ranking, and the Netherlands could reenter the global top 10 per-capita economies — without any structural change in these economies. The direct takeaway: when you see European per-capita figures on this page in 2026, you are partly reading a EUR/USD chart. The ECB hiking cycle is the mechanism most likely to restore these figures toward their underlying values over the next 12–18 months. Compare European economies head-to-head →

June 11, 2026 — ECB HIKED to 2.25%. The ECB Governing Council delivered the widely anticipated 25bp hike today, raising the deposit facility rate from 2.00% to 2.25% (effective June 17, 2026) — the first ECB rate hike since September 2023. Critically, the June 11 meeting also published the first fresh Eurosystem staff projections since the Iran/Hormuz shock. The new projections: headline inflation 3.0% in 2026 (revised up from March, driven by higher energy prices), with core inflation at 2.5% — a return to the 2% target is not expected until 2028. Economic growth was cut to 0.8% in 2026(revised down from March), reflecting the war's toll on commodity markets, real incomes, and business confidence. ECB President Lagarde stated at the Frankfurt press conference: “The outlook remains uncertain, with upside risks to inflation and downside risks to economic growth.” This is stagflation confirmed: supply-shock inflation above target alongside below-trend growth. The Fed-ECB rate divergence is now locked in: the ECB has hiked while the Federal Reserve holds at 3.50–3.75% through Q3 2026 (May US payrolls +172,000 — double the 85,000 consensus — removed any near-term cut). That interest rate differential is the primary driver of EUR/USD recovery from ~1.08 toward the 1.12–1.15 range Bloomberg projects. At those levels, the $2,000–$5,000 per-capita uplift for Germany, France, and the Netherlands comes purely from exchange-rate normalisation — no change in what Europeans actually produce or earn. The Bank of Japan decides June 16 — the next Super Week event. A BoJ hike plus the ECB hike together would represent the most significant simultaneous shift in European and Japanese dollar-per-capita rankings since 2021.

ECB June 11, 2026: HIKED +25bp to 2.25% deposit rate (effective June 17). New Eurosystem staff projections: headline inflation 3.0% (2026, revised up), 2.3% (2027), 2.0% (2028); core inflation 2.5% (2026–2027). Growth: 0.8% (2026, revised down), 1.2% (2027), 1.5% (2028). Lagarde: “upside risks to inflation, downside risks to growth.” Bloomberg projects 2.50–2.75% by December 2026. May 2026 HICP: 3.2% (Eurostat, highest since September 2023; energy +10.9% YoY). Bank of Canada June 10: HELD 2.25% (5th consecutive hold). US May 2026 NFP: +172,000 (BLS; consensus +85,000). Sensitivity: 1% EUR/USD change ≈ 1% change in dollar-denominated GDP/capita for eurozone members. UK (GBP) and Sweden (SEK) benefit partially; Switzerland (CHF) already held vs USD. Source: ECB press release June 11, 2026; Eurosystem staff projections June 2026; Eurostat; BLS; Bloomberg Economics; IMF April 2026 WEO.

Guyana in 2026: South America's Fastest-Rising Economy by Per Capita

Among all countries tracked by the IMF, Guyana has the fastest-rising GDP per capita of any nation in 2026. With GDP growth above 23% — the world's highest rate — and a population of only approximately 800,000 people, Guyana's offshore oil production from the Stabroek block (operated by ExxonMobil) is translating into extraordinary per-capita income gains. Oil production began in December 2019 and has ramped rapidly to over 650,000 barrels per day; at Brent crude near $125/barrel, revenues are generating income far outpacing any other small economy. Guyana's nominal GDP per capita has risen from under $8,000 before first oil to projections approaching $15,000–$20,000 in 2026 — a rise of more than 2× in under a decade, moving it from the lowest quartile of South American per-capita rankings toward potential entry into upper-middle-income status.

The Guyana story is the starkest example of how commodity discoveries can rapidly reshape national wealth rankings — and also a cautionary tale about whether GDP statistics translate to household income. Resource booms create measuring-GDP surges that may not immediately reach the broader population, and Guyana faces classic resource-curse risks: Dutch disease (oil exports appreciate the currency, hurting agricultural competitiveness), governance strain (managing and distributing oil revenues equitably), and infrastructure deficits that slow wealth distribution. Norway is the historical benchmark for resource wealth managed well — its Government Pension Fund converted petroleum revenues into a $1.7T intergenerational fund. Whether Guyana follows Norway's governance model — or the contrasting trajectories of Venezuela or Nigeria — is one of the defining economic policy questions of the 2020s. At the other end of the per-capita spectrum in 2026: Japan, whose GDP per capita fell ~$11,000 in dollar terms from 2022 to 2026 purely due to yen depreciation — a mechanical currency effect with no equivalent decline in actual Japanese living standards. Compare both economies: country comparison tool →

Singapore in 2026: Asia's Richest Economy at $108,000 per Person

The IMF confirmed Singapore as the world's second-richest nation in 2026by nominal GDP per capita, at approximately $108,000 per person — behind only Luxembourg ($154,000) among countries with populations over 500,000, and well ahead of Ireland, Switzerland, and Norway. This is the first time any Asian economy has surpassed $100,000 per capita in nominal terms. Singapore's Q1 2026 GDP grew 4.6% year-on-year, reinforcing its ranking despite the IMF upgrading the full-year forecast to 2.0–4.0%. In purchasing power parity terms — which adjust for domestic price levels — Singapore is even stronger: its PPP GDP per capita is approximately $162,000 (2nd globally), reflecting the reality that Singapore's high incomes operate in a relatively affordable domestic service economy compared to Western Europe.

What makes Singapore's $108,000 figure particularly credible — unlike Ireland's inflated headline — is that it reflects genuine resident income and corporate activity. Singapore manages roughly $5.5 trillion in private wealth, its financial sector accounts for 14% of GDP, and its biomedical and electronics clusters generate high-value exports. Crucially, Singapore's currency (SGD) has held firm against the US dollar in 2025–2026: the Monetary Authority of Singapore actively manages the S$NEER band, preventing the kind of depreciation-driven per-capita collapse that reduced Japan from $46,000 to $35,000 in nominal terms over the same period. The contrast within Asia is striking: Singapore $108,000 vs South Korea ~$34,000 (won depreciation), Taiwan ~$35,000 (TWD weakness), Japan ~$35,000 (yen depreciation), Hong Kong ~$52,000, China ~$14,700, India ~$2,900. Singapore's per-capita lead over the rest of Asia reflects decades of deliberate industrial policy, world-class institutions, and monetary stability — not a resource spike or profit-routing distortion. On the HelloSafe Prosperity Index 2026, Singapore ranks 6th globally — the only non-European economy in the top 10. Compare Singapore vs other economies →

Middle East's Wealthiest Nations: Qatar, UAE, and Kuwait in 2026

Three Gulf states rank among the world's wealthiest nations by GDP per capita in 2026: Qatar (~$72,000), the UAE (~$48,000), and Kuwait (~$38,000–$40,000). Their per-capita figures are high for a structural reason: oil and gas revenues are shared among small populations relative to total output. Qatar, the world's largest LNG exporter per capita, generates extraordinary revenue from North Field gas reserves — and with a total population of approximately 3 million (of whom 85–90% are expatriate workers), the headline per-capita figure dramatically overstates the wealth accruing to Qatari nationals. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) manages over $500 billion in assets, representing roughly $170,000 per Qatari citizen — one of the highest per-capita sovereign wealth figures in the world. Qatar ranks in the top 15 globally by nominal GDP per capita in 2026, supported by Brent crude near $125/barrel.

The UAE has the most diversified economy in the Gulf — non-oil sectors now contribute over 75% of GDP, compared to roughly 50% two decades ago. Dubai has built a services economy (finance, aviation, tourism, logistics) that functions independently of oil prices. Abu Dhabi's ADIA ($1 trillion+ in assets) and the UAE's exit from OPEC in May 2026 (the first Gulf founding member departure in 65 years) reflect a strategic long-run bet on capacity expansion over price discipline. Kuwait presents the starkest contrast: despite the Kuwait Investment Authority managing over $750 billion — the world's oldest sovereign wealth fund — structural reform has been slow and oil still accounts for 90% of export revenue. Saudi Arabia's GDP per capita (~$32,000) is the lowest of the major Gulf states despite having the largest total economy ($1.1 trillion) because its population of ~35 million is far larger than Qatar's 3 million or Kuwait's 4.5 million. All Gulf per-capita figures are supported by Brent crude near $125/barrel in 2026; a structural oil price decline would materially compress them. Compare Gulf states directly: country comparison tool →

Source: IMF April 2026 WEO. GDP per capita figures approximate; exact values vary with oil price and exchange rate. Population includes all residents (citizen + expatriate). Expatriate concentration means per-capita figures overstate per-citizen wealth in Qatar, UAE, and Kuwait. Compare: Saudi Arabia economy, UAE economy.

The 20 Richest Countries in 2026: Prosperity Index vs GDP per Capita

Two measures produce two different top-20 lists in 2026. Nominal GDP per capita — the IMF standard — rewards financial centres and resource states where economic output concentrates in a small population. The HelloSafe Prosperity Index 2026 adds inequality, healthcare access, and democratic governance to per-capita income, producing a ranking where the Nordic cluster outperforms Gulf states and micro-states. The result: Norway ranks #1 by composite prosperity despite lower raw per-capita output than Luxembourg or Singapore. The United States, despite ranking 5th–7th by GDP per capita, falls well outside the top 10 on prosperity measures — its high average income is offset by elevated inequality and unequal healthcare access. The United Kingdom, roughly 20th–22nd by nominal GDP per capita (~$62,000), falls further down the Prosperity Index due to higher inequality and NHS capacity strain relative to the Nordic benchmark.

Three patterns stand out. First, Luxembourg and Ireland top the raw GDP per capita list but rank lower on prosperity — both are distorted by multinational profit routing (Apple and Google book Irish profits; Luxembourg hosts cross-border EU finance). Second, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Iceland rank substantially higher on prosperity than their raw per-capita figures imply, because strong social safety nets and low inequality compensate for modest headline income. Third, Japan — whose nominal GDP per capita of ~$35,000 has been compressed by yen depreciation — consistently ranks in the top 15–20 on composite prosperity indices due to universal healthcare, low crime, and low inequality. The UK, the US, Qatar, and the UAE all rank materially lower on prosperity than their raw GDP per capita position suggests.

Prosperity: HelloSafe Prosperity Index 2026, combining GNI per capita, HDI, and income inequality. Top 10 confirmed from published rankings. GDP per capita: IMF April 2026 WEO nominal USD (approximate; shifts with exchange rates). The United Kingdom ranks ~20th–22nd by nominal GDP per capita but outside the top 20 by composite prosperity measures. Source: Norway economy, country comparison tool.

The Hormuz Oil Shock: Winners and Losers in the 2026 Wealth Rankings

The 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis — disrupting roughly 20% of global oil and LNG flows since April 2026 — has created one of the starkest divergences in per-capita wealth since the 2022 energy shock. With Brent crude near $125/barrel, oil-exporting nations are seeing their GDP per capita rankings hold or strengthen while major oil-importing economies face a real-income squeeze that nominal figures understate. The divergence cuts directly through the richest-countries list: Norway, Qatar, and the UAE are benefiting while Japan, Germany, and the Philippines are absorbing higher energy costs on top of existing currency headwinds.

The Hormuz divergence bifurcates the 2026 per-capita rankings in ways that annual nominal figures do not fully capture. Norway (~$88,000), Qatar (~$72,000), and the UAE (~$48,000) are holding or strengthening their positions as energy export revenues flow in at elevated prices. Singapore ($108,000) and Switzerland ($87,000) maintain their rankings independently — anchored by monetary stability and diversified service economies that are largely insulated from the oil price cycle. The compression is hitting manufacturing-heavy energy importers hardest: Japan absorbs higher fuel import costs on top of yen depreciation — a double squeeze that explains why its nominal per-capita figure has fallen from ~$46,000 in 2022 to ~$35,000 in 2026 despite solid domestic conditions. Germany and Italy face structurally elevated LNG prices that compress industrial margins and household real incomes below what their headline GDP figures imply. For emerging-market oil importers — the Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh — the Hormuz shock is creating an acute cost-of-living crisis that nominal per-capita comparisons do not capture. Every ranking in 2026 carries this energy-price caveat: figures would shift materially if Hormuz access normalises and Brent retreats toward $90.

Sources: IEA World Energy Outlook; IMF April 2026 WEO; QatarEnergy; ARERA Italy energy authority; DoE Philippines; Saudi Arabia Fujairah bypass pipeline (ADNOC). All per-capita figures nominal USD approximations. Compare oil exporters vs importers directly: country comparison tool →

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