Per capita gross national income last year reached USD 36,624, up 1.2% from that in 2023. Shown is the popular shopping district of Myeong-dong in Seoul's Jung-gu District on April 10, 2024. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Seon Ah

Per capita gross national income (GNI) last year was USD 36,624, sixth among countries with a population of more than 50 million.

The Bank of Korea on March 5 announced this in a preliminary report on per capita GNI in last year's fourth quarter and all of 2024, adding that the figure rose 1.2% from USD 36,194 in 2023.

Among major economies with populations of more than 50 million, the nation ranked sixth in the category following the U.S., Germany, U.K., France and Italy. Taiwan's figure came in lower than Korea's at USD 35,188, as did Japan's at USD 34,500.

Calculated by dividing the total income earned by a country's population at home and abroad, per capita GNI is considered an indicator of a people's standard of living.

Korea's figure broke USD 30,000 for the first time in 2017 with USD 31,734 and rose the following year, but declined in 2019 to USD 32,204 and 2020 to USD 32,038. It rebounded in 2021 to USD 35,373.

The gross domestic product (GDP) deflater jumped 4.1% from that in 2023. Derived by dividing nominal GDP by real GDP, this macroeconomic statistic reflects overall price levels including imports and exports.

Nominal GDP last year grew 1.6% to USD 1.86 trillion.

By industry, GDP inched up 0.2% in manufacturing and 0.4% in the service sector, but declined 4.1% in construction and 3.4% in agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

sofiakim218@korea.kr