South Korea Edges Japan In Per Capita GDP, Now 21st In OECD

Japan’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP) per capita reached $33,849 in 2023, falling behind South Korea and placing the country 22nd among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)’s 38 member countries, Tokyo announced, Shu Furukawa reported this for Mainichi Japan.

Japan also ranked below South Korea in 2022.

South Korea ranked 21st with a per capita GDP of $35,563. According to the Cabinet Office, which released the figures on December 23, it was the first time since 1980—when comparable statistics became available—that Japan fell behind South Korea.

The rankings were affected by South Korea’s revision of its GDP standards this year.

Under those standards, Japan also ranked below South Korea in 2022.

Japan ranked last among the Group of Seven (G7) major economies. The depreciation of the yen contributed to a 0.8% decrease from the previous year, with the yen-based figure at 4.75 million yen.

Luxembourg, a major European financial hub, topped the list at $128,423, followed by Ireland in second place and Switzerland in third. The U.S. ranked sixth at $81,861, the highest among the G7 countries.

Japan’s nominal GDP for 2023 was approximately $4.21 trillion, ranking fourth globally after the U.S., China, and Germany.

Japan’s share of the global economy was 4.0%, a 0.2 percentage point decrease from the previous year. The U.S. accounted for a quarter of the global economy with about $27.44 trillion, while China held 16.8% with around $17.79 trillion.