Based on the latest data from the World Bank, Vietnam ranked 62th on the list of poorest contries in the world
Last year, we spent a month travelling through Ethiopia. Growing up in the eighties, we were only too aware of the struggles Ethiopia had faced historically: political unrest, civil war and, of course, famine.
However, in 2017, Ethiopia had the fastest-growing economy in the world and was named by Lonely Planet as one of its Best in Travel countries of that year. Change is happening, but it’s still slow.
Figures suggest that around a third (33.5%) of Ethiopia’s population still lives in poverty. Despite the good press, the country still faces political instability, civil unrest and abject hardship.
Major international organisations assess a country’s wealth using different factors. One criterion commonly used – including by the World Bank – is GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP).
PPP is the alternative to using market exchange rates. The actual purchasing power of any currency is the quantity of that currency needed to buy a specified unit of a good or a basket of common goods and services. PPP is determined in each country based on its relative cost of living and inflation rates.
Therefore, using PPP GDP (GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity) it is possible to assess each country and rank the poorest countries in the world. International dollars are used as a global currency for comparison.
POOREST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD
Africa dominates the ranking of the poorest countries in the world. The first non-African country on the list is Haiti, ranked 17th.
Some smaller territories such as Monaco or Andorra are not included in the ranking. Additionally, some countries (particularly those locked in ongoing conflicts) do not have sufficient data available to be ranked.
Source: Atlas & Boots
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