GDP per capita serves as a measure of what?

• A. The total national income
• B. The average income per person in a country
• C. The total population
• D. The unemployment rate

Answer: (B)

GDP per capita focuses on the average amount of economic output available to each person in a country. It’s found by dividing the country’s total GDP by its population, giving a per-person figure that researchers use to compare living standards across countries or over time. This makes it a handy proxy for how prosperous people might feel on average, even though it doesn’t show how income is distributed or account for non-market activities. It isn’t the total national income (that would be GDP itself), nor is it the total population, and it doesn’t measure unemployment or joblessness.