Pakistan's ranking as one of the "richest countries" depends on the metric used to define "rich."
The Wikipedia article on the Economy of Pakistan provides the following rankings based on GDP:
- GDP Rank (Nominal): 46th (2023)
- GDP Rank (PPP): 24th (2023)
- GDP per capita rank (Nominal): 161st (2023)
- GDP per capita rank (PPP): 138th (2023 est.)
It is important to distinguish between GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and GDP per capita. GDP represents the total economic output of a country, while GDP per capita represents the economic output per person. A country can have a high GDP but a low GDP per capita if it has a large population. Furthermore, nominal GDP is measured in current U.S. dollars, while PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) adjusts for differences in the cost of goods and services between countries.
Therefore, Pakistan's rank varies significantly depending on whether you consider total GDP or GDP per capita, and whether you use nominal or PPP values. Based on GDP (PPP), it ranks higher than when measured by nominal GDP. However, based on GDP per capita it falls much lower in the rankings.
