The Financial Times recently released the ranking of the world’s wealthiest countries in 2023, and Taiwan ranked 14th with a GDP per capita of $73,344, surpassing countries traditionally considered wealthier such as Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, and the UK.
According to the report, while many countries around the world have been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, some small countries such as San Marino, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Singapore have performed exceptionally well due to their advanced financial systems and attractive tax policies, which have successfully attracted foreign investment, professional talent, and substantial bank deposits, resulting in impressive economic performance.
The Global Finance magazine also added that when assessing wealth, they not only consider the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but also adjust the per capita GDP based on purchasing power, which they believe better reflects the actual living conditions of a country or region’s residents. Taiwan’s outstanding performance in this aspect has earned it a place among the world’s wealthiest countries.
The Financial Times’ top 15 wealthiest countries/regions in 2023 are as follows:
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However, the Financial Times also pointed out some questionable aspects of these statistics, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that many countries in the ranking are tax havens, meaning that their wealth was initially generated elsewhere. This artificially inflates their GDP.
Although over 130 governments signed a global agreement in 2021 to ensure that large companies pay a minimum tax rate of 15%, the implementation of this agreement has been hindered by opposition from legislators and politicians in many countries. It is estimated that over 15% of jurisdictions worldwide are tax havens, and the IMF further estimates that approximately 40% of global foreign direct investment flows can be attributed to savvy tax avoidance strategies, surpassing the 30% seen in the 2010s.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the top-ranked country in the list, Ireland, still has a per capita disposable income lower than the EU average. In other words, most Irish people may not perceive themselves as wealthy or even as the world’s richest.
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