Reaching National Goal
Korea’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to reach nearly US$37,000 (42.12 million won) within the next five years in 2020, catching up with Japan.
According to the World Economic Outlook Database released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Nov. 5, Korea’s nominal per capita GDP will reach US$36,750 (41.84 million won) in 2020, up 31.4 percent, or US$8,780 (9,999,600 won), from last year’s US$27,970 (31.84 million won).
During the same period, Japan’s nominal per capita GDP will grow 6 percent, or US$1,952 (2,222,350 won), from US$36,222 (41.24 million won) to US$38,714 (43.46 million won).
Last year, the per capita GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP) stood at US$35,379 (40.28 million won) for Korea and US$37,519 (42.72 million won) for Japan, showing no significant difference. By 2018, the IMF estimated that Korean numbers are expected to reach US$41,966 (47.78 million won), to surpass Japan’s US$41,428 (47.17 million won) for the first time in history. In 2020, the Korean figure will stand at US$46,612 (53.07 million won), while the Japanese figure will reach US$44,329 (50.47 million won).
The difference in the overall economic scales between the two countries is getting smaller. Japan’s nominal GDP last year came to US$4.6 trillion (5,239.83 trillion won), which is 3.3 times higher than Korea’s US$1.41 trillion (1,605.74 trillion won). However, Korea and Japan’s GDP will amount to US$1.9 trillion (2,161.78 trillion won) and US$4.75 trillion (5,404.46 trillion won), respectively, in 2020. Accordingly, Japan’s figure will be only 2.4 times higher than Korean numbers.
In 1980, Japan’s GDP stood at US$1.09 trillion (1,237.55 trillion won), which is 16.7 times higher than Korea’s US$65.2 billion (74.23 trillion won). However, the gap has gradually decreased from 11.1 times in 1990, to 8.4 times in 2000 and 5.1 times in 2005.