Korea’s GDP per Capita Forecast to Double That of Japan in 20 years
Japanese economist Yukio Noguchi said in his recent column that South Korea is already ahead of Japan in various economic indices and South Korea’s GDP per capita will be twice that of Japan in 20 years.
According to him, South Korea and Japan responded differently to their economic crises in the 1990s and this difference is making South Korea richer than Japan.
According to OECD data, the average wages in Japan and South Korea were US$38,515 and US$41,960 in 2020, respectively. The International Institute for Management Development of Switzerland recently announced that South Korea’s and Japan’s international competitiveness rankings for this year are 23rd and 31st, respectively. The respective rankings are eighth and 27th when it comes to digital technology competitiveness.
On the top 100 market cap list of the world, Samsung Electronics is at the 14th spot as the highest South Korean enterprise whereas Toyota stands at 36th as the highest Japanese enterprise. The world’s top 100 colleges include six and five South Korean and Japanese colleges, respectively.
“Last year, Japan’s GDP per capita was US$40,146 and that of South Korea was US$31,496,” the economist said, adding, “However, the latter increased 2.56-fold from 2000 to 2020 while the former increased 1.02-fold and, as a result, the gap between the two decreased from 69 percent to 22 percent from 2000 to 2020.”
“South Korea will overtake Japan in the near future and their difference will continue to increase,” he went on to say, continuing, “Those of South Korea and Japan for 2040 are estimated at US$80,894 and US$41,143, respectively.”