Chapter 3. A Benchmark for Other Nations

Figure 3-1. GDP per capita in 2006, United States and selected countries

SOURCE: Department of Labor, A Chartbook of International Labor Comparisons and Eurostat.

NOTE: GDP estimates are converted to U.S. dollars using purchasing power parities.

• Data on GDP per capita are remarkable. In 2006, U.S. per capita GDP totaled $44,200—about 23 percent higher than in Canada, 26 percent higher than in Australia, and 42 percent higher than the composite amount for the eurozone countries.¹⁰
   
• What makes such comparisons more striking is the fact that the United States is such a large country. With a total population of nearly 304 million people, the United States is the third most populous nation in the world, following China (1.3 billion) and India (1.1 billion). The eurozone outnumbers the United States in total population (311 million); however, its labor force is marginally smaller—151 million compared with 153 million in the United States.¹¹
   
• The United States also leads the world in manufacturing, followed by China, Japan, and Germany. The United States contributed 20.5 percent of global value added in manufacturing in 2006, the latest year with complete data. China’s value added represented 13.0 percent of the global total, while Japan’s and Germany’s contributions were 11.0 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively. The eurozone’s share, at 20.8 percent, is about equal to that of the United States.¹²

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