US Ranks Third in GDP Per Person

The US trails only Luxembourg and Norway in GDP per person and has the second highest household spending rates among 55 nations in a new report, reports the Wall Street Journal. The GDP measures household and government spending as well as business investment and net exports. The US per capita GDP was 44% above the OECD average.

US household consumption was an even higher 52% above average. The figures are from 2005, the latest available. Norway’s oil-fueled economy put its GDP 65% above the OECD average, up from 45% in 2002. Mexico also improved from 37% to 39%. Switzerland fell from 30% above to 20%, and Italy fell from 5% above to 4% below average. (More world economy stories.)